Almost4x4

tillybean;12041 wrote:Hi everyone

Just wanted to say how nice it was to meet a group of you in the dunes on Friday morning (Sweihan). Thanks for the warm welcome when we wandered over to you and hope to see you out in the sand again soon.

Brief details : Sam, female, been in Abu Dhabi for 5 years and been off-roading for just over 2 years now with another club.
Addicted to the sand and I can be found pretty much every weekend in Sweihan, Khatim, Liwa, Razeen etc with my 4x4 family.
Drive a lifted 2008 JK with usual mods (cat back, air intake etc) as well as some snazzy new lights and a fab tyre/jerry can carrier.

Hope to see you all soon. Take it easy out there.

Was our pleasure to meet you too , Tillybean , welcome to your second family and looking forward to drive with you soon.

Welcome to all new membar almost4x4 it's your family

caprihorse;11818 wrote:Hello Mark, welcome to our club end the most enjoyable trips. Pls kindly read your car operations manual and understand it, before entering desert. It's important mainly for Pajero owners.

Thank you for the advice caprihorse. I think i have read a lot in this forum as well as around the internet. I also read the manual. Is there a particular aspect of the Pajero that should be noted ?

I am actually quite familiar with the vehicle as I have been on a Liwa trip with friends with a rented Pajero where I was told prior to the trip that "there would be no heavy off roading involved"... needless to say i was lied to... and i discovered the hard way the meaning of "know your vehicle". Turn off ASC... 4H is no good in sand... the rear bumper is a sand scoop... 4LLc when climbing... and use tiptronic mode to hold gears in 1 or 2...

Looking forward to doing my first outing with almost4x4! (when is the next club member event ??)

tonneree;12325 wrote:Thank you for the advice caprihorse. I think i have read a lot in this forum as well as around the internet. I also read the manual. Is there a particular aspect of the Pajero that should be noted ?

I am actually quite familiar with the vehicle as I have been on a Liwa trip with friends with a rented Pajero where I was told prior to the trip that "there would be no heavy off roading involved"... needless to say i was lied to... and i discovered the hard way the meaning of "know your vehicle". Turn off ASC... 4H is no good in sand... the rear bumper is a sand scoop... 4LLc when climbing... and use tiptronic mode to hold gears in 1 or 2...

Looking forward to doing my first outing with almost4x4! (when is the next club member event ??)

You got your points completely right, Liwa is the mother of nature, there is not an easy track at all, and you can get stuck even 2 meters away from gatch road in flat area. To have a proper gear in the right place requires some knowledge of this complicated car. Skid plates front and rear are a must, unless you want to change your bumpers on weekly basis. Clicking the button to disable the traction control dows not disable it fully, because 'smart programmers' at Mitsubishi knows better, how to drive the sand ... In a difficult situation, in a soft sand at climbing, they think you are in danger and the traction control is back on, without letting you know ...

tonneree;12325 wrote:Thank you for the advice caprihorse. I think i have read a lot in this forum as well as around the internet. I also read the manual. Is there a particular aspect of the Pajero that should be noted ?

I am actually quite familiar with the vehicle as I have been on a Liwa trip with friends with a rented Pajero where I was told prior to the trip that "there would be no heavy off roading involved"... needless to say i was lied to... and i discovered the hard way the meaning of "know your vehicle". Turn off ASC... 4H is no good in sand... the rear bumper is a sand scoop... 4LLc when climbing... and use tiptronic mode to hold gears in 1 or 2...

Looking forward to doing my first outing with almost4x4! (when is the next club member event ??)

Hi Mark, and welcome to the group. Capri is right about the Pajero.. I also own a 3.8 LWB, but I don't drive it on the sand. The Pajero is an excellent car, and on solid ground is very capable, but from experience, it was not designed to do equally well on the sand. The usual weak points (please don't mind the repeat):
1- Front bumper too low, your bound to damage it some time
2- rear bumper too low and weak (as you said, scoops sand and comes off), definitely and always gets damaged
3- Side steps are also low and prone to get damaged
4- Traction control and stability control don't completely disengage unless you are on 4llc which puts too much strain on the car
5- Tiptronic gear up-shifts automatically when RPM reaches 5000, so staying in 1st or 2nd is very very tricky
6- The PCM (main computer) learns from driving habits and adjusts the car's performance accordingly. If you drive in the city the computer adjusts for economy and it takes a while for it to "open" up and give you faster response and power. You need to really push it for at least 20 min before going off-road to convince the computer to "wake up"

All in all, the guys at mitsubishi modified this generation of the pajero to be a road car, and I was told at the agency by one of the older guys "it's not an off-road car" while another younger chap was boasting how good it is in the sand.. Experience tells us the older guy was correct.

The car will do for club member and newbie level, but any higher level and I am afraid it is going to be a very expensive and frustrating experience

tonneree;12325 wrote:Thank you for the advice caprihorse. I think i have read a lot in this forum as well as around the internet. I also read the manual. Is there a particular aspect of the Pajero that should be noted ?

I am actually quite familiar with the vehicle as I have been on a Liwa trip with friends with a rented Pajero where I was told prior to the trip that "there would be no heavy off roading involved"... needless to say i was lied to... and i discovered the hard way the meaning of "know your vehicle". Turn off ASC... 4H is no good in sand... the rear bumper is a sand scoop... 4LLc when climbing... and use tiptronic mode to hold gears in 1 or 2...

Looking forward to doing my first outing with almost4x4! (when is the next club member event ??)

welcome to ALMOST 4x4

Ive modified and still have a 2010 3.5 LWB Pajero with me but as capri and DL has put it ..... i totally agree that it is more of a road SUV fit for comfort and luxury rather than a hardcore Desert Machine

My Pajero has got a 10mm aluminum bashplate up front .... both front and rear bumpers have been cut to get more angle clearance ..... i have a traction control switch wherein i can swith off ASC/ABS?traction control all at the same time ..... K&N filters ..... not to mention that if youwant to get it lifted 2" off the ground .... its gonna cost you 5 Big G's of AED from ARB!

All in all its a good car ... for ON ROAD or Rocky Trails ..... but the total set up or design of the car can only withstand club member and newbie desert drives .......

as the drives get intense ..... the cost of things you need to spend on the pajero is gonna get as intense as well

Hi Everyone,
I'd just like to introduce myself. My name is Steve, and I have been in Dubai for a little over 4 years.

Not really interested in going off-road for the first year, but then got the bug. It certainly is addictive.
Started with a 3.0 LWB Pajero, which I realised wasn't for me after 2 stucks by the roadside. Company Car
Moved on to a Durango, which I realised wasn't for anyone after 2 radiator implosions and a head gasket. Another Company Car - they must love me

Bought my own Patrol last year, and love it. Sadly seem to keep breaking the poor thing's bumpers.

Steve

Bulbous;12848 wrote:Hi Everyone,
I'd just like to introduce myself. My name is Steve, and I have been in Dubai for a little over 4 years.

Not really interested in going off-road for the first year, but then got the bug. It certainly is addictive.
Started with a 3.0 LWB Pajero, which I realised wasn't for me after 2 stucks by the roadside. Company Car
Moved on to a Durango, which I realised wasn't for anyone after 2 radiator implosions and a head gasket. Another Company Car - they must love me

Bought my own Patrol last year, and love it. Sadly seem to keep breaking the poor thing's bumpers.

Steve

Hi Steve , welcome to the club and your second family, hope to see you soon on the sand
kindly read all blogs summarized in this thread - http://www.almost4x4.com/vb/showthre...Most-Important

Bulbous;12848 wrote:Hi Everyone,
I'd just like to introduce myself. My name is Steve, and I have been in Dubai for a little over 4 years.

Not really interested in going off-road for the first year, but then got the bug. It certainly is addictive.
Started with a 3.0 LWB Pajero, which I realised wasn't for me after 2 stucks by the roadside. Company Car
Moved on to a Durango, which I realised wasn't for anyone after 2 radiator implosions and a head gasket. Another Company Car - they must love me

Bought my own Patrol last year, and love it. Sadly seem to keep breaking the poor thing's bumpers.

Steve

Hey Stevie, nice seeing you here! It's fun with the boys and your bumpers shall not break any longer here :011:

Bulbous;12848 wrote:Hi Everyone,
I'd just like to introduce myself. My name is Steve, and I have been in Dubai for a little over 4 years.

Not really interested in going off-road for the first year, but then got the bug. It certainly is addictive.
Started with a 3.0 LWB Pajero, which I realised wasn't for me after 2 stucks by the roadside. Company Car
Moved on to a Durango, which I realised wasn't for anyone after 2 radiator implosions and a head gasket. Another Company Car - they must love me

Bought my own Patrol last year, and love it. Sadly seem to keep breaking the poor thing's bumpers.

Steve

Welcome to the real world and we hope to see you in our convoy with your Patrol, where Nissan lovers are treated in a very special way :038: