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

Hard to say from a distance, but once tyres are coated in mud you ain't goin' nowhere! I had a similar experience in a pine plantation where I had to drive up a gently sloping but wet and slippery track (not even badly rutted). Now this was in a Rangie LSE with front and rear diff locks, but with normal 16" wheels and AT tyres which had reliably taken me wherever I had wanted to go. But once the mud stuck on the tyres, there was no way I was driving up. I could have persevered, dropped tyre pressures, winched etc., but it just wasn't that important and there was another track anyway.
Sometimes it is surprising what you can drive through. And it can be just as surprising what stops you. There have been any number of occasions when I thought I wouldn't make it all the way through this, but the car just kept plowing through. And many other occasions where a seemingly straightforward section of track has become virtually impassable.

Originally Posted by Young Angus

Was out in Anglesea Heath on Monday and most things there are pretty tame, but then came across this steep section which I was excited about and half way up there was a really wet sticky slippery squishy boggy bit that lots of other cars (with much bigger tyres I'm sure) had made a mess of. Now I gave it a red hot go, had my tyres aired down to about 25psi, got all 4 recovery ramps out and put them in some of the slippery ruts to try and get over them and even had the shovel out flattening bits out so I wouldn't get hung up and tidying up before I tried...but I just couldn't get through. It was steep going up and was very slippery, plus my tyres are only 30.5" even though they are good muddies (albeit probably older harder rubber now half worn down). Alas, I didn't get past it, I was pretty deep in some ruts for a lot of it and the ramps were getting buried and nothing to winch off so I decided to just retreat in reverse down the hill.

My disco usually gets through most stuff, this was just a little harder than usual and the mud was really soft and the ruts were deep...just wondering if you reckon this was indeed a very hard bit or if a nice modestly kitted out Tdi like mine (rear diff lock engaged) should have been able to nail it! I wasn't getting that much wheel spin which might have been the problem, no mud was getting cleared...hmmm

I am definitely going back for another go don't worry

IMG_7931.jpg

Pictures are always hard to get context from on that sort of terrain unfortunately. From the limited view I can see some lines that I would consider viable to get my D1 300tdi up.

You say 25 psi in your muddies? I would have been below 20psi with mine at that point. Probably around 18psi, though all depends on how heavy you are running on the day. If there are climb with rock of clay I tend to always run a bit lower. Besides, it's more comfortable! Haha

I rarely run more than 22psi in any low-range off-road. I can't be bothered getting out and airing down more if I can't get though something.

Clay is a bugger though and depending on the condition it can be very difficult. I have been found wanting of torque/power on occasion going up a crappy clay hill in the 300tdi. Not too often though. Sometimes you just needs those wheels spinning and a bit of momentum, within reason...

There is an infamous clay hill in Harvey, WA that my 300tdi has never reached the top of outside of the height of summer when it was bone dry. Not that I haven't tried really hard! Hahaha

Sometimes muddys are just not enough. This is what I run.

100%! What most consider muddies these days tend to be barely more than very aggressive ATs.

I am building my play D1 back up slowly and surely, part of the decision point is what "proper" muddie do I choose? Luckily it won't be a daily, so it makes the decision a bit more fun... Hahaha

Originally Posted by libertyts

100%! What most consider muddies these days tend to be barely more than very aggressive ATs.

I am building my play D1 back up slowly and surely, part of the decision point is what "proper" muddie do I choose? Luckily it won't be a daily, so it makes the decision a bit more fun... Hahaha

That is a bit more fun! I've got Goodyear MTR/Kevlars on it which are great and pretty good mud tyres but they're not super muddy track eaters or anything...maybe I need some Claws on it or Simex tyres haha (probably not)...the MTR/Kevlars seem great so far, at the size I run though they're not really a proper big muddie or anything...if I had 35" tyres on there it'd be a different story

...and that different story would probably consist of a broken CV joint or axle or some other bit on the car as well as getting 350km from a full tank of diesel!

Hahaha. They are great options. Not so great if you daily it! Hahaha

Yeah, 35's on a D1 is quite a bit of work in the end. I'm still considering it, but it depends on how much trouble I'm willing to get into with the missus!

You're halfway there with a maxidrive in the rear, will just need to swap the crown out for the correct ratio.

Done right, you can still get a good amount out of that fuel tank. Just costs money to get there.

The MTR/Kevlars are a great tyre, I really rate them highly.

I think that particular bit, well, there are limits on everything on a given day but you've got a great tyre, super strong carcass and its very very streetable.

The MTR however you can run some pretty low pressures in them as long as the rim retains the bead. With my MTR/Kevlar I run under 12psi on the sand and in the rocks somewhere around 14/16. Don't go down to sand pressures in the mud because the ruts will all mud into the bead and the tyres will leak, but suspect you could run down at 16psi without any problems if the rim retains the bead.

I just can't understand all this talk about tyre size, tread pattern and spinning wheels.

I have only ever run standard size tyres on my Discos and Defenders, usually in AT tread pattern (have never used/needed 'muddies') and I find this is sufficient for 99% of my travels. If I come across mud, clay or snow that I find inhibits forward motion and winching is not possible, I slip on my mud and snow chains and idle on through with minimal damage to the terrain and very little probability of breaking something like a CV, axle or diff.

I demonstrated this at a LROC event in 2000 when they had set up a 'challenging' course in the overflow area of a farm dam, I idled through with no more that half a rotation of wheel spin, all recorded on video. I must admit, the scrutineers were a little surprised when I approached the start line with the chains on the front wheels but there was nothing in the rules to say that they were not allowed.