Thread: D3 sand driving

Sand mode, DSC OFF, low tyre pressure. If I run around 12psi with the above I never get bogged on 255/55/19. If I have it was DSC turning itself back on after a restart and me forgetting. Dropping to 8psi and using traks has always saved the day. Immediately reinflate them back up after the recovery. I find 12-15psi has been fine. I've had a split sidewall with no tyre pressure and climbed a steep hill without it coming off the bead, so low pressure doesn't generally bother me on soft sand. Rocks is a different story.

Another couple of points,try not to use full throttle,it will override you turning the DSC off if the sand is bucking you around.Always use low range in the soft stuff even if it seems to go OK in Hi.
Andrew

Good advice from the others.

If you do get stuck,rock crawl is also very handy at times.

As is the long handled shovel.

It's usually tyre pressure that is the problem if they know how to use the terrain response properly. 25 or 30 is no good. You must be down around 18 or less.

If all else fails and the tyres are below 18 try rock crawl. That has got me out after I have got bogged with tyre pressures too high a few times when I'm only in sand for a quick run and am too lazy to let the tyres down. Every time I've thought I have been stuck in soft sand I've let the tyres down more and driven straight out. Never had to be snatched but I sometimes use Max Trax to help out.

As Andy said, always use low range to keep throttle input low. On steep sand hills such as Big Red or the dunes we have in WA, putting the car in third gear low range gives good power without too much throttle. If you try to kick it down a gear with the throttle you will sometimes use too much throttle and the TC may cut power.

I've rescued several D3's on beaches in WA. Every one had their tyre pressures way too high. Letting the tyres down properly has got them going and they have suddenly found that their car is great in sand. One guy told me his tyres were let down but kept getting bogged. I drove it and also got bogged so I checked the pressures. He had let them down to about 35. As soon as we got them to 18, no more worries and he could drive everywhere in the soft sand. He didn't think it would make any difference going lower than 35!

My son has rescued a few absolutely clueless D4 drivers. They drive onto a soft beach in road mode, high range, DSC on, road tyre pressures and immediately get stuck. Luckily he knows what to do, even though he drives a D1 TDI300, and gets them going again.

Originally Posted by Discofever

Hi all, what program are you using for soft sand / dunes? I see a lot of D3s getting bogged down in sand is this due to their weight, the dickhead policy or poor program selection?

Many thanks.

Sand mode, Low range, DSC off, DSC off, DSC off! Tyre pressure makes a huge difference and is always a trade off between the softness of the sand, wheel size, and distance you need to travel.
i just spent the last few days on the GOE Sand Mastery course. It was very informative and the excellent capabilities of these vehicle's TR system was demonstrated to the max. Knowing how to put all this together is the key to it all. Seeing a Range Rover (deliberately) buried past it's axles self recover without sand trax and only a minimal amount of digging was a brilliant!

Originally Posted by DiscoJeffster

Sand mode, DSC OFF, low tyre pressure. If I run around 12psi with the above I never get bogged on 255/55/19. If I have it was DSC turning itself back on after a restart and me forgetting. Dropping to 8psi and using traks has always saved the day. Immediately reinflate them back up after the recovery. I find 12-15psi has been fine. I've had a split sidewall with no tyre pressure and climbed a steep hill without it coming off the bead, so low pressure doesn't generally bother me on soft sand. Rocks is a different story.

Are you worried about the 19 inch rims slipping at 12?

Originally Posted by Discofever

Are you worried about the 19 inch rims slipping at 12?

I'm not no. As mentioned, if I can successfully keep it on the rim with no pressure, I'm pretty confident. I guess it's fair to say I run from 15 standard to 12 for really soft stuff (Ningaloo WA beaches for example), and 8 for recovery. I really play it by ear but always max 15 to avoid issue. Every time I've been higher I've had the hassle of being bogged, and I'm lazy

Remember.
DSC re-sets with every start up and every Terrain Response change to setting selected.So the golden rule is make sure the DSC is off every time you go to move.Its a show stopper.
Andrew