NS in the sand

[Evan]

Hi everyone.

I have taken my NS offroad plenty of times now since I bought it in May, and have been really happy with its abilities in the rough stuff, however I am reluctant to take it onto the beach and sand.

As you cant turn off the traction control, I am worried about getting bogged.

Has anyone had problems on the sand dunes with their NS. I would really like to take it onto Stockton Beach over the holidays.

I had a Honda CRV before the NS and it was great on the sand.

Thanks

[Bungee]

I have had mine on stockton several times. Just switch off the DSC/ASC (switch on the LHS of the steering column) and you'll be right!

[drew4x4]

Hi Evan,

I'm hangin to put my NS on the sand in SA over the holiday so havent yet experimented with it, however I believe you can remove the ABS relay and this will disable the traction control. I hope the traction control system will compensate enough for wheel slipage on the sand so as not to have to resort to this.
Andrew

[Evan]

i did that recently and the ASC OFF light came on the dashboard, but the traction control was still working. Its kept stopping the car. Everytime I took off the traction light would come on and the lights on the dash that show the wheels were flashing. Thought it was strange..........

[BigRed]

Even,
I am asuming that your Paj does not have a diff lock (that dsengages everything)

I've had mine on sand and the traction control did a fair job.

[Kemsley]

My shorty loves sand. Let down the OE tyres and play. Turn off the TC if you think that you need to. Otherwise just floor it!!

[Evan]

Dont have a diff lock. I have tried flooring it and the TC kept slowing me down

[Rusty]

Hi Evan
Yes, turn off the ASC and yes, as I understand it, your ABS will still work, but you want it too. As one wheel slips on the sand the brakes will activate and make the other wheels turn more.
A word of warning though from one who has experienced it. If you turn your vehicle off, or put it into neutral or reverse, when you next engage go foward, your ASC will be on again, so you need to remember to turn it off.
We battled for a few hours through dry sand etc in the Wimmera until another member of the group read the book and we worked this way but the need to get the grey cells working each time we restarted the vehicle was a battle and often we would be travelling along wondering why it was not going so great until we remembered to turn the ASC off.

[drew4x4]

My shorty loves sand. Let down the OE tyres and play. Turn off the TC if you think that you need to. Otherwise just floor it!!

I would have to agree, tyre pressure on the sand makes a huge difference, not forgetting right foot attitude and momentum. In the past in a GU Patrol I would run about 14psi in soft sand and the thing was bullet proof. Less Psi will mean more traction and less need for the traction control to kick in.
Andrew

[CeeJay]

In my NS, 16psi, ASC off (and off again each time restarted etc as above), steady right boot and no dramas - you'll fly through.

[stevenbowden]

I too am a sand virgin and looking to lose it over the Xmas break

Is turning ASC off via the button the same as turning it off by going into 4L Lock Centre Diff?

[linou]

I too am a sand virgin and looking to lose it over the Xmas break

Is turning ASC off via the button the same as turning it off by going into 4L Lock Centre Diff?

ASC is off under both circumstances. When in 4 low lock ASC will not come on when vehicle is restarted or travelling 80kms or above, as happens when in 4 high.

The only thing I am not sure about is ABS calibration differences when in high or low range, as the Paj has multimode ABS.

For what its worth I have driven my Paj on Stockton without trouble and the beach was badly chopped up due to heavy traffic. I ran in 4 high lock with ASC off. :-)

[jmi]

ASC is NOT Traction Control it is Active Stability Control. The is a thread on here where it has been debated to death. This is all explained in the user manual i got with my NS, so it might be a good idea to have a read of yours before heading off road.

I have done heaps of sand driving in my NS (very soft as well) and this is what i do and have not had a problem yet:
1. Let tires down - 18 psi (maybe a little low for some, but thats what my stauns are set at)
2. High range 4wd (can used locked centre diff if really soft)
3. turn ASC off (button LH side of steering wheel, ASC off should come up on the dash) (yes traction control is still on)
4. 2nd gear aprox 2,000 rpm and you should be right.

This is what i do in the dunes near here and works great for me. Dont forget your air compressor. If you find you are getting stuck, drop your pressures a bit more, just drive to suit. I have found that if you leave for tyres up the ns does struggle a bit. It is a pain in the butt to have to pump them up again, but it is worth it 100%.

Anyway thats just what i do and i am sure that others will have different opions. But before you go pulling out relays etc... read the manual and understand what each function does and what you are disabling.

Thats my $1 worth.

Josh

[Pete & Mon's NS]

Just got back from doing the dunes in Robe and Beachport here in SA's southeast. Managed to hook up with some local guys in Jeeps (SWB) (Thanks Tony) and a legen in a Nissan Navara ute (Thanks Chris).

In some parts the sand was VERY VERY soft and I got bogged twice really badly. It doesn't help when the car steers itself into someone elses hole! No doubt Cam will post up the pics when he gets back. Anyway, I was running on 15psi on the standard 18" rims, but on local advice adfter getting bogged I had the tyres down to 10psi.

I was petrified about rolling the tyres off the rims, etc, but it worked. As long as the tyres were driving straight and not pushing sideways through sand it was all good. The locals said in some places you have no choice but to go down to 10psi if the tide is coming and you need to get out. Snatch was useless becuase the car in front would have got bogged it was that soft.

It was the only way I could get out. On the first occassion I fell into someone elses bog hole - past the sidesteps in sand and could only just open the door! Monika almost had a baby! After rocking back and forth for a few minutes and getting a good hard platform underneath the car, kicked in the rear locker and out she came!

As for the ASC, definitley turn it off. On a couple of dunes when we first started out the ASC was causing the car to stop going up when it sensed the slipping. Turned it off and flew theough (though not as much air as Cam got).

As for gearing, 4H or even locked centre.

And the golden rule - keep the momentum up. Once on the sand, don't stop for any reason just keep going. if you slow on a soft bit you may sink in.

Peter

[drew4x4]

Thanks for the trip report Peter, can't wait to get down there. Sounds like it's hard going in places but will make for and adventurous trip!

Cheers, Andrew