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Tue Jul 12, 2005 12:20 pm

Much to my surprise my manx clone got stuck in the deep soft sand the other day. I use it on the street alot so paddle tires are not an option. The rear really dug in. I was wondering if a limited slip diff would help. Are they available, would it do the trick, etc. 64 pan swing axle and link pin, almost stock 1600DP.
Thanks,
PaulO

Tue Jul 12, 2005 12:56 pm

cutting breaks...You can use them to manually lock one side or the other. They come in single or dual handled and mount near the e brake.

Tue Jul 12, 2005 4:16 pm

I would say built the stock motor to something bigger and faster.
by having powrful motor you can spin the rear tires in the soft area.

also even runinng the truck tires make sure deflate them so better grip in
the soft sand terrain.

LSD is nice but will burn your pocket off with $$$.

Good Luck

Tue Jul 12, 2005 4:52 pm

Nobody mentioned driving school. just kidding.

Tue Jul 12, 2005 5:11 pm

baja5 wrote: Nobody mentioned driving school. just kidding.

LOL baja5 it make sense, hey PaulO how long have you been driving the offroad? any desert dune in New York...?

Tue Jul 12, 2005 9:17 pm

Actually, getting stuck in sand isn't all that uncommon.But with a manx car i would think that just having a decent tire in the rear and running the air pressure low would suffice.Having plenty of power is always good also but with the weight you have a stock dual port 1600 should do the job.

Wed Jul 13, 2005 6:47 am

Not much driving experience in the deep sand. Went to a local beach and down a trail toward the water. Ran into many vehicles stopped and had no choice but to stop myself. Couldn't get going again without unloading, jacking, pushing. Plenty of power to spin tires and shoot sand everywhere. Where I go, I need to be able to stop and start in the deep soft stuff. I thought the cutting brakes were for better steering. Can't see how locking up one wheel is gonna get me out of a stop in soft sand! BTW, I live on Long Island. Surrounded by beaches although access by motor vehicle is limited by law.
Thanks,
PaulO

Wed Jul 13, 2005 6:55 am

Cutting brakes lock up one wheel so the other side will spin,woeks similar to a limited slip but takes practice to master. I would just try airing down to about 7 pounds of air pressure and let her rip.

Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:04 am

roy kohrogi wrote: I would say built the stock motor to something bigger and faster. by having powrful motor you can spin the rear tires in the soft area.

also even runinng the truck tires make sure deflate them so better grip in
the soft sand terrain.

Your kidding right? A bigger motor and spinning your tires is the worst advice anyone could have given. He's not in a sandrail out on the dunes. After 30 years of driving in the desert I've learned a bunch of things. Spinning your tires will only get you stuck!!!! (unless your in shallow sand and there is a hard packed surface beneathe, but he said DEEP sand). A bigger motor won't help jack. Don't SPIN!! So try a higher gear. Try riding the clutch.

#1 Best advice for sand, lower the air pressure. In my manx I run 6 lbs in the rear.

#2 Keep moving. Even if end up going in the wrong direction you can always come back around.

#3 If you have to stop, start off slow.

#4 Your vehicle is light, if you have the right sized tires with the right air pressure you can ride on top of the sand.

Wed Jul 13, 2005 9:59 am

I agree with Vanhag 100%.

With low air pressure in the tires, there's no reason a glass buggy should get stuck in ANY sand, regardless of engine size.

Fatter (and taller) tires help a BUNCH. Bag them down to 3-5lbs, and you shouldn't be able to stick a 'glass buggy if you tried.

Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:07 am

Vanhag wrote: roy kohrogi wrote: I would say built the stock motor to something bigger and faster. by having powrful motor you can spin the rear tires in the soft area.

also even runinng the truck tires make sure deflate them so better grip in
the soft sand terrain.

Your kidding right? A bigger motor and spinning your tires is the worst advice anyone could have given. He's not in a sandrail out on the dunes. After 30 years of driving in the desert I've learned a bunch of things. Spinning your tires will only get you stuck!!!! (unless your in shallow sand and there is a hard packed surface beneathe, but he said DEEP sand). A bigger motor won't help jack. Don't SPIN!! So try a higher gear. Try riding the clutch.

#1 Best advice for sand, lower the air pressure. In my manx I run 6 lbs in the rear.

#2 Keep moving. Even if end up going in the wrong direction you can always come back around.

#3 If you have to stop, start off slow.

#4 Your vehicle is light, if you have the right sized tires with the right air pressure you can ride on top of the sand.

Thanks for your kind advice "deep sand" means I believed sand dunes
where sandrail often spin their tires.he wasn't specific about type of terrain
he got stuck in.

I agreed with your comment.except riding the cluth that's no no on my list.

Take Care

Roy

Wed Jul 13, 2005 11:18 am

roy kohrogi wrote: Vanhag wrote: roy kohrogi wrote: I would say built the stock motor to something bigger and faster. by having powrful motor you can spin the rear tires in the soft area.

also even runinng the truck tires make sure deflate them so better grip in
the soft sand terrain.

Your kidding right? A bigger motor and spinning your tires is the worst advice anyone could have given. He's not in a sandrail out on the dunes. After 30 years of driving in the desert I've learned a bunch of things. Spinning your tires will only get you stuck!!!! (unless your in shallow sand and there is a hard packed surface beneathe, but he said DEEP sand). A bigger motor won't help jack. Don't SPIN!! So try a higher gear. Try riding the clutch.

#1 Best advice for sand, lower the air pressure. In my manx I run 6 lbs in the rear.

#2 Keep moving. Even if end up going in the wrong direction you can always come back around.

#3 If you have to stop, start off slow.

#4 Your vehicle is light, if you have the right sized tires with the right air pressure you can ride on top of the sand.

Thanks for your kind advice "deep sand" means I believed sand dunes
where sandrail often spin their tires.he wasn't specific about type of terrain
he got stuck in.

I agreed with your comment.except riding the cluth that's no no on my list.

Take Care

Roy

Yeah, careful on that clutch. But I've gotten my wife's POS beater car out of deep sand by lugging the motor and riding the clutch. Two things that will ruin an engine and burn a clutch.

Wed Jul 13, 2005 2:07 pm

On a Mexican surf safari many years ago, we ran into none other than pro skatboarder Tony Alva and his buddy pretty well stuck in the sand in their Bay Window. While three of us were trying to push the van out, I kept yelling to the driver to pull the hand brake on half-way. When he FINALLY pulled on the hand brake, the van just stood right up and walked out of the hole on it's own. Why? Because pulling on the hand brake turns the open diff into a limited-slip by locking both rear axles equally.

Limited-slips are unfortunately no good for off-road, as they adversely affect the steering of the vehicle (understeer). But whenever going from dirt road onto sandy beach, I always pull my hand brake on half-way for maximum traction through loose sand. Do the hand brake trick along with lowering tire pressures for maximum sand traction.

Wed Jul 13, 2005 3:57 pm

what type of tire are you running?

good advice so far.
You could also carry a pair of sand ladders with you.

(kidding- sort of. they come in handy when you need 'em.)

When you get stuck, try starting off in second, rather than first gear.

Thu Jul 14, 2005 6:54 am

just big wide street tires.

Thu Jul 14, 2005 9:13 am

I know you said you drive on the street (so do I). Why are paddles out of the question? I mean...unless your wheels are welded to your brake drums, you can change wheel and tire combos for terrain. If you do not spend a ton of time in the sand (like me) then paddles would be a waste of money, but if you plan on venturing out on the beach quite often, then a paddle or even some sort of floatation tire will make all the difference in the world. Other than different tires, I would say let your pressure way down and when I say way down, I don't mean to 15 psi, try like 5 psi, if you have a real fat tire, go to 3psi. Yes, it is possible to get them too low and have one peel off the bead (speaking from experience) but if you keep them at around 5 psi, it will take some very aggressive driving to get it to come off the bead (unless you're running a 16.5 rim) which I doubt. Another tip, if your not going to run a sand tire, pick your places to stop carefully. Such as, pointing down hill or on harder sand. Coming to a complete stop in the wrong place can even stick some of the big paddled, high hp buggies. The more you go, the better you will get at it. Nearly everyone gets stuck in the soft stuff at least once.

Sat Jul 16, 2005 9:42 am

I picked up a set of old worn out paddles that may have 1/4" of paddle and they work great. Before that I ran 31x10.5 and had to be careful where I stopped and was limited were I could go. With the old paddles I can go anywhere except up the really steep soft sand where you would have a hard time crowling up on your hands and knees.
Even an old set of terra tires would work great although they are heavier.
It's all about floatation!!!!!!!!!!!!!