Thread: Driving uphill on slicks

Ultimately regardless of any traction aid (difflocks) if your tyres can't transfer torque to the road surface you have no hope.

Tread pattern and tyre pressures are significant.... then momentum.

Some times oscillating the steering left to right enables the edge of the tyres to grab.... also a lowered tyre will put more tyre on the track.

Give it a bit of stick- that usually throws off the gunk, hopefully you keep forward motion at the same time. Best to do it b4 you really need to.
Sometimes I have to dis-engage my front diff lock so I can keep up with others who dont have them, but similar tyres. The reason is as above, with all four wheels getting traction, I go slower because the clay builds up on the treads.
Cheers
David

Contrary to popular belief, Goodyear MTR's are NOT generally good in mud. They have very little self-cleaning ability compared to more open-block designs. If someone sold the MTR's to you based on their mud performance, you now know that they know nothing about mud driving. All magazine comparo's rate them as very average in the slippery stuff.

They ARE, however, good on rocks - if aired down to a decent pressure.

MTRs are actually pretty good in mud... They're just not as good as a dedicated mud tyre, like a Simex. However... The Simex is ****e on road where as the MTRs are very good on the black stuff.

It's all about compromise.

Anyway... Back to the subject in hand.

The conditions you describe: Slightly damp grass on damp clay with an up-hill slope is probably one of the worst conditions to try & get through... It's like skating on ice!!! To dive it, you need momentum & plenty of right foot & just hope you can get enough traction.

Ultimately, your best type of tyre would probably be a very narrow one with an aggressive stud like pattern so it can dig in.

HTH

M

In these circumstances, there are a couple of golden rules.
1 try to avoid anywhere where the grass has been broken through to the clay.ie if someone else has been there avoid their wheel tracks
2 Avoid wheelspin like the plague by using momentum and a very light throttle,ie try not to break the skin.
3 if you start to wheelspin you aint going anywhere so immediately stop, back down , clean the treads and try a different line. Its only if there is only a wet crust that trying to dig down will work. If it is thoroughkly wet you do not have a chance.
4 If climbing a hill avoid the ruts as that is where it is wettest and slipperiest.
5This is where traction control is the ducks guts because it stops wheelspin and tread clogging.
regards Philip a

Know how you feel mate, i remember a trip through Jenolan Caves last year with OI, Henry, Myself and Scouse and we had similar fun. Matt

Did you let your tyres down.
If you let your tyres down this will help them to throw the mud out and gives a bigger tyre imprint on the ground for better traction.
Let them down to 20 - 25 psi.

I dunno about letting tyres down.
I was on a trip into the Hampton state Forest, near where Gascoigne was.
It was so slippery that a 38a couldn't start because its traction control braked everything.
A couple of the guys let their tyres down. The only difference I could see is that they bellied out on a downhill section just before the track became the 12 foot track. We had to push them downhill!!!
I suppose that the increased flex of the tyre would tend to throw out more dirt, but also the ground pressure per sq inch would be lowered , thus making the tread sit on top rather than biting.
On balance on that type of ground I saw no advantage, but it could be different somewhere else.
By the way Gascoigne. Yes lock the rear diff before trying the hill.
regards Philip A