by NowForThe5th on Fri Dec 12, 2014 5:17 am
Well, you certainly managed to make all the mistakes at once.
They're not bad tyres. In fact I have a set of them, myself. But they definitely aren't the equal of a set of quality ATs or road tyres, when you're on the bitumen. The compound is a touch on the soft side and the tread blocks are high and well separated. That makes for great traction in mud and off road, but works against you, big time, on bitumen. They squirm and move in corners, both in the tread and through the sidewalls.
The Desert Hawks are huge tyres, much bigger than almost anything else I've come across when compared to other brands in the same size. Mine would be close to 60mm higher than the same sized D697s that I use every day. So, you have something of a size mismatch as well.
By comparison, on the front you have a set of completely different animals. Much harder compound, which is great for tyre wear, and much stiffer sidewalls. The grip of the STTs also isn't that good on bitumen but the handling characteristics are very different.
So, mismatched tyres, wrong application and on a ute which is light and flighty in the rear to start with.
First thing is to have a look at your tyre pressures. I run mine at 36-38psi but the Pajero is much heavier than a Triton so maybe back off down to 34psi to start. That should help with straight line grip. In my Tritons I generally ran lightly loaded so had the rears at 2-4psi lower than the fronts, bringing them up only after loading 150kg+.
If you're taking corners at 50km/h then best you slow down and delay burying the right boot until you're well past the apex. Feed the power gently - these little diesels generate heaps of torque and it comes in a big rush. Less rubber contact, light loading, high pressures and lots of torque equals slip and that's exactly what's happening, evidenced by the TC kicking in. At 90km/h you're probably just going too fast - learn how to feel what's happening at the contact patch and how to make that work for you and when you want it to. In the meantime, slow down - those big knobbly things are not racing slicks.
You have air bags on the rear still? You haven't mentioned but if your suspension is stock then you're quite likely suffering some suspension drop and riding on the much thicker leaf on the bottom of the pack. This is only supposed to come into play when you are well loaded and combined with the airbags will also contribute to the ride and handling issues you're experiencing, making your ride harsh for a start. Consider a suspension upgrade which will go a long way to fixing the problem, by itself.
Chris
If work is so terrific, why do they have to pay us to do it?