Beginner Driving Tips

[Cortland15B]

Hello, I will start this post off by saying that I have only been off-roading 3 times and only on a very short mudding trail, and to make a long story short my baja, under unfortunate circumstances, won't be able to be driven for at least 2 years. The times I did go I had a blast but being my first few times I was very unsure if I was doing everything right or not doing something that should've been done. I have a huge project ahead of me and I want to keep what fun I had in mind to get me through this long resto. So I've been searching around for videos and posts that deal with the basics of off road driving for newbies (like myself) who are just getting into the off road driving world. I have found a couple posts that deal with driving tips but they are mostly aimed at the experienced driver and have a lot of technical jargon that I don't understand. I have found videos of off road driving tips but none of them are specific to baja's. The goal of this post is to:

1) Create a list of basic maneuvers,

2) How to successfully accomplish these maneuvers,

3) In what terrain these maneuvers should be used,

4) In what situations these maneuvers should, and shouldn't be executed.

5) And lastly anything that you think will help the next generation of VW off-road enthusiasts.

I hope that this post will help with the uneasiness that I think many new drivers face there first time off the pavement.

Thanks for reading, sorry I couldn't contribute more but I have confidence in this great community to fill in what I lack.

Cortland
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Multi-year baja project that seems to never end
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=498587&highlight=budget+baja

[Dale M.]

Basically just drive it like you stole it.... Getting it stuck a few times or getting to a "awe s#!^" situation a few time where the little voice of fear speaks to you will be best learning experience you can have... ALSO DO NOT let fun over rule common sense, if little voice in your head says "don't do this" then don't do it.... You will learn more buy just driving and following a few friends through the wilderness than practicing maneuvers you may never need....

Dale
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“Fear The Government That Wants To Take Your Guns"
"Kellison Sand Piper Roadster" For Street & Show.
"Joe Pody Sandrover" Buggy with 2180 for Autocross (Sold)
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All suggestions and advice are purely my own opinion. You are free to ignore them if you wish ...

[Bad_chopper]

the single biggest rule I have for my self is never venture out alone. you never know what simple mistake you will make that will make your rig no longer movable.

these cars are so light with two or three people you can pretty much lift it out of a hole and stack rocks.

a little tip is learn how an open differential works, once you learn that you will understand how applying a little ebrake when one tire is spinning can help get you unstuck.

2years I hope you have a good build going on to make it worth it.
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my build page http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=536267

[Cortland15B]

Yeah maneuvers might have been the wrong word, I meant more like how you are supposed to drive threw the rough stuff without getting stuck rather than the technical mumbo jumbo of the different maneuvers. Like just basic driving on the different terrains, like going faster in sand and mud but going slower in snow and rocks, what gear to have it in, what sort of revs should you be using, how to tell which gear you need to be in, when to downshift, that sort of thing.

I would like to learn more about what Bad_Chopper said for learning how the differential works and about using the e-brake. I've had a experience with the differential when I was stuck in some snow, it was very pitiful, there was hardly any snow under the left tire, underneath the snow was mud and the right one was on the side walk. Only the left was spinning and I was going nowhere, it was very sad to see, a baja sitting halfway on the sidewalk stuck with only like a half inch of snow on the ground (I had shoveled most of the snow away). I was like "really?" How is this thing supposed to go off-road when it gets stuck in the driveway! I wish I would have known about the e-brake trick that day.

My baja's going through a complete teardown, new chassis, new floor pans, new heater channels, everything sandblasted, painted or bedlined, and all the rust cut out and repaired the right way. It will be a brand new car by the time I'm done with it. I hope to get the pan completely done by the beginning of winter and hope to start the body this winter or spring and then finish it next summer. I live in wisconsin so its hard to work on it all year round.
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Multi-year baja project that seems to never end
http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=498587&highlight=budget+baja

[pow_rider17]

Learn to ride a dirtbike . So much of your attention is focused on operation all the while conquering ground that is usually less than optimal. And there are consequences for messing up, usually painful. After that, cars are easy. I was always a pretty good driver but now I can do it with much less effort.

Speed, RPM, when and which wheel locks up or breaks traction....... all that is by feel. Get to know your machine, its extremes and limitations and become one with it.

[Vanapplebomb]

My tip for the dirt is to be very carful about the brake. Sometimes the natural reaction to sliding around is to get on the brakes. OOOOPS! That is how I rolled my dodge neon blasting around in the dirt...got on the brakes when I started sliding around. Needless to say, it quickly turned a minor fishtail into an uncontrollable spin out. Boom, ouch.
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1800 Type 4 Berrien 295

http://www.thesamba.com/vw/forum/viewtopic.php?t=487021

[carbaholic]

If you drive fast you won't get stuck, but if you're looking for a specific set of maneuvers, rally is a good place to start.

That said, I race in the Lucas Oil Off Road Regional series and there are some very very fast drivers who don't worry about any of the specific rally techniques.

They just understand understeer vs. oversteer and know some basic tricks like giving the car more throttle, tapping the brakes, or giving it a hard shift to fix the way the car is drifting in the corner.

EDIT: If you're going to be driving off road seriously, you should take your safety seriously.

I would say a stout roll cage, properly installed 5-point harnesses, a motorsports helmet, and a neck roll are the minimum.

For our races we have a very beefy roll cage, 5-point harnesses, fire retardant shoes, suit and gloves, a SNELL 2010 helmet, hans device, and we've got a fire extinquisher in the car.

If you drive an off road car fast, you will roll it.