Tierkloof 4x4

The 4x4 route is a pretty decent test and situated in a nice location with good scenery (despite the recent fires in the area). We left home reasonably early to beat the large group due to start at 9am.

Peter and I went along with a friend of mine, Ross with his trusty Nissan Patrol. The Gs managed comfortably along the highway at 100-110km/h with the Patrol leading the convoy.

We arrived and deflated our tires to about 1.3bar and set off. The first part of the trail is some rocky steep ascents testing articulation and low range with the rear lockers making light work of anything that the trail threw at us.






We stopped at the top of the ascent to have lunch and let the larger group catch up. On the descent Peter and I tested the 1st gear low range engine breaking. Peter's G managed to hold steady at about 2.5km/h at about 1000rpm. Mine was a bit faster at about 5km/h at 1000rpm which meant I needed to feather the breaks a bit more.



After the rocky stuff was done we approached the normally aspirated diesel G's Achilles heel, thick hot sand. After a bit of playing around I managed to get through the sandy section while Ross' Patrol went through no problem sucking up small children and animals through the snorkel in the process. POWER!!!


It was interesting to see the more powerful Defender 90's and Discovery 2's struggling along the way. I suppose there is no substitute for real lockers!

Peter's G was by far the star of the day going through every obstacle without breaking a sweat. It's amazing to see what can be achieved with only 65kWs of quivering passion under the bonnet! He even gave the klipspringers we saw a run for thier money!

Pics courtesy of Peter.