![]() Generally, you’ll want to maintain slightly higher revs to keep those wheels turning in a manual vehicle. With an automatic 4X4, this is as easy as pressing down on the accelerator, but for a manual it requires regular stirring of the gearbox, and a constant eye on your vehicle revs. Maintaining momentum is all about correct gear selection. It’s good practice to park on downhill slopes to give your 4X4 less of a chance of bogging. ![]() So, the key is to keep your momentum up, and stop only when it’s safe to do so. Sand naturally saps the power of your vehicle, and without power you can lose momentum and get bogged. For that you need a good driving technique. While correct tyre pressures are great, they’re not a cure-all for sand. Low pressures and high speeds are a dangerous concoction, and can lead to tyre blowouts and vehicle rollovers. I’ve lost count of how many tyres I’ve seen pop off their rims from sand-spraying magazine photo shoots…Īnd when the ground gets firm again, don’t forget to reinflate your tyres immediately. Hence, any cornering needs to be done with absolute caution, not only to keep your vehicle upright, but to keep your tyres on their rims. It’s important to note that whenever you lower your tyre pressure, your 4X4’s handling ability will be adversely affected. I’d go as low as 8psi without beadlocks, or even down to 5psi with beadlocks (devices that ‘lock’ the tyre’s bead onto the rim). If you are badly bogged – or you have found some incredibly soft powdery sand – lower your tyre pressure until you get traction. As with all rules, though, it’s made to be broken. However, this can be altered by around 20% depending on how heavily (or lightly) your vehicle is laden. The accepted normal tyre pressures on sand are 16 to 18psi. However, sidewall bagging is an unreliable indicator – the only reliable way of knowing is with a well-calibrated tyre pressure gauge. There’s a common misconception that if the tyres visibly ‘bag out’ in the sidewalls, you’ve lowered your pressures sufficiently. This increases the length of the tread pattern on your tyre, dispersing its weight over a larger area. We stop that sinking or bogging sensation by lowering the tyre pressure. So when you plonk a two-tonne four-wheel drive on it, it has the tendency to want to sink. Unless you’re driving on wet sand after the run-out tide, or indeed after heavy rain, sand is soft. So why do we do it? Because it’s fun, it takes you to awesome places, and there’s nothing quite like the feeling of cruising up a beach with your windows down and the wind in your hair. You can roll your vehicle sideways on a dune (it has happened – repeatedly) or you can get stuck in quicksand (it’s not just reserved for kids’ books). Your car can float away with the tide (not kidding, mine did). Sand is the one place where if you get it wrong, you can get it badly wrong.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
AuthorWrite something about yourself. No need to be fancy, just an overview. ArchivesCategories |