Outer Limits 4x4 Board

What worked best on the sand that you have driven on?

Give details of wether the sand was soft or firm, heavly loaded or light, mud tyres or all terrains, man or auto.



Cheers!

how fast do you wanna go

over 50 high range
under 50 low range

simple

it depends on if you're on hard sand, soft sand, going up big dunes, going down big dunes, a hot dry day where the sand is all soft and powdery, a rainy day when the sand is packed down a bit...

Use either depending on the conditions...

cookie i dunno bout most, i think im a bit different, everyone always seems to drive with low range and lockers and diff locks and shit, every time iv ever been stocko its always only in 4WD, no centre diff lock, no low range, always just 4WD high range no locks, 2nd gear and full noise its gotten me further than some of the patrols/cruisers in the club that run 7" lift, 35-38"s, lockers, low range and everything they can, even up the soft stuff, never had a probelm at stocko and it ranges from hard down near the water to apparently "some of the softest sand that can be driven in australia" according to some magazines and reviews the little jabber seems to go alright, on 31" st's

dean

4 high seems to get me most places,


BFG AT's on a Sierra, hell i don't even drop pressures most of the time (900kg kerb weight).

Extra traction aids usually just mean you're gonna dig deeper holes, keep the momentum up and pay attention to the way you park... funny as seeing ppl bogged at the cherry venture coz they had to swing up into the shade shoreside of it...

Spock

Simple answer

It depends on the 4b, my old Lada Niva didn’t have the power so low range until the sand got firm.
My current 4b a IH scout V8 4wd every where but tyers run down to 12 psi, even towing all over Fraser island still 2wd.

My current XJ Jeep is a mix of 2 and 4wd

On a side note the scout went better in 2wd 12 psi than 4wd 32psi

If you aren’t spinning the tyers trying to get traction 2wd will keep the MPG down

Eric

Hi, depending on how soft the sand is i found the faster you drove (safely of course), the better the vehicle handled throught the sand.. keeping a constant momentum is the key to sand. hitting the dunes is fun too!

cheers

cookiemonster wrote:What worked best on the sand that you have driven on?

Give details of wether the sand was soft or firm, heavly loaded or light, mud tyres or all terrains, man or auto.



Cheers!

momentum is what you need. depending on conditions & type of fb. use highest gear you can

Cookiemonster,
Here in south of wa soft beach sand is mostly what alot of our 4wding involves. My personal experince with tyres has provided some really intersting results, I have used tyres varying in brand, size, width and purpose(A/T-M/T)and have found the the best tyre for beach work on a standard 4wd is the KUHMO ventera believe it or not, when aired down these things bag like nothing i have seen before, due to there side wall construction and the soft rubber they use.
I now keep a set just for beach work as they preform better than both my 33 inch wranglers and 35 inch simmexs(all air down to around 15-12 psi depending), and have pulled coultless 4wd out of some nice little situations they have gotten themselves into.

As regard high or low, I feel it come down to conditions as may have writen above.

Daniels

I seem to use Hi in all sands. I have used low, though only when the auto got a bit too warm on the day. That was to take load off the tranny rather than for any performance issue.

With my old diesel 60 i have been able to drive anything i pointer her at on Frasier, Morton and DI in High 4 second gear, only time she seamed to not want to pull throgh the sand was when it was cold. the only time i have ever used low 4 was when there was some coffee rock exposed on the beach and we had to go over it because of the tide (not Rainbow!). i did this not because i needed to but becuase i wanted to make the ride smother/slower over the rocks. i now have an 80 diesel and can't wait to see how she goes on the sand

i can relate to BJH's comments with driving on fraser..

pretty much always 4hi.. even for the hardest stuff its 1st 4hi at full noise..

for the tracks on inland fraser, mostly keep it in high, depending on the quality, if its really bumpy i use 3rd 4lo as backing off the throttle makes it softer on the bumps and you still have the torque to pick it up again ..

for the hard sand, 4hi and keeping the speed at or under 80kph.. after lowing your tyres to get over the really soft stuff, they can bring you undone at higher speeds..

north ngala rocks bypass is about 1-2km of some of the softest sand on fraser.. and in 1st hi with no stopping you make it... and provided your tyre pressures are also suitable to the conditions you shouldn't have a problem..

get bogged, reverse all the way to hard sand and try a different line or again..

again same with BJH i use low range on the beach is over rocks to make the ride a lot more controlled and stable..

I use high range mostly. 1st high flat strap will get me through the cuttings easy enough. I'll use low range if I bog down by putting it into low reverse and driving out. Then back into 1st high for another attack with a better line. If I am parked in the soft sand I also usually use low 2nd to get me back onto the harder sand. It'll do it in 1st high but it is easier on me and the clutch to idle out then rev it out of this situation.

Generally when people have to put it into low range just to get anywhere it is due to not lowering their pressures enough IMHO. I use 20psi f/r with 31s. I used the same pressure with my old 225/75 16s too.

This is for Double Island and Fraser in Qld.

high range 2nd 2wd for fun and games in my truck

drop to low range when driving the olds 100 with 7 in the car though too much bitching otherwise.

but this is only di, never driven stockton

Low range 5th in the zook, high range dies in the a$$...

I use the same presure as you Utemad 20psi with 31' tyres. Never had to go lower. have done DI once with 38 and i ended up dropping it after half a day. was bogging down and digging holes, still didn't get bogged. the reverse trick is definatly the best way of getting outa a bog!! first thing you should try b4 sinking your truck too much...

PS: do you use the same presure for different sized tyres? I am now running 285x16 on my 80 would 20 be good for them too?

If any one is really keen to find the optimum Psi for your tyer/4B combo here is a great site that shows you how.

Like i said i run 12psi on the beach.

Eric

http://www.4x4now.com/sfjun96.htm

I only ever use low range for lifting of in very soft sand otherwise 4H is the go!!

Use mainly High Range on Fraser, Straddie and DI. Only use low range when I had stopped above the high water mark, and then just to get going again. Need to change gears too often in Low. When on Straddie and DI, I mainly keep tyres at highway PSI. Too lazy to let down and pump up all the time.

Went to Stockton the other day. Mostly low range, had to let tyres down or engine just working too hard. Seemed to be a totally different type of sand than up in QLD. Still fun though!!

Auto my favourite on sand, engines that deliver torque at lower revs seem better too. Cruise along rather than revving your arse off to maintain your momentum. Fat AT Tyres with big curvy sidewalls better. Best I've driven on are the old Yokohama (833 I think) all terrain. Soft compound, bulgy sidewalls. Got torn apart on rocks though. Kumho AT not too bad for sand either.

I know some people swear by muddies on sand for grip. My experience is mostly on QLD beaches.

Adam.

numerous variables here to give a definate answer...

bogged wrote:numerous variables here to give a definate answer...

and the biggest variable is the density of the sand..

GQ wrote:

bogged wrote:numerous variables here to give a definate answer...

and the biggest variable is the density of the sand..

Yup... The only answer to any tire pressure question is trial and error

The key to sand driving is pace. You can't get much pace in low range.