On a muddy trail

The author takes you through different ways in which you can transform your vehicle into a beefy offroader

Till very recently, the idea of taking my car through muddy tracks, pebbled roads or even large pools of water - for fun, no less - seemed completely preposterous to me. While I still might not put my little hatchback through all that trauma just yet, there are several offroading enthusiasts who slave over their four-wheel-drive vehicles for months before these are ready to roll. Experts suggest that getting your vehicle offroading-ready is an exercise in patience, skills and the right kind of equipment.

For Shahnanawaz Khan, a consultant with Cougar Motorsport, offroading for fun on jungle trails requires little more than a four-wheel-drive - such as a Gypsy or Gurkha - and all-terrain tyres. But for taking it up a notch and, say, participate in a competitive offroading event, there's a lot that goes into making a regular SUV ready to handle those treacherous paths. "The first step in this process is to find the base vehicle that one will be building on and is comfortable with, depending on the nature of terrains. In India, most people use a Gypsy or a Jeep as base vehicles," explains Khan. The second step is to find the right kind of workshop that is qualified to carry out the modifications. This can prove to be tricky, as offroading is still relatively new in India.

  But before considering these expensive modifications, one must gain enough knowledge about the sport itself, says Tejas Kothari, co-founder of Mumbai-based Offroad Junkie, who is a periodontist and implantologist by profession. "The modification process should always follow your gradual learning curve. As your skill and expertise in offroad driving improves so should your modifications," says Kothari.

Once the initial research is done and you have your heart set on modifying your vehicle, there are two types of modifications for your SUV - structural and performance-enhancing. Under structural modifications, the six-point roll cage is one of the most important additions that can save your life in the event of an accident. Depending on the quality, this can cost between Rs 20,000 and Rs 30,000. Other important structural changes include coil overs that increase the vehicle's ground clearance and chassis optimisation by ensuring the front chassis has enough strength to climb steep slopes. Relocating the radiator and fuel tank to the back of the vehicle can reduce damage by mud or water on the radiator, but this is an extensive process that needs to be carried out after much thought and planning, according to Khan.

Another crucial modification pertains to the vehicle's electrical circuit, where one should consider installing a master "cut-out" switch that can stop the vehicle immediately in case of an emergency. While competing in events, any offroad vehicle must have space and provision for an extra battery, too. Engine swaps, remaps and tuning are necessary, since offroad vehicles need more powerful engines than regular SUVs. "For this, many people put a 1.6 litre engine in a Gypsy and a Scorpio engine in a Jeep and then fine tune it further," explains Khan. In most stock vehicles, he adds, the vehicle does not move forward as soon as one or more wheel lifts in the air. "To overcome this, competitive vehicles need to use diff-lockers that ensure all four wheels are powered at all times," says Khan. Besides these, mud terrain tyres are a must. Complicated modifications mean nothing without proper competition tyres. Each tyre costs between Rs 12,000 and Rs 15,000.

To simplify the jargon, Kothari breaks the process of modification down to a thumb rule. "The easy rule to modify your vehicle is to start at the bottom and work your way up. Once you have addressed the safety criteria, you can start with the tyres, work your way up to suspension, engine modifications, and so on." Time to ditch my hatchback, perhaps.