Archive
My MM550, In its new Avatar happy with its new owner
Hey guys,
As many would know that the 1st off-road vehicle that I had bought and restored was a Mahindra & Mahindra MM550. Threads are all over this blog under the MM550 section.
Anyways the new owner that I sold the vehicle to, has done a complete restoration himself and practically rebuild the vehicle from all over again.
I recently received an email from him with pictures and a brief writeup on the work that he’s done on the vehicle. So the first thing that I thought was to share it with everyone.
Thanks a lot to the new owner for sharing these pictures and giving me permission to share it with the community.
Please click the link to continue reading
OTR on 1st January 2011
Continuing with the previous post here are the pictures of the 1st January 2010.
All the pictures are courtesy Harbeer Singh Chadha.
Same as always the meetup place was Signature Towers NH8. The meetup time was noon but by the time we guys left Signature Towers it was 15mins to 1PM. From here on I’ll let the pics do the talking
Following are the pics of Bobbie in is, well it used to be referred as the Black Mamba but after painting it yellow, I am not sure what to rename it…
Seen in the following pics Bobbie is eager to check the latest addition to his jeep, the 33” Yokohama MT’s followed by me in my CJ3B in 31” Maxxis Mudzillas being looked upon by eager villagers
Please click the following link for the rest of the post…
Big Boots for the small car…
I’ve been driving a stock CJ3B since the past 2 years. All this while on stock 6.00 X 16 Non Directional Mud & Snow tyres, more commonly known as NDMS Tyres.
Picture curtsy: Sukhpal Khlabanda
Recently I came to know that a friend of mine was disposing off a set of 4 tyres of his vehicle I decided to buy and try them out on my CJ3B.
please click for the full post
Slush Fest: NIOC OTR at DND 17th Nov 2010 – Part I
As the 17th of November 2010 was a holiday due to Id, so some of us from the NIOC gang thought lets get together and go for some off-roading. Having heard lots about the river bank around the DND Expressway (Delhi-Noida-Delhi Expressway) but never been at this track, this place was chosen for the the days excursion.
Being a holiday we guys took it easy and started the OTR around 11am ish.
Please click the following link to continue reading
4guna4 – The Man Made Trail
From the Nature Trail we made our way back to the Leisure Valley Grounds for the IInd part of the event. The Man Made Challenges.
This part consisted of several challenges like rock boulders, Inclines, mud pits, articulation challenge, etc.
Again as at the Nature Trail, the objective here too was simple
To complete the various challenges in the least possible time with the least amount of penalties. There were track marshals or officials posted at the start of the challenge and the end of the challenge and if the obstacle was long couple of marshals were in the middle of the challenge. The co-driver had the option of either sitting inside the vehicle or guide his driver from outside. However if the co-driver/ navigator decided to sit inside the vehicle, they were not allowed to exit the vehicle before the challenge was complete.
Our famous SLS (Sardar Laxman Singh) in his jeep.
As can be easily seen from the above set of pictures this challenge was not an easy one. This can further be seen from the attached video
In the following video it is Rahul Roy in his Force Gurkha at the articulation challenge and then at the log challenge.
In the following video its Ashish Bhatia in his trusted BUSHRANGER at the articulation challenge
The event was not fun and games for just the off-roaders. The kids and other participants were seen having a good time too. In the following picture while some can be seen talking serious business and other can be seen having a good time at the rope walk. Kids at the same time decided to have a good time of their own and decided to get the best seat in the house.
There was this one challenge, I think the camel’s back. While all other vehicles cleared it easily. This one vehicle a Suzuki Grand Vitara beached at the top of the obstacle. Being a novice I am not sure whether this was because of the low ground clearance as the vehicle was prepped up for Extreme Rallying. Here’s a picture
Here are some videos of a Gypsy at the Camels Back and the NISSAN PATROL at another
Then there was this one challenge ‘The ROCK or BOULDER SECTION’. On the face of it, the challenge looked really difficult. But if properly negotiated, it wasn’t as difficult at it was appearing in person
Then again doing the challenge, is one thing, but ROCKING THE ROCK CHALLENGE IS ANOTHER.
This is demonstrated by our own BOBBIE BHOGAL
Another obstacle, I am not sure of the exact name, there was this huge pit and the trick was to come nose down and then attempt to come out from the other side.
I am not able to explain it in detail. Let the following pictures and videos do the talking
The following pictures are of Rahul Roy in his Gurkha and Ashish Bhatia in his Bushranger
The difficulty of of the challenge is not as evident in the above pictures but the videos are more explanatory
Then comes our own Mr.Bobbie Bhogal, in his home grown, Mayapuri marka jeep. I am not sure what vehicle this is and called by many as a JUGAAD. But I’d say that if a JUGAAD can accomplish this and makes it seem as a cake walk, Ill settle for a JUGAAD anyday.
Jokes aside, I totally agree that its not just the vehicle but the person sitting behind the wheel that makes a difference.
Now there was this one particular obstacle that was initially scrapped due to the difficulty level. But the off-roaders are a different breed all-together. Give them a challenge and utter these magic words. THIS IS IMPOSSIBLE & CAN’T BE DONE, and watch the fun.
Then come BOBBIE in his mayapuri marka mix and match JUGAAD Jeep or I should say that by this time the nickname UNSTOPPABLE BHOGAL is more appropriate
well… just watch the video
But again Bobbie wasn’t the only one. In the following pictures and video Madan ji can be seen in his 4000cc 6 cylinder petrol powered NISSAN Jonga and he too does the obstacle with ease
The following are some pictures of Keshav Malik in his MM550
Siddharth Singh Rathore from Jaipur in is Diesel powered SWB Jeep CJ
And finally last but not the least, THE UNSTOPPABLE BHOGAL giving another try at the same obstacle but from a different approach and the results… well does he do it???
See the video
Some Random pictures from the event
Results & Prize Distribution
With the above picture the event came to a close and we decided to bid good byes to everyone and head home. I started to hunt for Ashish Bhatia, my co-driver so that we could move out. but in the meantime I get a call from Ashish himself.
He say “kahan par hai, jildi aajaa, near the podium”
Where are you, come fast near the podium..
Just wondering what the big issue was, I headed near the podium and Bhatia Saab had a big grin on his face and hugged me and said, “We came IInd in the extreme category”. I couldn’t believe my ears and was like “WHAT!!!” It can’t be, but it was true. Saw the results for myself
I was over joyed and simply spell bound. I had no words to express my excitement. But all in all, it was a wonderful event and I enjoyed it to the last moment.
So finally, I finish the photologue of the event with the following prize distribution pictures.
XTREME IInd Runner’s Up
Rahul Roy & Anu Roy
XTREME 1st Runner’s Up
Ashish Bhatia & Harjeev Chadha
XTREME 1ST
Bobbie The Unstoppable Bhogal & Shammi Chadha
SUV
1st Sunny Sidhu/ Rohit Micheal
2nd Gaurav Bharadwaj & Rishi Kapoor
3rd Harjeet Grewal & Harjot Singh
Final Parting Shots
Thanks and cheers
Harjeev Singh Chadha
Some OTR pictures on 11th September 2010
We guys at NIOC (Northern India Off-Road Club) went for an OTR (Off The Road) in the second week of September. I couldn’t manage to click many pictures but still some of them are as under
The re-grouping after crossing the Manesar Toll Plaza
On the left is Ashish Bhatia’s Bushranger and the green CJ3B on the right is Naveen’s
When jeepers regroup and pass time, what do they talk about….
4×4, off-road, SUV’s and the likes…
Bhatia Saab’s BUSHRANGER standing proud…
Naveen Sanders CJ3B and Randeep’s MM550 in the background
On the trail…..
Having fun in the mud, slush and the likes
Some pictures of The Zuk
There was a great video taken by Randeep Singh of the ZUK swimming out of the water. I will try to find the link and post it on the site.
Cheers for now
Harjeev
Guys I am not much of a writer and quite new at this so I will commit quite a number of mistakes, so please bear…
Went to recce to a new track
Some Videos of us guys at a recent reccee for a new track on July 17, 2010
Ashish Bhatia’s Bushranger!!
a really capable machine
Finally I’ll Leave you with some pics of the reccee!!!
Photos by Harjeev, Jul 20, 2010
Vodpod videos no longer available.
Ashish Bhatia’s BUSHRANGER
Some Videos of us guys at a recent reccee for a new track on July 17, 2010
Ashish Bhatia’s Bushranger!!
a really capable machine
All about Diff Ratios 4.27, 4.88, 5.38 etc etc etc
Hey all
This thing is quite confusing for me as well, so I thought that I might as well share some information that I am still trying to understand, for the benefit of all.
I would at present just tabulate the info as and when I get my hands on it and later on I might put it properly.
Most of the info is from teambhp and I would also be posting the relevant link along with the information I update
Also to note is that I would be changing, editing the info on this page from time to time. Therefore overtime the information on this page might change
The difs can be 5.38, 4.88, 4.22, etc
5.38 gives max torque and lower speed.
4.27 gives less torque and more speed comparatively.Now, your 4.88 is a perfect compromise for speed and torque. However, this suitable for the OE 215/75/15 tyres which are approx 29.5″ in diameter.
Thus, for every rotation of your tyre, your axle moves 4.88 times. Or you can say that your axle needs to rotate 4.88 times to move your tyre by one revolution.
Your 31″ tyres now will cover more ground per revolution. Thus you will get more on-road speed. But, when you come to off road terrain, you will loose power since they axle has to work more to rotate the tyre and also the 31″ tyre is very heavy.Thus, to come back to the same efficiency as the original 4.88, when you put 31″ tyres, you have to change your dif to 5.38.[/quote]
So as per the above I have checked my CJ3B and the diff ratio is 5.38 or 44:8
4.27 is 47/11 and 5.38 is 43/8.
MM540 came with 5.38:1. MM540 / MM550 with XD3P engine came with 4.88:1. Even today, Bolero SLX 4 wheel drive comes with 4.88:1 only.
Let Consider the total Toque Developed including the gearing at each wheel
For KMT-90-4WD & 4.27
(3.986 X 2.46 X 4.27 X 15.5kgm)/4 (no. of Wheels)= 162.2 Kgm per Wheel.
For KMT90-4WD & 5.38 = 204Kgm per Wheel.
The Advantage of 5.38:1 is
1) Better torque on the wheels
2) Better Crawl Speed (Slower the better)
3) compensates the Wheel Speed for taller Tyre (31″)
Hi Garrett,
New Tyre OD / Old Tyre OD X Diff-Ratio = Corrected Diff-Ratio
31/28(standard for JEEPs) X 4.88 (standard for XD3P) = 5.40:1
Any thing Lower you will Lower End grunt end and gain Top End speed.
Regards,
Arka
Status update on the MM550 (RANGER)
Status update on the MM550 (RANGER) Update as on 5th September 2009
Work on the vehicle is progressing at a slow pace. Basically the only work on the vehicle done up till now is that we have received the alternator back from the service centre after being serviced and it will be installed in a couple of days!!!
The self-starter motor was not serviced as that was local/ fake one and I decided to buy a new one instead of wasting money on the fake one.
Picture of the engine bay showing the change in direction of the air intake pipe
Starter as received from the service company
