TOP PHOTO, the all-new Montero Sport’s traction control system intelligently corrects any understeer and oversteer at any speed. Above, the Montero Sport blazing through a dirt road.
Photos by Alvin Uy and Mitsubishi Philippines
Mitsubishi Motors Philippines organized an off-roading clinic dubbed as the “Mitsubishi 4×4 Camp by Hiroshi Masuoka” last weekend.
Masuoka-san is a famous Japanese rally champion driver, and Mitsubishi’s works driver. His most notable achievement was his back-to-back successes in the Dakar Rally in 2002 and 2003.
He is the fourth driver in the rally’s history to win back-to-back. Among his other racing achievements include bagging the championship title in the 2003 Baja Italy and the 2004 UAE Desert Challenge.
His career was mostly spent racing under Mitsubishi using various Pajero models. In his 21st and final participation in the 2009 Dakar Rally, he retired from the race.
During his entire Dakar career, he won a total of 25 stages, ranking him fifth in the all-time list for the car category.
The two-day weekend 4×4 camp was conducted at the 78-hectare Tarlac Recreational Park located in San Jose, Tarlac.
The first day was designated for Mitsubishi car club members and special guests, while last Sunday was reserved for members of the motoring media.
Masuoka-san was there personally to supervise the completion of the various stages of off-road track meant to show participants how tough the all-new Montero Sport SUV and Strada pickups were, plus how to make full use of the new technology and 4×4 features of these vehicles on the road and off the road.
BACK-to-back Dakar Rally champion Hiroshi Masuoka
The camp was organized and marshalled by the group of Filipino race driver Pepon Marave and drift race driver Charlie Cruz. Marave designed the race track in Tarlac Recreational Park.
During the clinic, participants were given pointers on off-roading and 4×4 features of the all-new Montero Sport. These pointers included understanding the vehicle’s specifications, theoretical capabilities and limitations so one can safely do off-roading and make full use of the vehicles.
Marave gave pointers on what 4×4 vehicle owners should look out for, including knowing and familiarizing their vehicle’s engine torque and power, wheelbase length, ground clearance, and water-fording capabilities, understanding the suspension system and suspension travel, learning about Mitsubishi’s new four-wheel drive system, and using the correct tire pressures.
Tips for a 4×4 adventure
For first timers, just pick a light and easy off-roading trail, and make sure you have a guide or a 4×4 buddy who is familiar with the trail.
A PLUME of dust rises as the Montero Sport pushes forward through rough road.
One can easily get lost in the bushes especially during the rainy season. There are a number of interesting trails that a stock 4×4 pickup or SUV can easily navigate.
Before going on a light off-roading trail, one must remember the acronym BLOWBAG, which stands for battery, lights, oil, water, brakes, air and gas (or fuel). This is the most basic checklist one should do just before heading out with your 4×4 buddies.
Do a visual check to see if everything in your vehicle is good to go. Marave said that it is also essential to bring extra clothes, water, light snack/food, first aid kit, tool kit, fire extinguisher and flashlight in case you get stuck on the trail and need to be rescued.
Ideally, it is better to use tires suitable for off-roading. There are several types and brands, but for light trails, a stock tire will do although it can get problematic when stuck in a rut. So, it is good to have a 4×4 trail buddy who is experienced and has a winch.
You should be familiar with your vehicle’s capabilities like suspension travel, ground clearance, and water fording. Suspension travel is the distance between the bottom of the suspension stroke (when the vehicle is on a jack, and the wheel hangs freely) to the top of the suspension stroke (when the vehicle’s wheel can no longer travel in an upward direction toward the vehicle).
Off-roaders, avoid bottoming or lifting the wheel, which can cause serious control problems or even cause damage. Bottoming is caused when the vehicle’s suspension, tires or its fenders run out of space to move, or if the body or other components of the car violently hits the road.
Understanding off-roading
One should know the vehicle’s ground clearance, approach and departure angles when negotiating rocky and hilly terrains to avoid hitting the front, bottom or the rear of the vehicle.
THE MEDIA group with Masuoka, Mitsubishi PH EVP for Marketing Shigeru Ogura, FVP for marketing Froilan Dytianquin, and senior manager for brand communications Arlan Reyes.
It is important to sit as high as you can while driving so you can see the obstacles that come
in your way. Most premium variant SUVs have adjustable seat heights, and you can adjust them to a point where there is still sufficient clearance between your head and the ceiling.
It is also important to know the vehicle’s water fording capabilities because most likely, you will have to do some river crossing.
The all-new Montero Sport’s GT variant has a wading height of 700mm. Crossing a river higher than your vehicle’s maximum allowable height can get you stuck midstream, or worse, drag you in more extreme cases downstream.
When crossing a river, it is good to cross in a slight diagonal direction to compensate for any drag of the river’s current.
It is also important to do a
visual check before each river crossing by going out of your vehicle.
Traction control
The all-new Montero Sport has features that can easily help you traverse the most extreme off-road terrains. Its active stability and traction control accurately keeps you going in the direction you want to go.
Its electronic stability control system acts as an antiskid control that corrects oversteer or understeer.
There are two types of traction control: engine and brake. The engine traction control uses the engine’s torque and power to control the speed of the vehicle, while brake traction control uses the brakes to control steering and improve traction when it detects a single wheel spinning faster than its opposite wheel across an axle.
Once the brake is applied, it sends more torque to the opposite wheel. Without this driver aid, it is much harder to control the vehicle especially on high speed cornering or maneuvering, or in cases when avoiding collision or obstacles.
NO off road is too narrow for the Montero Sport.
Mitsubishi’s Super Select 4WD–II (SS4-II) technology offers four kinds of drives.
For highway or urban driving, just select the 2H (2 wheel-drive high-range) mode to get the most of fuel economy. It also gives the least strain on your engine and drive system.
Aside from fuel efficiency, the 2H mode offers the smoothest performance for cruising and relaxed driving. It also gives at least 3 percent more fuel saving than full-time 4-wheel drive modes.
The difference is considered negligible, which shows how well designed the new Mitsubishi 4-wheel drive system is in 4H mode.
The 4H (4 wheel-drive high-range) mode is used for very mild off-road conditions, as well as slippery road conditions typical of bad stormy or snowy weather.
The 4H mode gives power and drives for all the four wheels, offering variable power and torque to each wheel to give added traction on road or off-road. It can be driven on high speeds with sure-footed assurance.
The 4HLc (4-wheel central differential lock) mode distributes torque and power equally to all the four wheels for even more rugged or slippery road conditions.
Lastly, the 4LLc (4-wheel low lock) mode gives the Montero Sport or Strada pickup all the tractor-like crawling power needed to pull through very rough, slippery and sticky terrains.
From muddy, snowy or rocky terrains, the 4LLc mode locks in all the four wheels and gives a powerful low-end torque to make sure you can pull through the most demanding off-road conditions.
Compared to older SUVs with 2H to 4L selections, Mitsubishi’s off-road mode now offers a more refined driver aid. Its off-road mode has four settings: gravel, mud/snow, sand and rock so the 4-wheel drive system can intelligently figure out how much engine and brake power to apply, as well as the transmission gear required to adapt to varying road conditions on the fly.
Its gravel model gives the right amount of wheel slip to balance between acceleration and vehicle stability over unpaved surfaces filled with small stones and dirt material.
The mud/snow mode gives the correct amount of control on the tire slip to make sure the vehicle can avoid getting stuck in sticky situations. It cleverly reduces engine control to improve its ability to get out and extract itself in mud or snow.
On the other hand, the sand mode intentionally keeps a high engine revolution and torque to give the vehicle enough momentum on sandy surfaces.
It also features Mitsubishi’s exclusively programmed automatic transmission shift map which varies shift timing settings depending on the vehicle speed and acceleration.
This improvement in shifting and speed is intelligently matched with the engine torque and power with the correct gears in place after the sensors detect the varying road conditions.
All the three mode selections can run on both 4HLc or 4LLc drive ranges, while the rock mode can only run on 4LLc range. In this selection, the system reduces drive loss by reducing wheel slip, and uses its limited slip differential effect to give its sense of stability at low speeds when one or more tires are not touching the road surface or when climbing steep gradients. It literally transforms the Montero Sport or Strada into a very able rock crawler.
Another feature of the Super Select 4WD II system is its rear differential lock control switch which can provide better traction by giving equal driving force to its rear wheels needed in muddy or rough road conditions.
Dakar champ’s thoughts
What does Masuoka-san think is the most outstanding feature of the all-new Montero Sport? He intimated that the all-new Montero Sport is a major step up from the previous generation model, noting a major improvement in terms of ride comfort without sacrificing performance.
Its NHV (noise harshness and vibration) is comparable to a luxury SUV. With improved ground clearances, approach and departure angles, wading depth, suspension and its Super Select 4WD II system, the new Montero Sport is the whole package.
The 4×4 camp had participants join in 3 stages—a race track circuit course, off-road course and a special “Masuoka” course. The race track exercise allowed the Japanese rally champion to show the handling prowess of the Montero Sport on the road with the race track’s 18 highly technical and very tight corners. The off-road stage is a mild off-road course prepared just for the event to show the various 4×4 features and modes of the Montero Sport and Strada. Lastly, Masuoka-san took the participants to a taxi ride using a stock Montero Sport on a 2-kilometer off-road course filled with mud, gravel and dirt with varying elevations and obstacles, including a hilltop with an almost 45-degree slope. He ably drove the Montero Sport at rally speed and the bone-stock SUV took in all the punishment the former Dakar rally champion can give. At the end of the day, all the Mitsubishi 4×4 Camp participants went home sweaty, tired with a huge smile on their faces.
Disclaimer: The comments uploaded on this site do not necessarily represent or reflect the views of management and owner of Cebudailynews. We reserve the right to exclude comments that we deem to be inconsistent with our editorial standards.
