Driving a softroader in sand article

[Arctra]

Hi guys.

I've been in contact with an avid offroad softroader in South Africa that used to own a Tiguan but has since moved to a Freelander2. Anyway, he wrote an article of driving a softroader in sand on on dunes. He wrote the article after taking his 2001 Subaru Forester on a trek in the Namibian sand dunes, but what he learned is still applicable to Tiguans. Here is a scan of the last page of the article giving his learnings from the trip. Click the thumbnail image to get the full size scan (4MB) to print out:



(I got permission from the author to share the article BTW. If you want the whole article (4 pages) please PM me with your email address and I'll forward it to you)

[Transporter]

Thanks for sharing. It is a good read.

[jimbomort]

thanks Arctra, we are goign to Moreton Island in April, so a few hints there might prove useful

Its a shame about the front overhang on the Tig, wish they'd bought out one with a better approach angle like in other markets, or even just made the general version better, would give it more off road cred. I can see it being the most limiting issue with the Tig in some driving

The approach angle prove much of a hassle on your recent trip?

[Arctra]

The approach angle prove much of a hassle on your recent trip?

Not as much of an issue as I expected to be honest. Clearnace was the biggest issue IMO. I think what you have to realise is that the max approach angle is the angle compared to your Tig on the straight and level. As soon as you start going up a slope your Tig is at an angle, so you can go up a steeper slope than you might think. That is where the front overhang comes into play. The more overhang you have the more you will struggle attaching a steep slope.

Looking at the Tig's front overhang you can see it isn't too bad, although on the chinless wonder (below) it's much better.




I think I have to wait till I go to the dunes before I can say whether the approach angle is "bad" or not.

[team_v]

Not as much of an issue as I expected to be honest. Clearnace was the biggest issue IMO. I think what you have to realise is that the max approach angle is the angle compared to your Tig on the straight and level. As soon as you start going up a slope your Tig is at an angle, so you can go up a steeper slope than you might think. That is where the front overhang comes into play. The more overhang you have the more you will struggle attaching a steep slope.

Looking at the Tig's front overhang you can see it isn't too bad, although on the chinless wonder it's much better.

I think I have to wait till I go to the dunes before I can say whether the approach angle is "bad" or not.

The guys on vortex are working out a way to fit the off-road front end onto non-offroad tig's.
Hopefully they can come up with an easy solution as this seems to be the only limitation other than the lack of sump/underbody clearance which can be increased with lift-springs.


Hopefully they can come up with something where we have not, since they have a much larger aftermarket support network for the Tiguan.
I think the guys from ABD Racingworks are working on a safari mod and off-road front end.

http://forums.vwvortex.com/zerothread?id=4618298&page=2
Page 2

[donweather]

Here is a scan of the last page of the article giving his learnings from the trip.

Thanks Arctra. Please excuse my ignorance, but what does HDC stand for in that article?

[Transporter]

Thanks Arctra. Please excuse my ignorance, but what does HDC stand for in that article?

It's Hill Descent Control.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Hill_descent_control

[donweather]

It's Hill Descent Control.
http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_Hill_descent_control

Thanks Transporter

[jimbomort]

Not as much of an issue as I expected to be honest. ..........The more overhang you have the more you will struggle attaching a steep slope.

agree, noting coming down a steep slope (for eg to a creek crossing, ditch etc) will be more of an issue than going up. Thats where you tend to get 'pinches' (ie sudden transitions) in combination with the weight being hard on the front end as you enter that transition, whereas going up a slope weight is on the back. Quite different situations in terms of compression of the front suspension and the degree to which any contact is likely to cause a drama rather than simply 'scuff and go over'.

I can see it might be an issue in deep sand (as more of a plough front end than a 'boat') but yes I haven't tested it out either yet

[hippyhippy]

Im am very close to buying a Tiguan however I have a few concerns about its offroad performance.

According to the following article: 2008 Volkswagen Tiguan TDI offroad review | Car Advice | Reviews

The guys had some trouble with it off the beach. Now I plan to buy a SUV and take it to Stockton beach maybe 4 times a year or so. A friend of mine has previously had a previous model Sub Forrester (and now upgraded to a Prado), and even that was OK on the beach and never really had any problems, might have bogged a couple of times but we just went out of the car and dug up the sand and it was all ok. Weve even taken lesser cars theres including an older kia sportage(it was a heavy car), older suzuki vitara and that was ok even though clearance was a little issue. Basically I wouldnt be driving it all around Stockton, just get onto the beach and go straight to my fishing spot, no messing around in the dunes.

My main concern would be the under car protection which this article mentions, do you think thats a major issue? unfortunately we dont seem to have the "track" model that other countries have.

Also, does the offroad pack turn off the ESP that the article mentions? or is ESP always on?

Basically Im trying to choose between a current model forester and a tiguan. Everyone says the forester offroad ability is much better, but im not so sure and would like advice from people that have actually taken the tiguan offroad on the beach.

Thanks