Subaru 4WD Club of Victoria - July / August 2022 magazine

Notice is hereby given to members that the Annual General Meeting of the Subaru 4WD Club of Victoria Inc., will be held on Tuesday, August 30th, 2022 at the South Camberwell Tennis Club rooms, 322 Burke Road, Glen Iris, commencing after the finish of the August 2022 General Meeting.

Members may also choose to attend via Zoom, using the same link as the General Meeting preceding it: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/85037087556

Meeting ID: 850 3708 7556

Voting for those attending online will be done using Zoom’s polling feature. Order of business will be:

1. Confirmation of the minutes of the 2021 Annual General Meeting.

2. Presentation of the 2022 Annual Report.

3. Presentation of 2022 Annual Financial Statement.

4. General Business.

5. Election of officers of the club and ordinary members of the committee.

6. Motion for a Special Resolution: "That the term “Temporary member” replace “Trip member” wherever it appears in the Constitution". Mover: Martin Foot, Seconder: Angela Bombardieri. For further information, see the Notice to members dated 8 August. Link: https://bit.ly/3A4vQTt

Nominations for committee positions should be submitted to the club secretary by no later than 7 days prior to the Annual General Meeting. However, on the day, nominations for committee positions will be accepted from the floor of the meeting.

Martin Foot Secretary

secretary@subaru4wdvic.com.au

On Saturday 6th August, the FWDV held its second President’s Meeting in Bulleen, where the management team provided updates to us on mainly three topics, as well as a short question time:

Toolangi Training Centre, Permanent 4WD Training area facility, main points being that there have been positive meetings with the local traditional land owners as to the direction that the facility will operate, including improvements to the environmet with local indigenous plants, trying to assist National Parks administrations in keeping 4WD tracks open adhering to the Commonwealth edict focus, meeting with other government departments & traditional owners So far the quarry has been cleared, barriers positioned to not permit unauthorised entry, gates are being fabricated at present with placement expected in October.; expecting the facility ground to be available by the end of this year. Progressively, tracks in the area will become open as test tracks, with planning of these tracks to be approved by the traditional custodial owners, and can utilise some of their equipment (eg dozers) to build the tracks, creation or clearing of existing fire risk entry/exit tracks to assist in reducing fire risk in the area. A budget of $100,000 has been drafted.

National FWD organisation approached FWDV to look at re joining, Eric & Wayne attended. Some issues need to be clarified before re joining is to be considered:

the FWDV logo is to be kept, have a collaborative method of training methodology initial issue of why FWDV opted out is resolved, also issue regarding existing national funds split up if the national body to be wound up progress on the FWDV Business Case for a new owned Facility. The facility will be a permanent home, have permanent meeting rooms available for use by member Clubs.

Other (umbrella) Club premises have been looked at as to what has been done and how operated with multiple Club members using, and estimates of costs contributing to a proposed Business Case. The presentation material provided by FWDV will be forwarded at a later date. Location is also a concern.

FWDV wants to also link with car/vehicle dealers as to offering 4WD off road training and direction to us member Clubs for membership, something we as a Club have done in the past & are trying to re establish through benefits for our Club members with particular dealers

In attendance were at least 20 and 6 via zoom Clubs represented, there are currently 88 Clubs as members of FWDV, with about 4350 total members via the individual Clubs registration.

Discussion continued with participant talking about how they were each attracting new members and through what means, and level of success, including via social media. It appears that we ‘are up there’ when in comes to involvement with social media, and trying to move to Club involvement. I also brought up the

the issue we have regarding a new prospective member and the FWDV insurance contribution end result wording from the FWDV Constitution on the matter, up to our correct interpretation & recording/reporting. FWDV actually allow up to 4500 members covered by ‘fwd trip insurance’. It was interesting to hear that the major 4 clubs do not provide members names to FWDV, as a solution to my question it makes it impossible for FWDV to coordinate the issue of a person being a member of multiple 4WD Clubs if they do not have a database of combined Club member members. The issue is if a member being financial to multiple Clubs, they pay multiple component of Insurance to FWDV. FWDV method is for the involved club with a multi club member needs to deal with it themselves.

There was also discussion about a concept of a ‘hub and spoke’ arrangement with regional hotel/motels, so that the hotel/motel forms the base allowing day trips etc from base location. The motel/hotel would provide a discount to a Club member of FWDV as the incentive for number of days stay.

Well, that’s the synopsis of the meeting, I got more out of it by attending rather than by zoom as I did for the first Presidents meeting in May.

Don’t forget that this coming General Meeting is aimed to be relatively short, with the Annual General Meeting (AGM) following after only a 5 minute break, that will be followed by pizza for those attending in person at the SCTC premises. Those attending via zoom will need to be prepared with their own supper sorry, our zoom experience cannot do food transportation.

Earlier this month I tried to download the CCTV video of our 45th + 1 Anniversary event held at Chinese Association of Victoria (CAV) on 2nd July, unfortunately I was two days late as it had commenced being written over 5 weeks 2 days. CAV have been upgrading the CCTV cameras (previously video data held for over 6 months from 10 cameras installed by me in 2014) to near 30 HD cameras, with a vastly increased HDD space, but not yet configured to be recording only when movement/heat change detected, monitoring all time as before. Recording only on movement improves HDD space utilisation and lengthens the duration that CCTV video available before being overwritten. I am assisting the implementation this time, and after final positioning of new HD cameras then fine tuning as noted can occur. Cameras are also going to be being placed on the light poles in the carpark. A Commonwealth Grant paid for a majority of the upgrade project, relating to Security, as CAV has had vandalism occur over the last few years.

P

S Report

The First Aid sub committee has upgraded and in process of procuring additional stock materials to place in our Clubs First Aid Kits. At recent First Aid Training Courses, there has been shown cheaper available AED units, down to around $400 per unit, instead of the around units of $1800 to $2400 available around five to six years ago. It is an affordable consideration that the Club need to make. AED units are all guided in their use at the time of use, making it ease of use and safe for use in an emergency of potential heart attack it senses what is occurring and advises what to do. Potentially a Federal or State Government Grant may be available to supports the AED unit purchase

Till Later, Stay Safe

Mark Tyssen

President@subaru4wdvic.com.au

Vice-President’s Report

The price fluctuations in fuel prices has been dramatic. Last night l saw ULP at $1.55 then a few servos at nearly $2.00. So the next one l saw at the cheaper price l filled up. (Maybe they were late getting the price increase memo). Pushing 2.20 plus not that long ago

For those with diesels the price has remained more constant but staying on the higher side almost negating the economy savings. Some will also require the more expensive 95 and 98 blends plus there is still the fuel levy to be reapplied in September.

Looking up what the price of litre of Super would have been back when my car first filled up, I would have been paying 25 cents a litre though the oil shock saw this rise significantly pver the next 3 years. Fill it up, here's $20 and it wasn't self serve.

While filling up recently certainly has been a bit of a pump price shock, it is all relative. In 1978 Holden introducing the Commodore was seen as a fuel economy measure (even if they kept the same engines from the previous range). Even Ford dropped the V8 range a few years later. Of course, everything else has changed in price and hopefully so has your income.

News stories always follow as to how to drive for economy. Less congested roads would help and obvious things like removing roof racks when not needed can help where practical. As keen 4WDers we should be adjusting tyre pressures regularly and not being caught underinflated. And for some of us the difference between 120 and 100 on the highway can be significant on the fuel gauge.

Tim Folliard Vice-President vice president@subaru4wdvic.com.au

EDITOR’S NOTE

I promised Martin that I will keep the magazine to a reasonable number of pages. It is fantastic to find myself in a position to push content into the next edition of the magazine rather than struggling to fill the magazine to make it an interesting read. Please keep the trip reports and submissions coming! And a shout out to Stewart for reporting back on his Innamincka trip.

Daniel Ho Magazine Editor editor@subaru4wdvic.com.au

By the time you read this a group of members will have returned from the Mt Skene trip. Hopefully finding snow which is the challenging part of the trip and why the permit is required to drive this road over winter. We missed snow up at Matlock a few weeks ago but found a river in flood and some tracks in very good winter condition.

Which means until the Pyrenees (rocks and wineries) Cup Long Weekend we have a gap in the schedule. This time of year often sees gate closures at some popular places but I am sure there will be some day trips posted shortly.

I have also scheduled a return trip to Mt Robertson on December 4 and a few nights moving around Woods Point area in February.

And there is the High Country Trip straight after Christmas, ways good fun and a 4WD challenge. Socially the last Sunday in November is the Club Christmas Party. Location moves annually so keep an eye out for that. As always, the website is the best place for information on trips as well as booking your place.

As always, if you have a trip idea, please don’t hesitate to discuss them with me (Tim Folliard) via email at events@subaru4wdvic com au.

Please note that trips may be postponed or cancelled due to extreme weather (fire risk / storms) or Public Health restrictions at short notice.

Full details for each of the events can be found on the Proposed Trip section on the Club’s website. https://www.subaru4wdvic.com.au/index.php/proposed-trips

Mt Robertson Kinglake

Big River to Walhalla via back tracks - early notice

Cape

Port

LEADER (S)

IFFICULTY

Considerations

Overall Description

All Wheel Drive and High Range 4WD. Novice Drivers

Mainly High range 4WD but Low range required. Some 4WD experience recommended.

Significant Low range 4WD with standard 4WD ground clearance. Should have 4WD driver training.

Low range 4WD with High ground clearance.

Experienced Drivers

Expected terrain and track conditions

Mostly unsealed roads with no obstacles and minor gradients.

Tracks with some steep and/or rocky/slippery/sandy sections. May have shallow water crossings.

Tracks with frequent steep and/or rocky/slippery/sandy sections. Possible water crossings.

Tracks with frequent very steep and/or rocky/slippery/sandy sections. May have difficult river crossings.

Vehicle suitability

Recovery equipment

All wheel Drive and High Range 4WD. Can be low clearance with single range and road tyres.

Suitable for medium clearance vehicles with dual range and all terrain or road tyres.

Suitable for medium to high clearance vehicles with dual range and all terrain tyres.

Recovery equipment required.

Suitable for high clearance vehicles with dual range and tyres suitable for the terrain. (Mud Terrain tyres).

Winch / Recovery equipment required.

Driver Training / Experience Suitable for novice drivers.

Recommended that drivers have experience or 4WD training.

Recommended to be done in groups of vehicles.

Recommended for drivers with reasonable experience or 4WD training. To be done in groups of vehicles.

Drivers with extensive experience and advanced training should only attempt as there are several technical challenges. Recommended to be done in groups of four or more vehicles.

Weather

May be difficult in wet conditions.

Will be more difficult in wet conditions.

Will be more difficult in wet conditions.

Will be more difficult in wet conditions.

The Subaru 4WD Club of Victoria Inc. recommends that each vehicle carry the following items or equipment on every trip.

Personal details form (as specified by 4WDV)

One copy to the trip leader; One copy in vehicle

Minimum of a basic recovery kit

Two rated D Shackles (minimum 3.2t)

Rated Snatch strap / Kinetic rope

Bridal strap / Equaliser strap (*important for Subaru vehicles)

Accessible recovery points for both front and rear

A shovel

Safety equipment

UHF (477Mhz) Radio (Club convoy channel is CH16). Ideally an in car mounted radio, but hand held are ok provided sufficient battery(s) to last the trip.

Fire extinguisher, accessible to the driver

Basic first aid kit

Spares and tools

A tyre pressure gauge and air compressor

Spare tyre (full size & same size as the other 4 tyres)

Jack and wheel brace, or equivalent

A suitable tool kit for your vehicle

Sufficient fuel, oil and water for the trip, accounting for delays

Spare parts (appropriate to the nature of the trip)

Your vehicle manual

Emergency supplies (matches, food, water and clothing)

?

Unsure or have questions regarding the items above Contact the Trip and Social Coordinator or the Trip Leader

RIP

IFFICULTY

This is the first of what hopefully will be regular day trips for unmodified vehicles. The intent for this day trip was for members with unmodified vehicles to experience firsthand the capabilities of their vehicles.

We were fortunate to have a sunny day after several days of rain. With the trip being in the Marysville / Narbethong area, the day was bound to be wet and muddy.

Four of us started in Marysville, with an additional car joining us after lunch. In total, we had three unmodified subies in the group.

We aired down shortly after we left the café in Marysville, before tacking a creek crossing and a slipper hill climb that paralleled the Granton Downhill Mountain Bike Track. After that we continued onto Anderson Mill Rd, Neds Tk, Granton Rd, before tacking a very wet, slippery and rutted section on Fisher Creek Rd. This section was perfect to demonstrate different line options and why tyre pressure matters!

Whitehill Tk and Telford Rd then took us to lunch at the Black Spur Inn.

Elle Clark joined us at the Black Spur Inn. After a relaxing lunch, we went into the Black Range SF. Given the first part of the drive after lunch involved crossing ~50m of boggy mud, we took the opportunity to go through off road recovery gear, recovery points on the various vehicles, and the process of recovery. Before we crossed, we walked the terrain and discussing the various line options, checked the depth of the water, checked for immersed obstacles, and gauges the slipperiness of the various line options. After that, we went for it.

Everybody did very well. Rick and I has some fun with some sideways action too.

After playing in mud, it is recommended that one washes the mud off as soon as possible. So that is what we did next with a nice creek crossing (you won’t find this location on most maps). It was getting late in the day, thus the smart thing to do is to find the easiest way out and not try to attempt a 4pm track. The easiest way out however still involved climbing 70m vertical meters on some reasonably steep and slippery tracks, which everybody in the group did a fantastic job of. We wrapped the day up in Narbethong.

Participants

The tracks around the old Alcoa power station at Anglesea do not shut over winter and offer various degrees of difficulties. We only drove a total of 5km off-road on this trip as the tracks were very wet and slippery. We did however get to winch a Prado out of their predicament. As they say, photos tell a thousand words. So here is the photo gallery.

We started out from Stockman’s Reward camping ground (Big River State Forest) (no snow) around 10:30 am and after some late cancellations the party consisted of me (SF Forester, top ends rebuilt), Tim and Jasper(?) (‘70s Land Cruiser, new tyres) Keong Yip and family (FJ Cruiser, flashy), Rick Coster (L Series Subie, new oil leak discovered), Daniel Ho and Samantha Lee (Pajero, packed for a trip to Dinner Plain), David and [insert David’s son’s name] Wilson (200(?) series Land Cruiser, old reliable).

Stockman’s Reward (named after a John Stockman, not a stockman) is one of those old bush places where once there was gold mining and at this one there was a steam powered dredge working the alluvium at the confluence of the Big River and Arnold Creek until payable gold ran out in 1920. The bush and road works seem to have long since obscured any signs of the gold mining days. The weather in the lead-up to the trip had been mild but wet so, while our expectations of encountering snow were dampened, we were happy to be out for a drive.

We headed east along Big River Rd for 11.5 km (no snow) and took Boundary Track (1) southwards and upwards.

The wet red clay in the surface suggested it might be a slippery challenge but there was enough gravel in the mix to give gratifying traction as we climbed for about 4 km with the low range cogs whining a bit up front, a couple of fun steep rocky hair pins, gaining 580 m to 1070 m ASL by the Corn Hill Track intersection (no snow) and a burnt-out 4wd wreck (what was that thing?) there being reclaimed by the bush.

Corn Hill Track took us east along a wooded ridgeline with an entertaining variety of minor to difficult water, mud, tree and track obstacles and maxing out at 1140 m ASL (no snow). On one pinch there were three track options up an easy one (my choice), a medium challenge and a difficult option. Tim, Keong,

Tim and Jasper

Rick and David each braved the difficult option, but none could get up the slick uneven rut / hole / side slam / jump up combination. “A”s all round for effort though.

Towards the eastern end of Corn Hill Track it makes a steep short descent including a ledge that would be fun to try in the other direction, and then we diverted off the track into a logged coupe and trundled along a mega track, re joining the mapped route in the vicinity of Corn Hill Track/Sibley Track/Corn Hill Road intersection (1270 m ASL, no snow).

From there we ascended and descended Corn Hill (1326 m ASL, no snow) and Mount Matlock (1377 m ASL - our highest altitude for the trip , that’s right, no snow) via the fire break routes.

We lunched at the Matlock picnic shelter and then opted for an afternoon attempt of the south east approach to Woods Point via Johnston Hill Track (more gold mining heritage) and Comet Flat.

With the recent rains the Goulburn River was up a bit and the prospect of three deepish crossings between us and Woods Point we ended the trip at the Goulburn River Log Cabin crossing on Johnston Hill Track (no snow) without getting in the water

Keong braving the difficult option at Three Options Pinch Mt Matlock (no snow)

Dan washing his wheels in the Goulburn River on Johnston Hill Track

Unfortunately, the timing of Martin's trip to Arkaroola didn't suit us and neither will Peter's trip to Tibooburra. Consequently, we set off on our Pat Malone as Darby and Joan.

We headed up through central western NSW Deniliquin, Hay, Ivanhoe and Wilcannia. From Wilcannia we made a day trip, like everyone else, up to the White Cliffs opal fields and back. Like other opal fields such as Coober Pedy, the climate is hot and semi arid so many people live underground in sweet smelling, white walled houses. It's interesting that many of the opal fields (Coober Pedy, Andamooka, White Cliffs & Lightning Ridge) all lie in a region about 1000kms across and at about 30oS. The white (silica) rocks stand out especially the hills such as those at White Cliffs. The town is aptly named. Because of the sunshine, and being off grid (initially), the first large scale solar power station was built at White Cliffs. It has gone through a number of phases / upgrades and the

FromWilcannia we went on to Broken Hill with the intention of travelling north to Tibooburra, across to Cameron Corner and on to Innamincka. However, it had been raining further north and the Cameron Corner track was closed.

This didn't stop us from proceeding. Instead of going to Innamincka in an anti clockwise loop, we headed off in a clockwise loop, starting at Peterborough.

We stayed at Rawnsley Park for a couple of nights and visited Wilpena Pound, along with some of the viewing spots and the Cazneaux tree. Next we headed up to Angorachilna where we only stayed one night before going on to Arkaroola.

Solar power station (dishes) at White Cliffs

At Arkaroola we stayed in relative luxury in one of the motel rooms on the basis that we would be spending the next 4-5 nights in remote areas and without power. As those who went on Martin's trip will attest, Arkaroola is a magical place. I went on the walk to the place where there is a replica of the 550myo fossil Spriggs found (in the Ediacaran Hills further west). See photo. These Ediacaran (pre Cambrian) life forms were unknown until his discovery.

Sturt's desert peas were just starting to come out; the photo below shows some on the road to Stubbs Waterhole.

From Arkaroola we headed into uncharted territory as far as the Subaru and the Avan were concerned. However, that morning before we'd even started, I thought that I’d hitched up the van OK but I hadn't. On the way out of Arkaroola it came unhitched. Luckily, there were people around to help lift it back on and no damage was done. That is the first time in 45 years that I've done that and it will be the last.

The Mt Hopeless road was OK but, as the road reports high-lighted, there were some very rocky creek beds, some bulldust and some soft patches not to mention the corrugations. The beds of stones in some of the creek beds were over 2 feet thick the bulldozers earned their keep. There were gibber stones along the track and gibber plains for as far as the eye could see (see photo).

Post marking location of the replica of the 550myo fossil Spriggs found

Sturt's desert peas (and shadow of phtographer)

Mt Hopeless road northern (less rocky) section but with gibber stones

The Strzelecki track was better but was still heavily corrugated from the B doubles (and occasional B triples). Our original plan was to stop at MonteCollina Bore. Since there was not much there (except for some sand dunes), and it was only 3:30, we decided to drive to the nearest rest place. Ha ha. We drove past Lindon to the Merty Merty turn off but didn't see any. We then drove the 50km on bitumen to the Moomba Oil fields but still no rest place so we poured 10l of fuel into the tank and, at 6:30 and getting dark, we headed for Innamincka. We arrived at Innamincka at about 8:30 and decided to camp on the Town Common; however, we couldn't find it in the dark (even with “instructions” from a regular in the bar). I spotted a large area with a couple of trucks on it and we settled in there.

The next day, while I was getting petrol and supplies, some people were paying their $10pp for camping on the Common. I told the lady that we were camped there (pointing across the road) and we'll pay our $10pp (per night). “That's not the Common” she said, “that's the truck parking bay!”. “You can stay there for free if you don't mind camping amongst the trucks”. We stayed. Next, we headed for the Dig Tree. The road out to the Dig Tree track was bitumen but the 14km track was rough (rocky creek beds, corrugations, gibber stones etc.). Gabrielle (nee O'Hara) had come prepared; she had her shovel and was ready to dig under the Coolabah tree (see picture). Alas, like her namesake Robert O'Hara Burke, she was late about 160 years too late.

Also, on that day, we crossed the causeway over Cooper Creek All the roads north (to Coongie Lakes and CordilloDowns/Birdsville) can only be accessed via the causeway. Up until a few days before we arrived, the Cooper was flooding over the causeway and the roads north were closed. By the time we got there the Cooper had subsided to a level just a few inches below the causeway as can be seen in the photo.

Camped in the Truck parking bay

Later that afternoon, a large 4WD with an even larger trailer ( see photo) pulled into the Innamincka roadhouse I asked him if he ran 4WD tours with his rig. “No” he said “I've got a gyroplane in the trailer that I use for rounding-up cattle”.

After Innamincka, we headed back down the Strzelecki track and, at Merty Merty, turned on to Rieck's track towards Cameron Corner. A 20 30km section of the track was the worst stretch of road we encountered We had been warned

about this section and it did not dissapoint At times I had to

readyshovel,withGabrielle, slow down to 5kph to stop the van from bouncing around; I was concerned that it would jump off the ball, again The rest of the track was OK but still heavily corrugated. Apparently, there was some activity in that area and the big trucks were driving up and down that section

Following an extremely windy night (60 70 kph), we left the 3-state disk, the wire bilby and the dog fence behind us and headed down the Cameron Corner track to Tibooburra Of note along the track is the region where the land is covered with masses of white quartz stones (see photo) like a white gibber plain.

Land near Tibooburra covered with masses of white quartz stones

Large 4WD with trailer which held a gyroplane

Causeway over the Cooper at Innamincka

treeCoolabahtheunderdigto

From Tiboob urra we headed back to Melbourne via Packsaddle, Broken Hill. Mildura and Charlton.

The trip was more of an adventure than a holiday. We were never sure what the weather was going to be like; we were never sure about which roads were going to be open/closed and, if the roads were open, what condition they would be in

In addition, we had a few concerns about how the car and the van would handle the roads. The car was fine, even though we were the only Subaru between Arkaroola and Packsaddle It handled the roads admirably. It's just covered in dust inside and out. The FJ40 would have gobbled up the roads; however, it would also have gobbled us up in the process. Likewise, we were the only Avan between Arkaroola and Packsaddle It fared a little worse One drawer broke up and another was “weakened”, one of the stands worked loose (but we fixed that), the microwave stopped working (we have to fix that ) and the latches holding down the van roof kept coming loose from the jolting. That didn't affect us much except that I had to tighten them every 50km or so on the rough roads. Other minor(?) issues were that our fan heater caused 2 power points to blow we must have overloaded them and a couple of internal light globes blew (and we didn't have replacements).

We carried the satellite phone, defibulator and epirb with us but, fortunately, didn't need any of these

I see the $105 spent on a 30 day satellite plan as insurance.

Although we didn't encounter a lot of wildlife, we managed to see quite a variety As well as the usual emus, wallabies and kangaroos (and goats, nowadays), we saw the rock wallabies at Arkaroola. We also saw a skink on the road which I didn't manage to photograph but did manage to avoid; likewise a frilled lizard, on the way to the Dig tree As well as hawks, galahs and kookaburras, there were apostlebirds (but no choughs) and flocks of budgies which shone green in the sunlight

It's still a man's world out there. There were 10 men and 1 woman at the bar in the Cameron Corner pub/store and she was the owner I copped some flack when I wore a mask into the pub: “have you come in to hold us up?” they said; “real men don't wear masks” was the message (they just get Covid).

ByDanielHo

You may recall the advertisement by Bridgestone Tyres with the tag line “Whenyou’redrivingthere’sonly theequivalentofonehandprintof treadconnectingeachofyourtyres totheroad” .

When your tyres are inflated to road pressures, you are literally relying on 4 palm size contact patches! Wouldn’t you want more than this when driving on loose and slippery surfaces when off roading?

When running lower tyre pressures, the first thing you’ll notice is tyre drop, which is the percentage of the tyre sidewall height loss due to compression of the tyre. The amount of tyre drop is a function of

• Pressure in the tyre

• Stiffness of the tyre carcass

• Shape / size of the tyre

• Load on the tyre

The lower the tyre pressure, the greater the tyre drop but the greater the contact area the tyre makes with the road, which is called the Contact Patch.

Tyre contact patch

Tyre Contact Patch

The contact patch of a tyre is the area which the tread is in contact with the road. Tyre manufacturers evaluate the contact patches of their tyres by taking photos through transparent plates as the test cars driving them. The photo shown is an example from Goodyear Tire and Rubber Company.

So why does tyre contact patch matter? The greater the contact patch, the greater the surface area that carries the load of the wheel. An analogy is the difference between having and not having snowshoes when walking on soft snow. The greater surface area of the snowshoes distribute the load over a bigger area, reducing the risk of sinking. The same principle applies to car tyres when driving on soft surfaces such as sand, mud, and snow. So how much does lower tyre pressure increase the contact patch of a tyre? Let’s use the Yokohama GEOLANDAR AT G015 in 225/60 R17, a common size on Foresters, as an example. The load rating for this tyre in this size is 99. The speed rating is T.

the BND Techsource

the tyre is

assumption that the vehicle is travelling at 5km/hr

Snowshoe magazine

https://andrewskurka.com/

Contact Patch Area

tyre Pressure (PSI)

Tyre Contact Patch size increase compared against OEM recommended road pressure of 32 PSI

The factory recommended road pressure for a Forester with this tyre size is 32 Psi. The modelling shows that the contact patch increases by 180% at 12PSI and 202% when running at 10Psi, compared with running at 32Psi. This is the reason why 10 12 Psi is often the recommended tyre pressure when driving on soft sand.

Here is a visualisation of the increase in contact patch with lower tyre pressures. These are contract patch size measured, as presented by Doria etal in their 2015 paper “Out of plane vibrations and relaxation length of the tyres for single track vehicles”.

Here is a photo of my Wildpeaks MT01 LT tyre at 15 Psi when riding over a spoon drain, showing the extent of the tyre’s tread is in contact with the ground at the lower pressure.

Another benefit of lower tyre pressures is that it allows the tyre to conform over obstacles. This is of particular importance on rocky terrain. The contact area is significantly increased if the tyre is allowed to conform over obstacles, greatly improving tractions. Furthermore, this allows the wheels to roll over the obstacles without having to “climb over”. The changes of punctures from sharp rocks are also reduced because of this conformance.

Pitfalls in running very low tyre pressures

While there are many advantages in running lower tyre pressures, running very low tyre pressures comes with risks.

The lower the tyre pressure, the greater the tyre drop. This means the rim sits much closer to the ground. Furthermore, the lower pressure in the tyre reduces its ability to absorb shock. These two factors combined means the risk of wheel rim damage is heightened when running very low tyre pressures. This in fact happened to one of the club members recently, resulting in a bent rim.

Another potential issue associated with low tyre pressures is breaking the bead of a tyre. Tyres are held onto the rim by the beads of the tyre, which sit in the “bead seats” of the rim. At low tyre pressures, there is less force to press the walls of the tyre into the flanges of the rim. This means that

given a significant enough side impact, the bead of the tyre can be pushed off the bead seat, resulting in sudden deflation of the tyre.

However, unlike the previous example of bending a rim, breaking the bead of a tyre does not necessarily result in damage. The two examples here both happened this year. Neither resulted in damage to the tyre or the rim because in both instances, the wheel was promptly replaced without driving on the deflated tyre (another reason to have a spare wheel that is identical to the other wheels).

Have a play with the BND Techsource tyre model (http://bndtechsource.ucoz.com/index/tire_data_calculator/0 20) and see how different tyre pressures change your contact patch and tyre drop.

Bev Davison is the Club’s resources coordinator The Club has branded polo shirts, vests, jackets, beanies, and caps

GetintouchwithBevformore details

Coordinator:

Davison

details

Membership

The Subaru 4WD Club of Victoria Inc. has three different classes of membership:

[1] Single $85 (Seniors card $80);

[2] Family / Joint $95 (Seniors Card $90)

[3] Life $50 (awarded on merit, minimum 10 years service)

Membership fees are due for renewal on 31 May each year, for the following financial year.

Please note an initial joining fee of $30 applies for Family / Joint or $15 for Single.

All annual fees include FWDV affiliation and trip insurance ($52, subject to review by FWDV).

A trip fee of $15 per adult non member applies (for insurance purposes). NB: Persons joining during the year pay a pro rata fee contact the Membership Officer for details.

If you would like more information about the Subaru 4WD Club of Victoria Inc., please contact our Membership Officer, email: members@subaru4wdvic.com.au or write to:

Membership Officer Subaru 4WD Club of Victoria Inc. c/- 24 Hill Street Hawthorn VIC 3122

Membership application forms can be downloaded from our website https://www.subaru4wdvic.com.au/index.php/membership

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eNewsDirect To Members

This ENews is a new format that Four Wheel Drive Victoria will be sending on a monthly basis or as needed, directly to your Inbox. As a member of Four Wheel Drive Victoria you will have the option to OPT OUT if you do not want this communication from us. If you do not opt out you will continue to receive these emails. You can opt out at any time.

August 2022

Presidents Meeting

The second President’s Meeting for 2022 was held on the 6th of August at the Manningham Hotel. The main purpose of the meeting was to provide an update on the works undertaken by the Four Wheel Drive Victoria board in preparation for the acquisition of a building for the Association. The invitation was extended to all Club Presidents to attend via zoom or in person, however only 20 clubs were represented on the day. If you are a President that was unable to attend, a recording of the meeting can be found for all Presidents by logging into the Four Wheel Drive Victoria website.

Rejoining Four Wheel Drive Australia

As reported by the Four Wheel Drive Victoria President, Eric Bishop, at the President’s Day meeting on August 6th. Four Wheel Drive Victoria has agreed to rejoin the national body with two delegates to represent Four Wheel Drive Victoria, the President and CEO

As stated by FWDV President at the President’s Day Meeting, Aug 6th, Four Wheel Drive Victoria have agreed to come onboard on the basis that

A) Four Wheel Drive Victoria are not paying any money to rejoin

B) The fraud issues of the past are still being pushed through the courts

C) To obtain the FWDV logo in perpetuity which removes the need to redesign our logo

It was mentioned that another strong reason to rejoin the national body was not only to own our logo in perpetuity but also to strengthen Four Wheel Drive Australia against any entity attempting to take over the title and associated responsibility of being the national body.

Shepparton Great Outdoors Show

The Shepparton Great Outdoors Show is on again very shortly!!

Located at the Shepparton Showgrounds over the 2nd to the 4th of September, it is sure to be a great weekend. Be sure to get down and pick up a bargain and get inspiration for your own vehicle!

The latest news from Four Wheel Drive Victoria

Association Vehicle Stickers

Camp Host

Winter is ending soon which means there is plenty of opportunity for your club to undertake a Camp Host for 2022. Both AFL Grand Final Day and the Melbourne Cup weekend are nearly here! They are a great way to help out and volunteer with DELWP and Parks Victoria Your club becomes a point of knowledge for others visiting the area whilst showcasing your club to all visitors. Four Wheel Drive Victoria is also looking to increase the payment for clubs from $250 to $300 to help encourage more clubs to get involved in this great program!

Has your club got your vehicle stickers? If not, they are available to pickup at the Four Wheel Drive Victoria office. If you are regional club that is unable to pickup please email projects@fwdvictoria.org.au with a mailing address and they will be mailed shortly.

National 4x4 Show

The National 4x4 Show has come and gone! It was a terrific three days at the Melbourne Showgrounds and a big thank you to all those who helped it. Without your volunteering the show would not have been such a success! Thank you to, Just Mates 4WD Club, Peninsula 4x4 Club, Geelong 4WD Club, Sandhurst 4WD Club, Victorian 4WD Club, Toyota 4WD Club, Bellarine 4x4 Club, Mansfield Alpine 4WD Club and Central Highlands 4x4 Club. It was also great to see Land Rover Owners Club of Victoria, Offroad and Camping Club of Victoria and Nissan 4x4 Club take up the offer of a free site at the show situated next to the Proving Ground run by Four Wheel Drive Victoria. With thousands coming though the show everyday it provided great exposure of your clubs and hopefully attracted many new members. Mark it in your calendars now, the 2023 National 4x4 Outdoors Show will run at the Melbourne Showgrounds over the 18th to the 20th of August 2023. Time to start working a roster to man your clubs stand next year!

Do You Log Your Volunteer Work?

Our volunteers do a fantastic job helping the community with Four Wheel Drive Victoria projects such as Camp Host, Track Clearing and High Country Hut maintenance. Even your track clearing you may do on a trip counts, so club trip leaders are encouraged to log time spent clearing tracks and send in your volunteer hours worked It is extremely important to Four Wheel Drive Victoria to be able to actually represent the hard work our amazing volunteers do on a regular basis

Seasonal Closures

Seasonal Road Closures are in force until the 27th of October 2022. Please follow these track closures and plan ahead to make sure you are not caught out. A full list of closures from both Parks Victoria and DELWP can be found on Four Wheel Drive Victoria’s website, www.fwdvictoria.org.au, under Resources > Track Closures.

Please note: Four Wheel Drive Victoria has an SOP (Standard Operating Procedure) with both Parks Victoria and DELWP regarding track closures. Before any track closure is signed off, Four Wheel Drive Victoria must be notified and sign off on the closure before it becomes official. All seasonal closures are sent to Four Wheel Drive Victoria prior to being listed and are passed onto club executives for feedback to supply to Parks Vic/DELWP.

Trackwatch

We need interesting articles and high resolution photos about your club for Trackwatch magazine. Trackwatch is distributed far beyond our clubs and is seen by many organizations as well as Government agencies and politicians, so it is a terrific way to show your club to the world. Please email your articles and photos to projects@fwdvictoria.org.au

If you don’t want to receive a hard copy of Trackwatch and would rather read it electronically, send an email to the Four Wheel Drive Victoria office, office@fwdvictoria.org.au The latest 4 issues of Trackwatch are always available to read on the Four Wheel Drive Victoria website. www.fwdvictoria.org.au

Lifeblood 21/22 Challenge Results

The Four Wheel Drive Lifeblood challenge has come to a conclusion for 2021/2022. Four Wheel Drive Victoria would like to give a big thank you to all who rolled up their sleeves and donated and offer a big congratulations to the Pajero 4WD Club of Victoria who finished atop the leaderboard with 36 total donations. Overall, for the challenge there was 197 total donations and 591 lives saved! A tremendous effort!! The challenge is looking to occur again at the start of 2023 so if you think your club can finish higher on the leaderboard you will have the opportunity to help it do so A big thank you to the supporters of the challenge for donating some terrific prizes, SatPhone Shop, ARB, Four Wheel Drive Shed, Designer First Aid and Tacmed! First, second and third will all receive a prize as well as the club with the most donations per member.