Who doesn't love adventure and off-road driving? But, not everyone can afford a pure 4x4 off-roader. And most of the times, it's not practical to have an off-roader as the only car in your garage, especially if you live in the city. Does that mean we stop having fun? Not really. What if I tell you that your regular hatchback or sedan can also double up as your adventure buddy? Sounds a bit unrealistic, I know. But it's achievable. Just a few tweaks here and there and you are ready to tread the unknown. Read below to find out how you can easily make your car off-road ready.
The most important aspect of an adventure trip with your car is to plan in advance. Make sure you ask people about the road conditions and prepare accordingly for what lies ahead. Without proper planning you might end up damaging your car.
Invest in a set of high profile tyres that would not just help in slightly increasing the ground clearance of your car but also provide additional cushioning. This will aid your suspension and give it better travel so that you don't feel jolts inside the car.
If you plan to off-road regularly with the usual city run-abouts, it is wise to get yourself a set of dual-purpose tyres. Dual-purpose tyres will provide additional traction and can take your car to places that have no roads. And the best part? These work just as fine in normal road conditions. So, it's a win-win situation.
Tyre pressure plays an important role in the performance of your car. Make sure you know your optimal tyre pressure and stick to it unless you want to drive your car on sand. In that case you will have to drop your tyre pressure so that your car has more traction.
Let's face the truth, even though these tweaks will make your car off-road friendly, but it still won't go head-on against pure 4x4 off-roaders. So it's only wise to not push your car's limits looking at SUVs and 4WD vehicles go the distance. Know your car's limitations and act accordingly.
While off-roading, the underbody of your car is most prone to damage. There's a high chance that your car could hit a big rock which could damage the suspension, axles or the likes. To avoid this, you can get a customized underbody frame made for your car from any fabricator. This will act as a shield for your underbody and save you a lot of money from damages.
PPF or Paint Protection Film is a transparent protective layer that is used to protect any kind of paint chipping or damage arising out of adventure riding. While PPF can be slightly expensive, it can be put on those parts that are more prone to damage to save costs.
Steel rims are an ideal choice over alloy wheels as they are more sturdy and built to take on a lot of beating. Alloy wheels are prone to breakage and will damage under off-road conditions.
Another nifty addition is a lift kit. This will increase the ground clearance of the vehicle and make sure your underbody is protected. Moreover, it is easy to install and remove so it makes for an ideal choice for those weekend expeditions.
While it is advised to avoid off-road driving at night, you might find yourself driving in darkness under certain situations. Navigating on broken roads without proper visibility can become a nightmare and prove to be extremely dangerous for the car and passengers. Your regular headlights wouldn't suffice in such cases. Hence you should consider installing auxiliary lights or light bars that would improve visibility by a huge margin.
So you did everything you could and still ended up in a ditch or deep pothole. In such scenarios, having a tow rope and hooks will help you get out of the situation with the assistance of another car.
So these were some tips and tricks to ensure your car is all set to take on some broken roads. Let us know which one you found the most useful.
