Hitting the UAE desert

[OGBeno]

Holy cow!! Did they really strip all of that in 10 minutes?

And I thought the Turks were good at stealing.....

Hope insurance is taking care of that.

 

[Desert Nomad]

Ok on this stereo install...I have some questions....

Did you install an aftermarket deck? I didn't think the original deck could work with an aftermarket amp. Did you remove the stock amp? etc

Where did you mount the subs? Got some pics?

thx.....

Firstly my head unit came with an aftermarket head unit from the dealer to offer sat nav, aux, usb, service reminders etc. vs standard disc player. speakers were very low quality an rubbish anywhere over 50% volume. I had the 4 door speakers changed and they had a decent bass to them from the internal sub on them, dash speakers disconnected as they were interfering with the amp, not sure about the stock amp I usually am involved with all mods and am in there helping with the work but being sick and having +40c weather theres no way i'd be there fitting that under the sun so I'm not sure what exactly was done. the amp was put under drivers seat plan was to mount a slimline woofer under pass seat but their wasn't any in stock so that will be done at a later time but sound is really good so don't know if a sub is actually needed or not, time will tell. Couldn't opt for standard subs that go in the trunk as we have 4 dogs (2x mongrels + 2xRotties) and when they're in there isn't much space left.

 

[Desert Nomad]

Holy cow!! Did they really strip all of that in 10 minutes?

And I thought the Turks were good at stealing.....

Hope insurance is taking care of that.

Haha they're pretty used to opening the 200's for the sound system upgrades, it's actually very easy removed the trim as well when I swapped the chrome handles to the black ones. IIRC 2 screws in the grab handle and one might be behind the interior door handle or maybe just the first two. but after that it's held up by clips all round so very quick to pull off and put back on.

Haha when they took the door trim into the shop during installation it left a nice little pile of red sand on their table

 

[Desert Nomad]

Just realised I forgot to post the picture of the amp in full view

 

[r3run33]

hello desert nomad; question for ya; when you do your desert runs are you in 4hi? and do you air down if so what psi do you go down to. I do lots of east coast USA beach stuff and then Florida beach also. I think we have much more wet stuff because of the close water. Always looking for different set ups on what works best. I try to stay in 4hi and only use 4lo to get out of stuck problems and go down to about 15psi. That way I always have an option to go lower if needed. I wanted to invest in some Maxtrax things also. I seem to have the most trouble with the really dry soft stuff which I think you would have the most of out there. I really don't like going to fast in order to keep momentum up but its that fine line of going fast enough to get thru or slow enough to not mess up the environment. Not sure if I am explaining it correct. thanks

 

[Desert Nomad]

hello desert nomad; question for ya; when you do your desert runs are you in 4hi? and do you air down if so what psi do you go down to. I do lots of east coast USA beach stuff and then Florida beach also. I think we have much more wet stuff because of the close water. Always looking for different set ups on what works best. I try to stay in 4hi and only use 4lo to get out of stuck problems and go down to about 15psi. That way I always have an option to go lower if needed. I wanted to invest in some Maxtrax things also. I seem to have the most trouble with the really dry soft stuff which I think you would have the most of out there. I really don't like going to fast in order to keep momentum up but its that fine line of going fast enough to get thru or slow enough to not mess up the environment. Not sure if I am explaining it correct. thanks

Hi, yes I'm usually in 4hi unless in tricky areas where you need to climb a series of dunes to get to the top or in areas you need all the torque you can get then its in low and center diff locked as well I have the Australian "Lokka" installed in the rear. Psi is usually between 18-15 and do go lower if start to get bogged down. Maxtraxx seem to be good. I havent tried them but a friend of mine highly recommended them over the bush ranger ones i have that you roll out as they are solid and dont get pulled through under the tire as much. Over here in summer other than overheating the vehicle and less power the sand is softer and less compact which tends to let you sink in in winter its much easier but with strong winds you do have a lot of blown sand that can trap you. Since I had my 90 defender I found all terrain tires gave much better traction opposed to the tread less sand tires that just slip on sand. As well tyres need to be able to flex and not be so rigid to not dig into the sand. As you say momentum is key on sand and my opinion is if you feel you are going too fast too keep your momentum up you should switch to 4lo. I had a few scares in 4hi by going too fast slide sloping (driving across the side of a dune) and when it comes to the point to cross to the other side you barely have control because of your speed. In low you shoud have enough power to get through in much lower speeds and more control. Hope I didn't blabber too much and any more q's feel free to ask.

 

[Desert Nomad]

Now with all the gadgets I have wired up to the battery my voltage is a bit lower than normal. In the picture this with the ignition/acc on and engine switched off for a few minutes, when the engine is on the needle is juster under 14v.



Now is this from the battery or alternator. I was thinking of running a dual battery setup before but didn't see an actual need for it, what would be the best course of action to keep the volts up.. swap to larger amp and in future change to optima yellow top battery? or would you guys recommend different course of action.... Thanks

 

[BulletHead]

That should be directly from the battery but its certainly going to be lower without the alternator operating.

 

[Desert Nomad]

Thanks amir, Service center want to replace my battery under warranty but I was in a hurry on the last service so declined and said I will come back later for it, I'll be switching to an Optima yellow top courtesy of TheBedouin60 and will get oem battery replaced under warranty and keep the new Toyota battery as a reserve.

Now on other news I think most people will disagree with this mod, I've fitted 35mm H&R spacers front and rear to bring the wheels out and line up or at least get close to the wheel arches from stock location... and of course pictures, please ignore the Cadillac It's only used to stuff bodies in the trunk

 

[Desert Nomad]

Some more picks to show how the wheels sit now, I'm really liking the look.

 

[Desert Nomad]

Close up pics of the spacers


I had the tires checked out as a piece of the tread seems to want to come off




The supplier was telling me it is normal due to an "impact" to the tire and the "chunk of tread" will most likely come off completely and it should be fine.... On top of that the tires are wearing down too quickly so I'm running this set to the ground and going to find some BFG-AT's instead, He was trying to convince me not to go to a bigger AT type tread as it will only bog me down in the desert, I've had experience with BFGs in the desert and they do perform it all depends on driving style and you can't compare a lighter less powerful jeep wrangler to a heavy cruiser, I don't get how they fit huge cooper stts on them and wonder why they don't have any power and keep getting stuck, the tires they choose are too big and heavy for how much hp you're pushing out, with the cruiser I might actually get better traction as it will lessen excessive wheel spin and give more grip. Rant over

Also I went out and bought some liquid polish to give a little shine back to ol'black

and got hit by a sandstorm, luckily didn't start polishing yet

 

[maujkar]

... On top of that the tires are wearing down too quickly so I'm running this set to the ground and going to find some BFG-AT's...

Let me know if you find a BFG-AT dealer in Dubai with reasonable prices.. we might do a group buy (~4 LC's here)..

 

[Desert Nomad]

Let me know if you find a BFG-AT dealer in Dubai with reasonable prices.. we might do a group buy (~4 LC's here)..

I already have one supplier since I had my defender and until now I haven't found another with lower prices. Pm or email me amount of tires and size and I'll see what price he can do. Over the phone without haggling he's qouted me 1,200 aed per tire (285-70 R17) while most others are priced around 1,500+

 

[Thebedouin60]

Well Nomad, We do usually find ourselves in $H1T very often hahaha, and yeah the BFG's are working great even with my antics and locking up to scare those annoying knuckle head drivers they hold up extremely well.

 

[r3run33]

i love bfg also those other tires did not look good with all those chunks!!! with the heat you guys have over there I would be scared of getting a blow out from them. How are the spacers working and notice on turning radius or parking??? LOL I seen your pic from a parking garage so have you noticed anything with being able to get short turns into spaces?? Just considering the turns for parking?

 

[r3run33]

Forgot to ask this when you talked about the BARN doors; I had a loaner when I was in australia with barn doors and could not figure out why someone would want these besides the height thing with the lift gate. Why do you like them? From what I read is that toyota keeps them in production for the miners when they are under ground etc

 

[Desert Nomad]

i love bfg also those other tires did not look good with all those chunks!!! with the heat you guys have over there I would be scared of getting a blow out from them. How are the spacers working and notice on turning radius or parking??? LOL I seen your pic from a parking garage so have you noticed anything with being able to get short turns into spaces?? Just considering the turns for parking?

If the tires are kept in good order and inflated properly not likely they will blow. I've had a puncture at 160km/h on the highway once luckily the air didn't escape out all at once and I had enough time to cross over to the hard shoulder. With the spacers I haven't noticed an increase in the turning circle might be very slight. Navigates well through underground car parks

Forgot to ask this when you talked about the BARN doors; I had a loaner when I was in australia with barn doors and could not figure out why someone would want these besides the height thing with the lift gate. Why do you like them? From what I read is that toyota keeps them in production for the miners when they are under ground etc

The barn doors to me look nicer and will help with loading unloading equipment and dogs from the back as I end up scrambling over the tailgate.

 

[r3run33]

ah ok you can always let the dogs sit in the 2nd row lol

 

[r3run33]

then they can hang out the windows

 

[Desert Nomad]

ah ok you can always let the dogs sit in the 2nd row lol

Haha no can do with 4 dogs. 2nd row seats are folded up, actually bought the weather tech pet ramp to stop carrying the rottweilers one is 50kg the other is 60kg. The other two are mixed breeds who jump in on their own