Meryla Mud Hole

Rally

Rally

Forum Member
Joined
Jul 11, 2008
Messages
3,928
Location
Sydney
Car Year
1999
Car Model
WRX
Transmission
6 Speed
This mud hole is like an oversized bath tub. You drop into it, with steep sides all round. Unsighted there is a submerged obstacle. I was slowly going through the mud hole when I first hit the obstacle. On the first occasion I hit it, I could hear the contact inside the car, but the microphone doesn’t. Reversing back the towbar hits the side of the “bathtub” and stops. The height of the left wall, which I cannot see, is the highest and no good going there. With a bit more momentum I try going straight ahead, and I hit the object again, stopping the car instantly and making the noise the microphone picks up on this occasion. This is at the 48 second mark. I then reverse back, manoeuvring the car to the lowest part of the wall and drive out. Those who were there obviously have a better understanding of the conditions than the video can show. Their response is worth noting. I was not stuck, I was not towed out, dug out or pushed out. It may as well have been a tree in my way, it stopped the car just as effectively.

[ame="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=pjlYpW2muF4"]Meryla State Forest August 2018 - YouTube[/ame]
 
[ame="https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=IHJvzYHfwtc"]Meryla State Forest Australia Day Long Weekend 2018 - YouTube[/ame]
 
Nice one Rally!

Some nasty mud holes in that second video!

And that first video, it didn’t look at all like you were stuck and in need of a snatch/recovery.

Thanks for sharing.

Cheers

Bennie
 
There is no argument that your locker is magic. It allowed you to drive through mud on road tyres where other vehicles without a locker needed AT tyres. I would love to see you do the same mud hole with the locker off.

I think everyone is entitled to run whatever tyres they like. I became convinced that specialist tyres were a better option many years ago when I first started doing motorkhanas. In those days we did them on dirt and I was driving a heavily modified rear engine Renault Gordini with swing axles. On wet dirt, using Michelin ZX road tyres I couldn't get enough traction to drive and turning at any pace sent me across the paddock doing 360s.

I got a free set of 3/4 worn retreads and hand cut them into a block pattern like today's mud tyres and doing a reverse flick I could actually lift the front wheels off the ground to the extent that I started carrying a bag of cement in the front to keep it down. The extra grip on wet dirt was unbelievable.

The other point is that a set of AT tyres costs the same or less than a set of good roadies but a locker would leave me without food for 6 months. If a locker was a sensibly priced option I'd have one. No question.
 
I agree with pretty much everything thing you said. Coming myself from a motorsport background (Rallying at state, national and international level, club level motorkhana) there is no doubt tyre performance is critical for quick times.

Your first 2 sentences are the whole point of my argument. More than that, it proves that false comments about my car’s capabilities and the work we have done to be able to do this are just that. False. I value my own integrity and that of the work we have done. The attacks against both are unfounded and based on untruths. Let’s hope that we have heard the last of them.
 
Considering you were on road tyres that was well done. I was mistaken, I thought you'd gotten stuck there.

There was another video I'd be interested in seeing, where the 4wd got stuck
 
[MENTION=15642]Beachworm[/MENTION]. The second video was done while we sorting the rear locker. It was not working at at that stage, so it was an open rear diff. However, I would not have got out of the mud hole in the first video without the locker, irrespective I suspect of what tyre I had on. That’s because I had to get up diagonally
 
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people should do more videos of how they drive how car was performing and similar and explaining more whats what. i like do those kind videos a lot and with that im learning myself still from car.
 
Great off road driving skills Rally. You and your car seem to be at one.
 
Thanks Temmah, I love driving that car. I’m seriously considering keeping it now. While the ute is a comfortable cruiser with lots of space, it just isn’t fun to drive. So maybe I’ll keep it. I don’t know. The market for supremely competent off road Subarus which are fun to drive on road is very small, and I won’t give it away.
 
See. shoulda got an iveco daily 4X4, then you could carry the Foz on a trailer to the fun bits. :)
 
Forrie is just as much fun on road as off
 
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