White Sands & sand storm

Today at 2 am in the night i set off to my first longer trip with a new Land Cruiser FZJ76. I was planning to visit some dunes located in the central part of Oman, and away from from capital town around 500 km.

I wanted to check a few things. First of all the long and lonely driving in the night on the black top roads and finally check the car in the soft sands. Now the weather conditions are very bad on this kind of adventures. There is a high temperature and sand is very soft. So i thought if the new Land Cruiser 76 will be doing in such conditions, can cope in any others. I was curious my feelings with the new model in the desert conditions as well after years experience with Land Cruiser 100.

In the night i just grabbed my basic stuff and moved quickly from Muscat. On the petrol station i refiled 100 litters of petrol to the tank, and additional 20 litres to the jerry can. Fuel consumption also was in my interests. The first 250 km i was driving constantly between 90-120 km and noticed that it is optimal speed on the long stages of the asphalts. Above this speed the level of noise inside of the car was to high. After 200 km i pulled over on the service stations and refuel tank again. The final result was not bad. Fuel consumption is around 15-16 litres per 100 km. a bit better then a Land Cruiser 100 with the same engine.

 

Quick coffee after sunrise somewhere on the desert near the main road and i moved quickly between the sand dunes. The first bigger sands i have been reached around 9 am. The sun operated a bit strong. After first 15 minutes on the sands i could noticed that the weight of the J76 is smaller then J100 and the new J76 drives smoothly even without low range, on the smaller and not very high dunes. Around 11 am the sun and the wind operated perceptibly stronger. 

The sand changed and was a bit softer. I moved between some concentration of the medium size sand heaps and i felt that the car got bogged into the sand sometimes. I reduced the pressure in the tires to 20 psi and tried continue driving. I really wanted to reach the beach and the ocean. I was less then 5 km from the shoreline. Surprisingly deflated tires did not improved my driving and i stuck in the sand. The first time.  Again i reduced the pressure in the tires to 12 psi. Car moved surely but i did not feel any particular improvement. Bridgestone Dueler AT 275/70/16, however good tire on the hard desert surface are not great sand tires. I reached the sea without any bigger adventures. Around 12 noon the temperature across 42 C' and i back between the dunes. I found small rock and the tree and stopped there for a short nap and snacks.    

After an hour refreshed i set off to the way back to Muscat. The first test on the sand desert convinced me that the new DiscoverOman.eu car has many of opportunities and i need a time to switch from the serie 100.  The driving and the feelings in that legendary model 70 are much different then i had been experienced with FZJ100

During the way back temperature soared to 52C' and the wind blew much stronger. Somewhere in the middle of my way back i had to drive much more carefully because suddenly sand storm arose. Thats why we organising our expeditions to the serous places like Al Huqf or Empty Quarter in the autumn and the spring. No one feel pleasure being on the desert when is 52C'. Even local bedouins.

 

 

Jerzy Wierzbicki 

Team DiscoverOman

New DiscoverOman Car: Land Cruiser FZJ76. The first impressions.

Since last week i am using a last version of J76 model with six cylinder petrol engine 4.5L (1FZ-FE). After four years intensive use a big models of Land Cruiser HZJ80, and two FZJ100 it is time to switch on the smaller but heavy duty version like FZj76L. This particular model from the 70-series lineup is most rarely occurs on the streets in Oman. The most popular version is J79 pick up. FZJ76L on the Middle East market characterised by few significant difference then the models from the other part of the world. 

First of all the standard fuel tank contains around 120 L of petrol and the car is not equipped in the sub-tank  like series J80, J90 and J100. Standard tires are 215/85/16 Michelin LTX but my car has Brigestone Dueler AT 275/70/16. Interior is very simple and there is one AC only, radio and cassette player, electrical windows and mirrors and … nothing more :)

Transmission is classic as well. Part Time 4WD and manual gearbox (H151F). Level of noise inside the car is dramatically bigger then i had experienced in series 100, even in the simple version. Comfort during the driving on the road is also worst then in the biggest model.

FZJ76 is much lighter then FZJ100 so car is perceptibly faster and more dynamic then the previous one. The thing i may  concern during the on roaring is stability on the traverse. J80 and J100 gave me much more comfort then J76.

Today I set off in to the wide stony valley located just 25 km from Muscat to test the car on the stony tracks and water pools. I was not confused after first few kilometres on the stony track. Off-road performance of the car was amazing. I have not experienced any problems during the wadi bashing in the water or climbing on the small rocky hills. The biggest test in the sandy desert in the next week :)      

 

 

 

Jerzy Wierzbicki

Land Cruiser 79 Double Cab in Oman

In 2012 Toyota introduced another model in the 70-series lineup. J79 pick up with double cab. Yesterday i saw two Land Cruiser J79 parked side by side. An old type FZJ79 with single cab and new one GRJ79 with double cabin.



The new model is equipped in 4.0 V6 petrol engine. The same one that is installed in Land Cruiser 120/150 and FJ, manual gearbox and typical tires for the Middle East market Dunlop 225/95/16. Below some quick shots of the cars taken on the street in Muscat.

Bad Kissingen 2013

We are preparing for the next, autumn expedition to the Sultanate of Oman. During the last weekend I visited the biggest trade of vehicles and off-road equipment in Bad Kissingen, Germany. Note that outside of Europe are still places where you do not have to worry about the fuel consumption for these an impressive vehicles. Think differently. Think - Oman.

Full gallery: Bad Kissngen 2013 gallery

Paweł Jagodziński
Team Discover Oman