Want to get in on the 4×4 action? Here are a few expert tips
Martin Groenewald, organiser of several 4x4 events in the city, shares a few tips on what beginner drivers should know.
POLOKWANE – A number of 4×4 enthusiasts came together at the 4×4 track in Polokwane at the weekend.
Competetors showed their mettle on a challenging track that included muddy ditches and tough slopes.
Martin Groenewald, organiser of the event, shared a few tips on what beginner drivers may not know.
These include:
1. On a steep terrain, the control afforded by low range and manual transmission is hard to beat. But other than devilishly steep hills, an automatic transmission is better for the beginner. This is because the beginner in a manual transmission will get distracted with shifting gears, causing them to lose momentum, and get bogged.
2. Magazines that focus on 4x4s are littered with examples of wheels up in the air and tyres spinning and to the uninitiated driver, it all looks cool. But experienced drivers will know they’re actually looking at a driver that has fluffed it. Wheels up means no traction, and the wrong line. Try and keep your tyres on terrain where possible. And if you do start spinning your wheels in soft terrain like sand and mud, stop immediately.
3. It’s hardly the sexiest accessory, but it is probably the most used and cheapest that you’ll buy. “The shovel has many and varied uses from digging sand out from under your bogged vehicle, to throwing coals on the top of your camp oven for roasting. You will also need it when you need to use the bathroom, and the bathroom is behind a bush,” Groenewald said.
Groenewald invites young and old to visit the track.
See the results from the weekend in Review Weekend
