PART 5: HOW TO RECOVER A FRONT-WHEEL-DRIVE CAR
In part 5 of the ABC of off-roading series, we’re explaining how to recover your front-wheel-drive car when it gets stuck in the muck
7 5 PER CENT OF ALL THE CARS SOLD in India are front-wheel-drive. There is no denying the fact that they can easily tackle around 90 per cent of the roads in India, and they’re cost-effective, lighter and more efficient to boot. What more could you want? Well, it’s all fine when the sun is shining and the birds are chirping but when the going gets tough, their forte can turn into their Achilles heel really quickly.
Earlier this year, after the first-ever Bharat GP, we saw a lot of cars getting stuck due to the thick muck that had covered the parking lot thanks to rain the day before. Social media was flooded (no pun intended) with clips of front-wheel-drive cars struggling while keyboard warriors laughed on from the sidelines. Team evo India comes to the rescue with a few pointers on what to do when you find yourself on wet, slippery ground in your front-wheel-drive car.
First things first, buckle up for safety. Make this a habit, even if you are just manoeuvring the vehicle in a parking lot. The second step is to bring yourself closer to the steering wheel. Sitting with a gangsta lean and your arm stretched out will not give you the leverage you need to wrestle the steering but more on that later.
Third, switch off the ESP or traction control, if your car has it. If traction control kicks in at the mere hint of wheelspin, you aren’t going anywhere. At the same time, you don’t want to wildly spin your tyres – that’s a fool’s errand. However, you do need a small amount of wheelspin for the tyres to find traction on the grippy surface below the loose stuff.
Now the most important trick here is to be smooth. Gently let the clutch out and apply the throttle. Your
tyres will spin but modulate the throttle to manage it. When the wheels are spinning, you want that to be accompanied by forward or backward motion. If the wheels are spinning and the car is stationary, you are just digging yourself a deeper hole. Continue like this, and you will end up with your underbody completely sitting on the mud, which will make pulling out your car a task and then some.
If the car cannot get out on its own steam, then pushing it out would be your next best bet. Pushing is rarely a one-man job, so flag down some helpful bystanders or motorists. Analyse the situation and try to minimise the effort you need to put in. While your new friends push, don’t just sit inside and look pretty. Supplement the pushing by giving the car some gas. Again, be careful not to beach your car or cover the good samaritans with muck. And this is where bringing yourself closer to the steering wheel comes into play. To help the tyres find traction, you will need to swing the steering wheel aggressively from side to side. It’s a lot of effort from behind the steering wheel but it sure beats pushing from the outside.
If none of this works, then try rocking the car back and forth. This helps build up the momentum required to muscle the car forward. If you have traction, go back and then go forward, and repeat the process until you eventually get out. Reducing the tyre pressure will also help but at this point it might be too little, too late.
Despite your best efforts, if the car is still beached, then the last thing to resort to is to ask for a tow from another vehicle, preferably a 4x4. Scan the parking lot for a serious off-roader like the Jimny and request the owner to help you out. This would not be an unusual request for a Jimny owner, so you might even find that they carry recovery gear with them like a tow rope, eyes and shackles. The Jimny gets tow hooks on both ends, which makes it an ideal tow vehicle. Now, all you have to do is attach the tow rope with the shackles to both vehicles and watch the Jimny work its magic.
After you’re ready, the first thing to remember is to instruct everybody on the outside to stand back. If the tow rope snaps, it will take down an elephant, let alone the nosy teenager with the smartphone pointed at you. It’s also a good idea to keep your windows down and call the other driver for better communication. Once ready, ask the driver doing the towing to drive forward, gently take up the slack in the rope, and then begin applying more throttle to pull you out. To reduce stress on both
Above: Remember to refill the air in your tyres once you’re out, otherwise lower tyre pressures will take a toll on your fuel efficiency
vehicles, give it some throttle yourself and try to power out as well.
After all this drama, remember to thank the people who helped you, stow your towing eye properly, refill your tyres and once you’re back on proper tarmac, give your car a nice wash. The poor girl has also had a hard day. And if you find yourself in such situations more often than not, perhaps it’s time to get a Jimny. ⌧
AFTER YOU’RE READY TO TOW, THE FIRST THING TO REMEMBER IS TO INSTRUCT EVERYBODY ON THE OUTSIDE TO STAND BACK