Pajero on Simpson Oct 2011

hi pat,

Having just purchased the Pajero this was her first trip - crossing the Simpson. She performed magnificently. However, this is my first 4WD with Traction control and I am not very familiar with all the in's and out's. It came on twice while we went up a sand dune to slowly and pulled us up, still doing 2000rpm. The first time it came on I actually thought the car had broken something because this was a sound I had never experienced in 4WD before.
I would really appreciate it Pat if you could explain further the best way to use the Traction Control in the Pajero.
What part of the Traction control programming changes? Will it allocate more or less power to the certain wheels? This would really help.

cheers

john

Much more enjoyable at a slow pace. It gives you more time to stare out the window and enjoy the splendor of the Simpson. Less wear and tear on vehicle and contents as well as more relaxing for the whole family. To be honest, it was one of the most relaxing trips we have ever done. Going slow over the dunes almost puts you in another world of bliss. Too much to see and do in this place. Even the kids had a drive (at dads pace- 10-15km per hour)

Does making a comment like that make you feel better about yourself Wayne??

TG

Yeah Wayne, you seem to know what you're talking about.....How about you enlighten us all with your wisdom and explain to all of us the difference between All wheel drive and 4 Wheel Drive.....for those of us that don't know of course.........

What are you doing on this website Wayne? If you want to insult people who are just wanting to share the joy of this beautiful country then I suggest you find another chat forum because quite frankly no one appreciates your opinion or utter rudeness.... M

A case of the pot, camp oven & billy calling the kettle black :-))
Cheers Craig..............

What are you on about Craig? - or are you a mate of Wayne's???
TG

No TG, I don't know Wayne at all. Merely an observation pointing out the hypocrisy of the three reponses belittling Waynes original blunt reply as if they were in someway better. Pot calling the kettle black is an old colocial saying that suggests one is just as bad as the other.
Cheers Craig............

Come on Craig! Are you seriously saying that the arrogant rudeness Wayne expressed in his comment is OK and that forumites should merely ignore this type of thing?
I fully understand your colloquial saying about pots, kettles etc but actually don't think it applies in this situation.
However, each to their own, but I for one am sick of ignoring blatantly inflammatory and totally unecessary jibes.
TG

Hi Bob,

Seeing how much joy and education the kids (10yrs & 8 yrs) had while we ventured in the outback is enough for us to go again. We will do a two year plan, that is, every two years take a whole month or two off and travel.
We might do either Tassie or Cape York next, no sure. With such a beautiful country to visit, all the choices make it difficult to know what to see next. I just want to experience them all before the kids get to old and school becomes more important

cheers

john

Hi Jeff,

Yes, that is right, we did have a chat on our way to Purni Bore. We were the two Pajeros travelling together and you were returning from picking up the supplies from the cancelled marathon. I remember that I asked you for the recommended Tyre pressure, to which we experimented to find the right balance for our cars. We found that at 22psi cold and traversing as slow as we were (consistently stopping to take photos and admire the place we were in) the Tyre pressure seemed to never rise above 23-25psi. We never wheel spun on the sand dunes except one where I approached it in my usual relaxed pace. Just reversed and sped up a little, watching the revs - never over 2000rpm and no bouncing around to reach the top with ease. To be honest with you, we were a little disappointed with the ease of 4WDing to cross the Simpson. From all the stories and articles we had heard and read, we expected more of a challenge. It may have been the cars or just the way we drove. But having said that, it was an experience of a life time and cannot wait to come back.
My mate who was in the silver Pajero only used 120ltrs of petrol to my 115ltrs of petrol. We were both very surprised at this result as well seeming how I took 200ltrs with me.
If we were to travel east to west it would be more of a challenge and you would also use more fuel.
Thankyou so much for your advice and hospitality at Mt.Dare in a time when we thought our dream of crossing might have been dashed due to the fires.
Can't wait to meet again. East to West here we come!!!!!!!

cheers

John

I always presumed the cold pressure is what your tyre is and a hot pressure reading is simply that, in other words a hot pressure is not the actual pressure but a fake reading.
Eg if you start at 22 cold, later in the day the pressure reading is 26, do you drop back to 22 and by morning the cold pressure is now 18.
I suppose that's why everyone is different as there are is no exact way of calculating pressures relating to vehicle weight etc.
MM

John,

Come back in a couple of years when the Simpson Desert has dried our & the sand is as soft as talcum powder & you won't believe the difference!
You can almost double your fuel consumption & life can be very interesting.
Coming from east to west is quite a bit more challenging as the dunes have a steeper longer run up & it can be very easy to make a mess of it.

MM,

Tyre pressures are as you read them, the hotter the tyre gets the air expands in a confined space & the pressure goes up, we work on hot tyre pressures because that is the pressure in the tyre at that point in time, yes they will drop back as they get cold overnight but they heat up very quickly as soon as you start driving again.
We run tyre pressure monitors for that reason, it's interesting to watch the tyres pressure fluctuate as the tyre heats up & cools down.

While I was stopped talking to John the tyres on the ute were @ 21psi with almost a ton on the back when they cooled down the next day they were back to 16 psi.

Measuring the tyres footprint is a better way of determining what pressure that you should be at (300mm from memory).