When to use the low gears

[mastermanoj Member Find all posts View Profile Close mastermanoj]

Hello


i am new to 4wd world and i know this is the place where i can experienced advise 8)

recently bought a 90 series prado (Auto)

GOt done 2 inch lift ARB EMU , full underbody antirust paint , changed the timing belt as it has done a fair bit (217000)

we have plans to go to Moreton island during Easter holidays

got some idea from youtube on how to drive in sandy areas

i have not taken this Truck offroad yet

My question is I still coudl not find exactly when to use the

HH, HL , LL gears on the small gear lever and when to use 2ND & PWR switches located next to the Auto gear stick

If some one could please advise :P

[ntp Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close ntp]

Re: When to use the low gears

i have not taken this Truck offroad yet

Mate... it might be best to get some instruction or at least someone to go with you before you venture too far off road, or near the sea. Best to take small steps first to get a feel for what both you and your 4wd are capable of. And also, ensure that if you do get stuck, you know how you might be able to recover from it.

Last thing you want to do it get terribly stuck or, worse, risk losing your 4wd due to inexperience.

Great to see a new 4wd'er and we certainly don't want to curb your enthusiam. So your come to the right place to begin with. But like I said, I'd start to getting to know your 4wd in safe environments, and perhaps some instruction from an experienced user, before taking on the world alone.

[mastermanoj Member Find all posts View Profile Close mastermanoj]

Re: When to use the low gears

thank you mate


As advised by you i have plans to go for 4wd lessons ..... when i purchased the car i did not get the owners manual so i couldnt go through when to use them

would be soon on my way to a driving class

Thankyou anyways

[xlr8_87 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close xlr8_87]

Re: When to use the low gears

Definitely do a course or get some lessons with people who know what they're doing first!

As a general rule, you won't touch the 2nd or PWR buttons when 4wding.

'HH' is what you'll have on everyday whilst driving around town.
'HL' and 'LL' are used 4wding. It's very dependent on the type of terrain you're going over though, so once you've had a lesson or two you'll figure it out pretty quickly for yourself.

Just never have the car in 'HL' or 'LL' when driving on paved roads!

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Re: When to use the low gears

I've driven Fraser Island about a dozen times and have also been to Moreton. Moreton Island is only relatively small, and subsquently there are only a few inland tracks to drive on. Sand is a great place to start 4wding in my opinion before tackling steep hills, cambered tracks, mud, etc. It's low risk, it's the quickest way to get to know how your vehicle handles off-road conditions, your car will perform really well in sand with ordinary road tyres if that's all that's fitted to your car, infact they'll perform better than muddies/traction tyres because they ride on top of the soft sand better, plus on Moreton there's going to be heaps of people to pull you out of bogs if you get stuck, so you won't be waiting for long. I've always ran 25 PSI in all the tyres (Loaded vehicle rating) and had very few inconveniences. Others will say to run lower, but you'll learn what works for you and you're driving style. I've tried pressures from 30 down to 18 on sand and found 25 to be best for me because it also means you can drive the hard sand on the eastern beach at legal speeds much better. I think I've only been stuck two or three times ever (where we've ever had to get out of the car and do a push out).

Keep you car in normal high range unless the sand is extremely soft and boggy, then use Low Range (LL). To change 4wd selection, put the car in neutral first or it won't allow you to shift the 4wd stick. A lot of people don't know this when they take their first auto 4wd off-road. HL is useless so you never need to use it. HH and LL are the only 4wd selections you'll ever need. I've also found helpful when taking off in soft sand to use the 2nd Start button. It'll really help to prevent your tyres from spinning and digging you deeper if you need to give it some berries. Also a gem for a slippery muddy, slight incline.

If you get stuck, don't rev the guts out of it as it won't help at all. If you don't go fowards for 1 second or in reverse for 1 second, then don't attemp to keep trying as you'll dig your tyres in deeper and you'll have to drig ruts infront or behind your wheels with a shovel to get out. Once you get stuck (just for 1 second like I said, try to get out in forwards and then reverse), do a push out with 1 or 2 people. No digging required. Push the vehicle towards the downward slope if not flat with the driver assisting a little with low acceleration out of the bog in Low Range. Then try again with a run up using the 2nd start button to spin your wheels less. It's really basic and you'll develop an instinct for it after a few hrs on the sand. Take a shovel and a snatch strap and keep them easily accessible incase someone infront of you gets bogged. I prefer a short handled shovel because it takes far less effort to use it in the hot sun. Plus if you don't sit there and majorly over do it in a bog like some novices and "experienced drivers who make poor choices" then you won't need the long handled shovel to reach under the diffs ever. Also, don't let your car sit still for more than a few seconds in a wash out on the beach or your car will sink into the wet sand really quickly and if left long enough, you'll never get your car out. Pushouts with people are almost always the better option to help yourself out of a bog or someone else instead of breaking out the snatch strap, then rolling the bugger back up afterwards. I've done dozens and dozens of push-outs to help other people out of bogs as they're easy, quick, and efficient (some people waiting behind you can get impatient and blatantly rude if you hold them up for too long with a bog recovery), plus they can chip in with a push out if required. You'll be right mate, keep your speed down a bit on the eastern beach to begin with, scan the beach carefully when driving it and you'll have a fantastic trip.

[ozwapet2 Advanced Member Find all posts View Profile Close ozwapet2]

Re: When to use the low gears

Hi
I see you are in Sydney. I'd suggest you check out the 4Wd clubs in your area.
Go along to one of their meetings and if you like the "vibe", go on a few of their trips.
You'll learn more there than anywhere, including use of your "short stick"
A lot of the clubs also have qualified instructors and run training courses, which can work out a lot cheaper than going to a commercial instructor.

[williade Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close williade]

Re: When to use the low gears

I wouldn't say HL is useless. It certainly isn't used as much as H or LL but is great for stability on sand and gravel roads.

[Brett1979 Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close Brett1979]

Re: When to use the low gears

Yeah? That's fair enough, Williade. I've never found it overly purposeful myself. I've tried HL on all surfaces trying to compare (except ice and snow as I've never been that far south) and just found normal high range to be perfectly fine on it's own instead of needing to resort to HL. I've always just shifted straight into low range to get extra traction if required. I'd be interested to know if people use it and what for, and if it aided the handling of the vehicle. I thought if I had 300hp at the wheels it'd definitely come in handy on a gravel road haha.

I'll tell you what though (unrelated topic, so I'll keep it short)... I saw a set of 35 inch Nitto Mud Grappler tyres on a mean looking new Jeep the other day and they were nice. The tyres were almost reptillian in appearance. The only problem is they start at 33 inch, so they'd chew out the front guards of my poor girl if I put them on. Check them out. Like any muddy though, they look way better when you see them with your own eyes.

[glen_ep Addicted PP Member Find all posts View Profile Close glen_ep]

Re: When to use the low gears

I wouldn't say HL is useless but I do see your point - at normal driving speeds it won't provide any advantage over normal H (different story if rallying).

The fundamental difference is the locked diff, which, if in a tricky situation, will mean the difference between stuck (1 wheel spinning) and motion (2 wheels spinning). When entering slippery conditions it's always best to get into HL before it's too late.

Why wouldn't you jump straight into LL? Two reasons: LL may be too slow for an open track, or, LL might provide too much torque - ie, muddy tracks, where LL will dig too much instead of (HL) carefully driving over.

[williade Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close williade]

Re: When to use the low gears

I've always just shifted straight into low range to get extra traction if required.

LL does not give any extra traction over HL but increases torque at the wheels.

As Glen said, you only need to lose traction on 1 wheel to stop when in H.

In summary:

H for normal road driving/smooth dirt tracks
HL for slippy situations (sand, mud, loose gravel, snow/ice)
LL for uneven terrain and steep descent/accents

I'm sure I've missed some scenarios with that summary but you get the idea.

[daymo Lurker Find all posts View Profile Close daymo]

what actually locks when going from HH to HL or LL? is it locking the centre diff/transfer case for an even distribution to front and rear or does it do something else?

[croozza Avid PP Poster! Find all posts View Profile Close croozza]

HH is for normal highway (or hard surface) driving, the transfer case stays unlocked, just like an open centre diff, HL is when the transfer case locks the centre diff making it a 50/50 split drive front and rear, LL is also the transfer case locking the centre diff, (so still 50/50 split), but changes to a lower gear ratio in the transfer case.

[RobboMC Junior Member Find all posts View Profile Close RobboMC]

I thought I'd chip in with this short tale:

We were 4WDing around Putty on a wettish day and we came acrosos a short stretch of 'different' mud.
Our guide knew about it and stopped. I tried to walk it and fell over 3 times. It was a layer of wet silt over rocks
and was INCREDIBLY slippery, it was like ice only worse. I put the car into HL, started it rolling in 2nd and let the
idle take over and we held our breath.
All four wheels SLID the entire 200 metres across the patch of silt, correcting more and more as the car fishtaled
left and right with each slight change in slope.

HL definately does have it's uses.

[MalcomM Senior Member Find all posts View Profile Close MalcomM]

Join the Toyota LandCruiser Club in Sydney. www.tlcc.com.au

They run the certified government 4x4 courses as part of the membership fees.
They own their own gazillion acre properties down by Goulburn and the training is brilliant. They'll put you through all sorts of stuff you'd never try on your own.
I know as my wife and I just did it in our 90.