[offroad-EASY] The Ada Tree drive

[Taka]

Click for large pic....

I did that yesterday and it is a very good drive. Very easy to do and it comprises mainly well formed gravel road and dirt track. Some clay compound so even the travel book (4WD treks close to Melbourne) not advising traveling during wet days or has been raining. So after 6 days of dry Melbourne summer heat, without bush fire , so we had a go for our first real off road drive.

There it is. We started off going to have a good preparation with picnic food, water, tyre pressure gauge with let off valve (well I just use the racing one that I have for track days), and oh... I forgot my tyre pressure pump. <_< . Oh I had plenty of DVD for the girls at the back. .

Driving from the Yarra Junction you turn right and heading to Powelltown. The GPS will have those details.

It even have the Big Creek Road that we start off the route with. I dropped the tyre pressure from 39psi on highway to 32psi for gravel tracks. Rally stage is on

and you will see the Ada tree post

Well form dirt track with very tall tree, perfect for summer days.

The road is so easy that I have a bit of Jeremy Clarkson in me when I drive it... POWER!..

Found someone dropping their transmission on the side of the road... hang on the guide said it is a old logging Winch.

Go straight ahead

Not long we come to Starling Gap Picnic/Camping area. That is actually pretty small (I thought camping round is much larger ).

Driving from Starling Gap to Ada tree road via Big Creek road there are lots of climbing and on some low vegetation area you can see how high you are!

Sign post to Ada tree park

Edited January 7, 2008 by takahashi

[Taka]

After 2km from the Ada Tree car park we are here

After that we go back to Starling Gap and going via Smyth Creek Road. It is on the GPS mostly.

GPS thoughts: It is a pretty good unit and even it is off road, the entry and exit part of it leading to tarmac is very clearly marked. The GPS is a bit weak between the high tree and only about 10m away but it is still quite good.

Useful coordinates. I converted it to mins and sec so you can key in to the SatNav in your Kluger.

Yarra Junction - 37m46'54"S 145m36'57"E

Powell Town - 37m 57'39"S 145m44'40"E

Ada Tree Reserve - 37m 49'1"S 145m52'5"E

I thought I should have marked the Starling Gap, but it is so simple to get to because of the simple sign posting!

Of Smyth road is a bit bumpy and slow down, get my Clarkson ego out <_< and do about 20-30kph will do.

The map is here. The orange part is our route.

http://i97.photobucket.com/albums/l230/tak...er/76f24499.jpg

[boleh]

Damn! this is so cool. Cant wait to do the same when I get my Kluger KXR altho I'll have to pinch the TomTom unit from my wife's car

[whofan]

I just did this same trek a few days ago in my KX-S FWD with balding original Bridgestone tyres inflated to 39psi.

It was a little hairy as I think tyres were over inflated, road tread rather than off-road and had little tread left. Most of the journey was done at or under 40kmph.

Quite a few of the bends are blind so you need to turn wide so as to avoid the unseen oncoming traffic.

No dust inside the cabin, plenty outside, make sure you have the fan set to recycle rather than sucking in that dust!

The dash rattle that is normally non-existent on the bitumen was quite evident during this trip.

I think I would have preferred to be in an AWD with some chunkier tyres, to take it a little faster, I was driving quite cautiously as I knew I would slip and slide at higher speeds.

I took my avatar photo from the old rail trestle bridge a little further down the road.

Here's one from the Ada tree car park.

[Taka]

Glad you did the same. I forgot what it was like now. Is that much slipping from the FWD version?

Now I have the new Bridgestone Dueler from the US. They should be even better.

[Blackkluger]

we drove on medium offroad, it went perfectly, only part where i had to approach on a direct 90 degree rather than 45 degree as it wouldnt go up due to i assume stiff suspension which meant the opposite wheels were not in contact with ground...

Sand driving was great, it was solid sand so no real soft stuff, but i dont think it would go well with the soft stuff. I didnt dare go any further.

Overall, not bad, i would take it on muddy tracks only with someone out there with a real 4wd and maybe a winch...lol

[whofan]

Glad you did the same. I forgot what it was like now. Is that much slipping from the FWD version?

Now I have the new Bridgestone Dueler from the US. They should be even better.

Taka,

I suspect the biggest cause of my instability was that my tyres were still inflated to 39psi for highway driving (incidentlly, this was fantastic when doing 100kmph along the M1).

I read in your orignal post that you dropped the pressure to 32, I really think that would makde a big difference.

Did you have an air compressor to inflate your tyres back up to 39?

The track was very dry the day I drove it, most of it felt like driving on marbles and I was in a very heavy vehcile with little grip

Can you tell me what the difference(s) is between the original Bridgestones and your US versions? I'm guessing that the originals are made someone other than the US and they're not as good? I'm guessing the tyre's dimensions are the same as 245/55/19?

[Taka]

Certainly, 39 psi are great on the tarmac but **** on gravel. I actually have a pump but I did not use it. I simply went to nearby servo to pump it up.

I now have this:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Dueler+H%2FL+Alenza&partnum=555VR9HLALNZXL&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

It has similar pattern, but compare to stock

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Bridgestone&tireModel=Dueler+H%2FL+400&partnum=455SR9HL400&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes

It has deeper tread, better grip and better temperature capabilities (whatever that means). The deeper thread will give better grip on travel. I brought it because it has 600 wear rating, cf stock 400 and my sport car 140 :D

[whofan]

Certainly, 39 psi are great on the tarmac but **** on gravel. I actually have a pump but I did not use it. I simply went to nearby servo to pump it up.

I now have this:

http://www.tirerack....romCompare1=yes

It has similar pattern, but compare to stock

http://www.tirerack....romCompare1=yes

It has deeper tread, better grip and better temperature capabilities (whatever that means). The deeper thread will give better grip on travel. I brought it because it has 600 wear rating, cf stock 400 and my sport car 140 :D

I realise this is creeping off topic and moving into a tyre discussion, however I'm very interested.....

Did you buy the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza tyres in Australia or import them from the US? What was the cost?

If you imported them what was the cost of freight? Wouldn't they be hit with import duty/taxes?

[Taka]

I realise this is creeping off topic and moving into a tyre discussion, however I'm very interested.....

Did you buy the Bridgestone Dueler H/L Alenza tyres in Australia or import them from the US? What was the cost?

If you imported them what was the cost of freight? Wouldn't they be hit with import duty/taxes?

The Alenza I ordered it from the US via tyrerack.com They are very easy to deal with. All including freight and bank charges are AUD$1200. $250 is the freight cost.

NO TAX!

Make sure you tell them you want the made in USA product. Australia has free trade agreement with US for any US manufactured product to except import tax. I have the documents that stuck to the tyres to prove it.

EDIT: Otherwise you tell them to ship 2 x 2. Any product under the face value of less than A$1000 also except from import tax.

Edited April 7, 2010 by Taka