Thread: Reckon I should have been able to get through and up this slippery bit of track?

Depending on the mud (not all mud is the same) tyre pressures can be counter intuitive.

Bottomless slop for instance - only chance (and its slim at best) is lots and lots of floatation, aggressive tread and use of right boot to keep tread clearing.

Hard base mud - higher pressures will often work better - cutting through the slop down to the harder surface below and providing traction.

In ruts, very aggressive side biters are very useful.

Originally Posted by DieselDan

"Was out in Anglesea Heath on Monday and most things there are pretty tame..."

Until it gets wet!!

Does get very boggy and slippery with the clay around there.
Is that the end of the Alcoa powerline track?

I know it's so nice and peaceful while it's dry but plenty of tricky stuff when it gets wet.

For the record I don't actually want to drive mud, I don't like getting crap in my vehicle I'd rather tour anyday but I love getting into the bush and up mountains etc. and just being in nice peaceful places like that...I don't mind tricky tracks too they're a bit of fun, not interested in killing my car for the sake of a bit of mud though, I'll just wait till it's a bit dryer

I think it was up that end of the Heath and quite possibly the Alcoa Powerline Track but I'm not sure, I know it was two parallel tracks on the way down from Shiny Eye Track (probably on Pipeline Track) and you could see the steep climb in the distance and then before the climb the two tracks merge into one. I think there was a car up the top of the steep bit who decided against coming down it too, smart.

Originally Posted by slug_burner

Two things that prevent you from proceeding, bellying out (diffs, body resting on the mud, etc) And lack of traction. Can’t do much about belling out other than bigger tyres and lifts. If Young Angus did not have the body or diffs come in contact with the ground then it comes down to traction. Air down, don’t worry about the pressure gauge just look at the tyre, let it develop a belly so that you get more tyre tread in contact with the ground. Skinny tyres get a bigger contact patch by having a long and skinny contact patch. Fat tyres have a bigger contact patch and it is believed that they don’t dig down as they float on top of the mud.

Momentum will help traction but you have to limit speed to stay in control.

Young Angus, did you stay in the ruts and belly out or did you try and straddle the ruts and did not have the traction to proceed?

Bit of both I think, I had to try to straddle some of the ruts but then had no choice but to come down into one of them and try to drive back up, and when that happened the car was really pushing down in one corner and it just found it hard to get enough grunt to get up out of the rut. Don't think I was bottoming out though, just started losing traction but also I didn't push it too hard because like I've said I am not a crazy tough track driver and I just like enjoying it...but that doesn't mean I won't use my recovery gear if I think it'll get through a tricky bit I just wanted to get up on top of that hill to see the view really! I even had my maxtraxs in the ruts to help with traction but the way the car was positioned seemed to push the ramps into the mud and I just wasn't positioned properly.

If I was there with other drivers it might have been a different story, really didn't want to break anything though so I was happy to retreat and have a cup of tea down the bottom instead of up top, although I'm sure it would have tasted better up top...

Note in posts above reference to the fact that in some conditions, narrower tyres are sometimes better that wide ones for getting through mud. eg Initially dig in a bit more and gain more traction lengthways than wider tyres. Sometimes can climb out of ruts better. Then it is often important not to break traction. Sometimes if suddenly find yourself in a sticky spot, if you stop, may be difficult or impossible to get moving again. There may be enough traction to continue pushing the vehicle forward at slow speed, but applying more power just spins wheels and results in getting stuck. Note how Series Landies with Rover motors gained a reputation for often getting through mud which stopped other 4WD's with drivers who realised this and also characteristics of these motors. It seems they will rev fast better than eg Holdens and the maximum torque figures are still at higher revs than some motors. However, the important thing is they often seem to keep pulling at low revs when most others will stall. ie The torque does not drop off as much as revs drop. So if you are still moving, sometimes the best way to keep going is just to let motor tick over Can often result in getting through - and also not ploughing up the track as much in the process.

Another point: If wide tyres were regarded as overall better than standard sizes ones by military users of Land Rovers, they obviously would have installed them. Can anyone point out instances where they have? Then remember that T model Fords can get along muddy tracks that would stop many modern vehicles. With tall narrow tyres, more ground clearance and motor without excessive power that if misused can break traction. Also, they are fairly light with a flimsy looking chassis that an owner of one once reckoned to me: "Try boring a hole in it with an ordinary drill." Made of high tensile steel which will flex and probably not crack or break easily.

Originally Posted by mox

Note in posts above reference to the fact that in some conditions, narrower tyres are sometimes better that wide ones for getting through mud. eg Initially dig in a bit more and gain more traction lengthways than wider tyres. Sometimes can climb out of ruts better. Then it is often important not to break traction. Sometimes if suddenly find yourself in a sticky spot, if you stop, may be difficult or impossible to get moving again. There may be enough traction to continue pushing the vehicle forward at slow speed, but applying more power just spins wheels and results in getting stuck. Note how Series Landies with Rover motors gained a reputation for often getting through mud which stopped other 4WD's with drivers who realised this and also characteristics of these motors. It seems they will rev fast better than eg Holdens and the maximum torque figures are still at higher revs than some motors. However, the important thing is they often seem to keep pulling at low revs when most others will stall. ie The torque does not drop off as much as revs drop. So if you are still moving, sometimes the best way to keep going is just to let motor tick over Can often result in getting through - and also not ploughing up the track as much in the process.

Another point: If wide tyres were regarded as overall better than standard sizes ones by military users of Land Rovers, they obviously would have installed them. Can anyone point out instances where they have? Then remember that T model Fords can get along muddy tracks that would stop many modern vehicles. With tall narrow tyres, more ground clearance and motor without excessive power that if misused can break traction. Also, they are fairly light with a flimsy looking chassis that an owner of one once reckoned to me: "Try boring a hole in it with an ordinary drill." Made of high tensile steel which will flex and probably not crack or break easily.

I seem to recall (through the mists of time) an old Landy advert that stated they were "geared to torque their way out of anything!"

Originally Posted by mox

Another point: If wide tyres were regarded as overall better than standard sizes ones by military users of Land Rovers, they obviously would have installed them. Can anyone point out instances where they have?

You will note the skinny tyred LandRovers have been replaced by wide tyred G Wagons. Technology and thinking evolves.




https://www1.defence.gov.au/project/g-wagon-fleet .

Originally Posted by Slunnie

You will note the skinny tyred LandRovers have been replaced by wide tyred G Wagons. Technology and thinking evolves.




https://www1.defence.gov.au/project/g-wagon-fleet .

Sadly the G-wagons are useless!!!
When they do their training out here (Cultana) the G-wagons are often stuck, broken or on their sides!

Originally Posted by Tombie

Sadly the G-wagons are useless!!!
When they do their training out here (Cultana) the G-wagons are often stuck, broken or on their sides!

Training game, they would be loving it!