4

I'm particularly referring to this video at minute 2:08. The author of the video claims that the other guy descending a challenging mountain pass (1) doesn't look too experienced, (2) may not be in the right gear, (3) undergoes "lots of axle articulation", and (4) is messing up the stones on the track.

Can any experienced off-roader here confirm any these claims or is the guy just spewing disparaging comments?

PS: To me, the guy going downhill seems to do all the right things, but now I'm doubting if I missed some subtleties.

Improve this question
1
  • 4 does sound petty on watching the video. Loose stones are loose stones and they'll move under load.
    – Separatrix
    Commented Jan 19, 2022 at 9:03

1 Answer 1

Reset to default
8

I have about 40 years of driving on roads like this and worse in all manner of vehicles and weather conditions.

  1. The driver shows his experience by his chill attitude. On the other hand, all the sniveling, fussing, and worrying from the narrator reveals his rookie level credentials.

  2. The driver is probably in the right gear because I don't see much herky-jerky brake use as evidenced by his speed which is fairly constant.

  3. Picking the ideal trajectory requires moving the steering wheel. The suggestion that steering is a rookie move is nonsense.

  4. If there was a big stone in the middle of the road that threatened an axle differential, then I might consider moving it, but the narrator's suggestion that the driver displaced the rocks is baseless. Like @Separatrix said, the loose rocks are always getting moved around. The only thing that counts is that you can get over the rocks without damaging the undercarriage.

One other point about the narrator's perspective was his concern that the driver might hit him, but from the cameras view, there was roughly 10 feet of separation.

Improve this answer
3
  • It sounded like he was in a low gear on a high/standard ratio. Perhaps that vehicle doesn't have a low ratio box but he certainly wasn't in a high gear. It's a fairly chunky diesel engine and sounded like it was in a good rev range, a little above idle, which matches that speed.
    – Separatrix
    Commented Jan 20, 2022 at 10:05
  • @Separatrix Justut of curiosity: What is a high/standard ratio? Is that something one can control? (I thought the only things one could control are L4, H4, H2 + the gear 1 though 5).
    – Tfovid
    Commented Jan 22, 2022 at 0:03
  • @Tfovid, in your case they've merged some of the controls. L4 will be low range four wheel drive, H4 high range four wheel drive, and H2 high range two wheel drive which should be the normal driving setting.
    – Separatrix
    Commented Jan 22, 2022 at 9:38

Your Answer

By clicking “Post Your Answer”, you agree to our terms of service and acknowledge you have read our privacy policy.

Not the answer you're looking for? Browse other questions tagged or ask your own question.