LOL. I loved the boric / dental analogy. And so true, too.
My experience in "racing" in Balochistan, has been in an area to the extreme west of the province, in the Hamun-e-Mashkel region, which is a vast salt flat / flood pane in the proximity of the Pak-Iran border. This was mostly done, by chasing narcotics smugglers in 1FZ-FE powered FZJ79s, whilst we'd be trailing them in 1HZ powered FZJ79s. And when I mean "trailing" I mean trailing! Because these unscrupulous gentlemen would blast into nothingness with those petrol powered monsters, leaving us oil-burners far behind in their wake. The sands of Mashkel were pretty much as you describe it, Suhaib Saab. Flat, clayey, powdery, and enormously uninterrupted. Think of a 100 kilometer long strip of unbroken flat terrain! This would be interspersed with occasional "patches" of stony terrain, which would have a different weight bearing capacity altogether. Of course, sporadic dunes and stretches of loose, wind-blown sand would also be encountered.
A rather nifty jugaar of the smugglers was later discovered by us, to consist of an impromptu onboard compressor...via the a/c. The vehicles would have a length of pipe attached to the a/c's compressor, with which they'd quickly inflate, or deflate tyre pressure according to the patch which they'd be negotiating. Plus, the possibility of "tailing out" would be reduced by keeping lower profile leaf springs (NEVER coil springs) with bump stops, and making sure that the rear of the FZJ79 would be laden with things (mostly, in the region of 1.5 to 2 tons of opium). In a more or less straight line, I've seen these wizards fly in the +180 km/h speed, whilst weaving around hostile fire. Which speaks volumes unto itself about their incredible driving skills, and "feel" for the terrain. And even UNDER fire...when the terrain would dictate they readjust tyre pressure, they WOULD. Cool as a cucumber, they'd whip out the pipe, add a few more psi, return fire, wave at us, and then take off, again.
Our drivers, whilst incredibly talented, would NEVER cater for such thinking on their feet. So, whilst they would invariably close the gap sometimes, whilst the smugglers would be changing their air pressure, we would discover WHY they'd stopped to do so, after a few kilometres, after we'd bog down, or be incapable of matching them speed-for-speed.
On the subject of tyres, THE most popular tyre of choice for the smugglers were VERY ordinary looking. Slim, slender, regular sized, with a straight-patterned tread. Made by Dunlop, if I remember correctly. Almost like aeroplane tyres, if you understand my analogy. I have a set at home (came with my FZJ79) and they are SO nondescript and ordinary looking, that they were the FIRST thing I got rid of, when I bought the vehicle. So...that's also QUITE surprising to those of us, who spend time agonising over sidewall height, tread pattern, aspect ratios, and the like.
Anyways...those were my reasons for the suggestion that variable / adaptive tyre pressure in Jhal Magsi / Cholistan must be fairly important.
As a happy postscript, on a few lucky occasions, we DID manage to get hold of the b**tards. My own 2003 FZJ79, which I bought when it'd been auctioned off to some buyer, was one of those very lucky occasions!
GREAT thread. I'm lovin' it!
P.S. @nn and @SuhaibKiani: Are you gentlemen planning on going next year?
