Recent content by casioqv

One correction to the above: I was reading "VWSelf-study Programme 469" and it seems that while the transfer case of the 958 and Touareg T3 can't transfer 100% of torque front/rear by itself, it actually can when working together with the EDL traction control system. So overall, these vehicles...

I haven't seen it, I'll take a look. '944rallye' on Instagram has a lifted offroad Boxster, and mentions that it does surprisingly well on loose surfaces/sand without AWD.

Yep, it's just annoying. I've never tried joining a club, but get a lot of uninvited and unwanted "advice" from strangers about my Touareg diesel, telling me I shouldn't be out on trails with it. Ultimately, it seems that some people are angered by the idea that a vehicle that doesn't look the...

I wonder how these actually do off-road...I spent all last week off-roading in and around JT and didn't actually see any of these out there, even though this charging station was full of them. I feel like there's a lot of potential for EVs off-road but in YouTube videos it seems they haven't...

Did you end up finding any ULSD on the east coast of Baja along BC5 or along BC1 between El Rosario and El Rosarito? Thinking about towing a sailboat down to sail on the Sea of Cortez with my diesel Touareg, but wondering if there's much chance of finding a put-in where I can refuel the tow vehicle.

Really cool build! I think a lightweight convertible sports car can make a very capable offroad vehicle- the low weight and low center of gravity are really helpful. I keep thinking about doing something similar to my Boxster.

I'm skeptical you're getting anything close to that in any vehicle in remote places that presumably involve a lot of creeping slowly in low range over rough terrain. To me that's where a modern diesel really shines- I never average under ~10mpg in my diesel VW Touareg even on the roughest...

I was recently in the Yucatan Peninsula area of Mexico, and saw modern diesels everywhere- much much more than in the USA. Lots of cool European 4x4s we don't get in the USA like the VW Amarok 3.0 TDI. I wonder/suspect this means ULSD is becoming common in Latin America, and may not be the issue...

Warning: math! Some calculations to compare a traditional 4x4 diesel SUV with the modern Cayenne Diesel- to see how the lack of low range and locking center diff impacts the ability to provide forward motive force to individual wheels with traction. C223T powered Diesel 1986 Isuzu Trooper has...

Not sure, we didn't end up going to the southwestern corner of the park at all. We mostly did the easternmost 50% of the adventure route and the (very easy) northwestern corner, with lots of exploring around the old dale mining district. I'd like to go back and try the rest at some point. I...

That is totally absurd- basically outdated assumptions based on the limitations of old vehicle technology. A more modern way of looking at this would be something like how much static torque from a standstill can the drivetrain apply to each individual wheel under various loss of traction...

We had a great family spring break trip around Joshua Tree National Park along the OTG Joshua Tree Adventure Route- and explored a lot of abandoned mines. We were remote enough that we saw no other vehicles once a few miles from the paved roads. At one point we overturned a rock in a wash and...

Interesting... by this strict definition a lot of light duty cars nobody think of a 4x4s would count as four wheel drive here, and a lot of purpose built 4x4s would not! My wife's Nissan Rogue checks all of the boxes just barely: 8.2 inches ground clearance, a button that locks the center diff...

I also ended up adding this Kremersino kit from Alibaba, which I really can barely believe actually exists- that adds full Apple Carplay support for the ancient NAV system in this old Touareg, by intercepting the screen and button controls, and sending them to a small solid state linux computer...

I forgot to do this update: a year ago in last November, the TDI suddenly started making a clicking noise from the engine. It had just a few weeks left of the dieselgate warranty, so I flat towed it to the dealership. I suspected just a plastic timing chain tensioner- a cheap and easy fix, but...