Off Topic 4x4 and mud

[oyumurtaci]

So, as can be seen from the photos, today I drove through a mud patch. It was me, with a somewhat heavyweight friend in the car (think about 100 kilos), and we almost got stuck. I had ELD on, the tyres have plenty of tread, and while the mud was deep, as can be seen from the deposits, it wasn't all that slick.

The issues I faced were, even with a running start in first gear, it would bog down at partial throttle. If I floored it, the ELD light would blink feverishly as what I assume (but couldn't confirm) mostly the front wheels spun. I just couldn't find a middle ground between momentum, throttle position, revs, and actual forward movement. Somehow, it also felt as if the rear wheels weren't really getting as much torque as they should as the fronts started to slip entering the mud. I had to do some danceworthy footwork between reverse and first to rock back and forth enough to get going again. While I did manage to eventually get us unstuck, this was the first time I was seriously worried I'd have to get the tow strap out, and I've managed not to get stuck like this going up a slick asphalt mountain road in a snowstorm.

I suppose I should be more wary of the saying "do stupid things, win stupid prizes" as there was a perfectly dry field I could have driven through instead of the mud patch. As you can see from one of the photos, I managed to kick up so much mud it looks like someone took a poo on the roof.

 

[SussexJo]

If you ask me I would say it looks like everything is working AOK. If you look at the angle the mud has fallen on the rear O/S I would say that came up and over from the rear O/S wheel as it shows a forward momentum.
You do not state whether the muddy patch was on a gradient or on level ground.
That looks like some pretty tacky clay to me so would quickly clog up any tyre therefore I would suggest you should have entered the mud in a higher gear maybe 2nd at a speed just below the cut out of the ELD. That way you would have had momentum and the car would of glided over the surface to a certain extent. Then if your power started to get dragged down you could slip into 1st gear.
That is not the type of mud that you can expect to park in and then start off in first gear and expect to pull away without forward and reversing to cut yourself a channel, so in effect you did the correct thing in your situation and the car performed as it should.

Nice to see some mud plugging
Happy days
Jo

 

[oyumurtaci]

It was a flat spot of mud, no grade. On the way in, I got a better launch with 1st (even though I still got stuck, but didn't have to reverse) but on the way back I tried to carry more momentum in 2nd but it bogged down just after the front hit the mud, and completely stopped in the half second it took to drop to first. I might go for another attempt after work tomorrow if I have the time, and this time I'll be 100kg lighter.

 

[Ziggy122]

You got stuck in mud cause youre using Road tyres (tarmc/concrete/light sand/light mud/leaves and rain), 4wd or even traction control cant help you here, they only help provide traction IF its availible, you simply didnt here



If you want to go mud plugging - get some scoopy / blocky tyres that dont give mud owt to stick to - and enough to paddle....

Ziggy

 

[oyumurtaci]

Yeah, I pushed my luck by asking too much from the tyres. That being said, I don't really do these things frequently enough to justify going full off-road tyres when I spend 355 days of the year on road.