Tread Beyond Roads

Tread Beyond Roads

- Jaskirat Singh Nagra

IT IS VERY DIFFICULT TO CHOOSE WHICH SEASON of the year is best for off-road driving, but I can certainly say it with some conviction that winter is quite favourable. Winter offers the charm of starting a trail on a cold misty morning and extending it well into a late afternoon outing and a picnic. A hot cup of tea and friendly banter with friends on a chilly winter morning in the wilderness is a very attractive proposition, which comes a close second to going topless in an off-road vehicle. And the lower temperatures are also much easier on the vehicles in extreme end of the trail.

So far in my columns I have tried to cover upgrades ranging from basics such as selecting tyres to more technically evolved subjects such as selecting the proper gearing for your ride. With the hope that some of you have benefited from what I have shared so far, I will undertake the arduous task of explaining the opportunities that exist in suspension upgrade. In my opinion, if various upgrades were to be ranked in order of importance for extreme off-road driving, suspension upgrades would probably rank right on the top of the stack. Rather technically evolved, suspension alterations/modifications offer a great window of opportunity but they nevertheless come with a very limited margin for error.

Many of you must have come across the term articulation. In the world of off-road, if there was any one word that is used, overused, and may I add abused, then it has to be the word articulation, or axle articulation. Everybody wants an off-road vehicle that articulates very well, for it is often thought that articulation is the panacea for all off-road woes. I would still rate a driver’s technical skills as most important, a well-performing suspension can and does result in overcoming daunting obstacles.