Chase The Lava 4.0 - Al Ain

[Petr]

Hello all,

It was a great Intermediate drive at very special conditions caused by occassional but sometimes strong rain. Instead of my usually long report, I will let pictures talk instead:

[Petr]

[nabil_k]

Hello Everyone,

It was very special morning, cloudy and some shower of rain start early morning at the desert where we met near Al Ain airport as the starting point for chase the Lava 4, everyone of the attendance was so happy and enjoying this type of weather pacman .
The attendance taken by [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] and he give briefing for this area as its soft, sharp high dunes and there is two more effects the rain and wind which can endangering the side crest OSMILEY . the drive was supported by marshal [mention]Booy[/mention] as eagle eye looking to hole convoy and advance [mention]Agalon[/mention], [mention]SINGH[/mention] and [mention]Scorpio[/mention] . The drive was very lovely and its good to have training drive under such condition which add some difficult to the drive, i felt that wet sand add more slippy option to our drive . my car was lazy that morning and 4 Low didn't work proper way during this drive(not engaged ) .
Thanks [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] for amazing drive as expected from you killzonesmiley , and thanks to all support team of marshal and advance that supporting the drive, and to everyone made it happened.

see you all safe until next drive .

[Johanna]

Hello everyone,

Sunday morning in the office, suffering from desert hangover and a lack of sleep. Perfect timing to recap the drive and write a report.

[mention]Booy[/mention], [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] [mention]Scorpio[/mention] and me camped on Thursday night near the meeting point. When we went to bed it was already windy and it got worse with every hour. I tried to close the tent as much as possible from every side, I moved the car two times and I even moved the tent closer to a dune to have some shelter from the wind. No chance, everything inside the tent was fully covered with sand, so I decided to sleep in the car. Somehow I managed to sleep between my jerry can and my car jack for one or two hours. 2 z Z
It was my first drive in proper rain and in the beginning I was a bit concerned about the visibility, but it turned out it was no problem at all.
The drive was lead by [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] with [mention]SINGH[/mention], [mention]Agalon[/mention] and [mention]Scorpio[/mention] at the back of the convoy, while [mention]Booy[/mention] was floating around.
The first layer of sand was wet, but below it was soft, some areas even super soft, so the first two cars could climb easily, but the following cars struggled as the track was already destroyed. Therefore we had a lot of second tries at some areas, but beside this no issues, I just remember one rescue situation. The convoy was flowing nicely, we did uncountable side crests from bowl to bowl and it was simply amazing in love

We reached a bowl we had to climb up first, followed by an arch and a side crest. I struggled hard to climb all the way. I tried maybe 5 times, high gear, low gear, but no chance. I simply could not climb high enough to reach the side crest. I tried to find a fresh track, but it was either too low to reach the crest or too high to climb. At the end I had to change the track while I saw all the jeep and fjs doing the climb without issues. wtfsmilie

Would be interesting to see how an experienced driver would drive the patrol up a climb like this...

After that I reduced my tire pressure from 10 to 8 psi and drove as car no. 3. This small changes made a huge difference and from this moment I enjoyed the drive to the fullest.

We reached a nice high bowl to attack - climb, crest, followed by a round inside the bowl, sticking to its wall. omg While waiting for the rest of the convoy [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] asked me: "ready?"`And I said "no, but I will do it" thumbsup

Man, it was fantastic!!! in love

My adrenaline level reached its peak in this bowl, and after I did it I was proud and happy after I struggled in the last few weeks.

So after this experience I felt to be back in the game 100% in love

The rest of the drive was heaven - fast, smooth and with a minimum of radio communication. in love

We finished at 11.30, with dirty cars and happy drivers.

Thank you all for this fantastic drive, it was one of the best I had so far in love

Have a great week everybody, see you all in the sand have a nice day

[Scorpio]

Hello Everyone,

This drive was preceded by an optional camp option and I decided to opt for it to avoid early morning drive to the meeting point as the chances were that it would be foggy at that time. However, the morning was rainy instead of foggy as what some of the almosters told me who joined in the morning. I met with [mention]Rashidjass[/mention], [mention]Booy[/mention] and [mention]Johanna[/mention] on E66 on Thur eve and we traveled together to the camping spot. The night was not that cold when we reached there but gradually the temperature dropped and we had to get closer to the fire ORLY. The night got quite windy and I think there was a sand storm because for the first time I noticed that the flying sand was coming inside the camp…so you know how good a sleep I could have got grin

In the morning, we had to rush to the meeting point because the camp was not exactly at the drive meeting point. We were joined by [mention]Abu Odai[/mention] and [mention]Yazan[/mention] also at the camp in the morning and this small convoy started to move to the drive meeting point at 7am. The morning was windy and it started to drizzle as well. Rashidjass conducted the briefing in the rain in love and told the convoy order; Yazan was the 2nd lead and [mention]mohannad[/mention] was to sweep. [mention]Agalon[/mention], [mention]SINGH[/mention] and myself had to stay behind the sweeper and Booy was floating. It was drizzling and at some points it rained as well for some time but the drive continued at the same pace and level yuush. Due to the rain, the sand got firm and it required adjustment of our tires usual psi level and also the driving style. Doing side slopes required more caution as the sand was not soft and the car can easily flip over a firm pile of sand comparatively. Driving at the end of the convoy required creating fresh tracks on some climbs to get proper traction because the original track used to get chewed up and since the sand was wet therefore, it used to become a mud track after the whole convoy has passed. But it was fun and I hope everyone enjoyed the terrain and the nature of the sand that day thumbsup .

Rashidjass did not compromise on throwing to us challenging side crests and high climbs even when windshield wipers were being used during the drive ninja. It was a great drive and everyone in the convoy did great as well. We had few stucks and some second tries but there was no major issue encountered. In the last hour of the drive, Mohannad was placed at the 2nd lead position and the drive continued. At the some points of the drive, it gave the feeling of a roller coaster ride on fire. I personally enjoyed the second half of the drive more than the first half and it could be due to the fact that the rain had stopped by that time, sand got a little less firmer and the visibility got better and I had started feeling that Megatron is now floating as usual rather than digging even though the psi level on my tires stayed the same throughout the drive and I did not need to adjust it even after couple of inspections.

I would like to thank the organizers for this camp and drive and all those who supported the drive. Hoping to see you all soon in the sand..

Cheers All 8-)

[Isfand]

This drive... will be a drive to remember. I have never driven in the desert/sand on a rainy day.

Keep the tire pressure too low and the hard ground will hold your tire while the weight of the car will continue to pull/slide meaning a pop-out. Keep the tire pressure too high and you will struggle with the soft sand of sweihan underneath the hard crust formed by the rain. Another day to learn new experiences and build upon them :)

I started the drive around 5:00PM from home so it provides me ample of time to get the meeting point without stressing out. I had it all planned. or at least I thought so until I found out that the petrol station close to the meeting point was one for the airport and I had no idea how to get in there. The other closest station was at least 30 minutes away. oh well... let's just risk it! Now theres a small problem with the Nissan Patrols. When the fuel gets too low and you are on climbs. The car will switch off - Experienced brigade.baka-wolf.com

Anyway we started the drive and i was the 5th car right behind [mention]Johanna[/mention] The Golden patrol duo. We continued and faced no issues until this climb which was chewed up by the first few cars. The bowl started to become a mess as we all kept trying until [mention]Booy[/mention] called all cars to stop and try one by one. [mention]Johanna[/mention] was instructed to take a different track and then [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] said on the radio that all drivers follow the new track which I did but nobody after me did. I kinda felt bad. I still think I could have done it. I know the Patrol is heavy which has its benefits that I wont argue over here but I have got enough power to go straight up a dune and then turn, sticking to the crest and then crossing when safe. 70 percent skills - 30 percent car. and well if its easy, it's never worth it, is it :) Develop skills to climb hills and stop complaining about the ills.

Anywho we continued and continued and it was so much fun! I loved every moment of it until I got stuck on crest. First ever stuck with Almost4x4. Happy to say it finally happened thumbsup [mention]Saeed FJ[/mention] came to the rescue with instructions and help from [mention]SINGH[/mention]

The drive continued and I think we were sticking right on time. it was around 11am and my fuel needle was close to being empty. it is dangerous and I know next time I might just get late and apologize instead of risking a stuck on top of a dune with a car that wont start.

Happy to have done the drive because I will be now out of the country for a while and see you guys back in April.

Thank You [mention]Rashidjass[/mention] [mention]Booy[/mention] and everybody else in the team that helped.

[JockJKU]

Anywho we continued and continued and it was so much fun! I loved every moment of it until I got stuck on crest. First ever stuck with Almost4x4. Happy to say it finally happened thumbsup @Saeed FJ came to the rescue with instructions and help from Singh (Sorry i still don't know your Forum name :) )

It's [mention]SINGH[/mention]

[Isfand]

Thanks - Edited

Anywho we continued and continued and it was so much fun! I loved every moment of it until I got stuck on crest. First ever stuck with Almost4x4. Happy to say it finally happened thumbsup @Saeed FJ came to the rescue with instructions and help from Singh (Sorry i still don't know your Forum name :) )

It's @SINGH

[Johanna]

@Johanna The Golden patrol duo. We continued and faced no issues until this climb which was chewed up by the first few cars. The bowl started to become a mess as we all kept trying until @Booy called all cars to stop and try one by one. @Johanna was instructed to take a different track and then @Rashidjass said on the radio that all drivers follow the new track which I did but nobody after me did. I kinda felt bad. I still think I could have done it. I know the Patrol is heavy which has its benefits that I wont argue over here but I have got enough power to go straight up a dune and then turn, sticking to the crest and then crossing when safe. 70 percent skills - 30 percent car. and well if its easy, it's never worth it, is it :) Develop skills to climb hills and stop complaining about the ills.

We should go on a drive together and figure out what we can do with our cars grin

[Isfand]

Haha thanks [mention]Johanna[/mention] i think we are being too hard on ourselves. Wasnt so bad if u consider the whole drive.

But i feel exactly how you feel considering we both love our cars A LOT!

Lets rock and roll in other upcoming Inter drives! We will figure it out! We always have even if we are a minority

@Johanna The Golden patrol duo. We continued and faced no issues until this climb which was chewed up by the first few cars. The bowl started to become a mess as we all kept trying until @Booy called all cars to stop and try one by one. @Johanna was instructed to take a different track and then @Rashidjass said on the radio that all drivers follow the new track which I did but nobody after me did. I kinda felt bad. I still think I could have done it. I know the Patrol is heavy which has its benefits that I wont argue over here but I have got enough power to go straight up a dune and then turn, sticking to the crest and then crossing when safe. 70 percent skills - 30 percent car. and well if its easy, it's never worth it, is it :) Develop skills to climb hills and stop complaining about the ills.

We should go on a drive together and figure out what we can do with our cars grin