PSI for higher speeds (off road)

i figure you LT guys are the ones to come to for a question like this. when i'm in virginia, all the wheeling i do is slower, and it's more about traction at low speeds, so it's pretty much, get your tire pressure as low as you can without blowing it off the rim.

BUT...i'm now going to be permanent in florida, as i've finally got a hosue where i go to school. I hate mud, so the other wheeling around me is higher speed, mostly on sand, with whoops and banked turns, etc (think small-scale mojave/baja type of stuff). I've been working on my suspension to handle the terrain a little better for what my budjet can handle (icon remote resi front and back, timbren rear bumps, etc) but i'm wondering what yall run your tire psi at. traction is not as much of an issue since i'm on mostly dry ground, and it's florida, so there aren't really hills.

 

Anytime you get off the pavement you want as much tire coverage on the ground as possible..you should always have a lower PSI.

I'm no expert..but that's what I do and I've always managed to get out of every situation..

 

yeah, i'm not really worried about getting stuck with the type of terrain o'm running, it's more of what will give me the most control at slightly higher speeds, say between 30 and 50 mph. sometimes faster, but usually there is a turn or decent sized jump i'd rather not go faster over/through. pretty much, what's gonna keep me safe and give me the best chance of keeping the truck in one piece.

 

its different depending on the terrain. Remember, your tires are your first line of suspension. I get down to about 10-12 in the dunes, and 15-20 in the dezert, depending on how sandy the dezert is that day

 

thanks, that was just what i was looking for. no dunes around here, and i was figureing 10-12 (what i run up north for more traditional trails) would be risky in that i may take the tire off the rim on a turn, or a hard landing could actually damage the rim. i think i'll start at 20 and if i see a need for more traction (and feel comfortable) i'll drop it down a couple more pounds.

going out tonight to give it a shot

 

be sure to go out with at least another truck

Going down to that PSI (10-12) will be alright in the dunes, but be really careful if u migrate onto harder packed sand...take turns slower or u'll pop a bead.

 

x2

 

yeah, i always have another truck either with me, or in the worse case, i'll make sure the guy i normall go with is home, which is only 20 minutes away.

and i don't think i'll have a need for the float and traction gained by dropping to 10-12 psi. i've run all of these trails before at daily driving psi, but like you said, tires are the first form of suspension, and it beat the crap out of me running at mid 30s psi. that was also before the new coilovers though. so tonight will be a tire pressure experimenting night

 

In the Desert I always air down to 18psi. I dont know how I picked 18 but its still a safe number to know I shouldn't blow a tire off the bead

 

well, it looks like somewhere between 18 and 22 works great. i give the range because i brought all 4 down to 20 psi, but i'm not sure what the acuracy of my pressure guage is. handled great. it had rained a lot last night, so it was a little slicker than normal, with a puddle here and there. but right around 20psi seemed to be high enough to take the bigger hits withough risking blowing the bead, but still low enough to have a good grip on the dirt/sand.

on another note....i freakin love the new RR icons. i sortof knew what to expect (though i am still way more impressed than i thought i'd be) but my friend who was riding along got all worried when we approached a tougher section doing about 40mph....to his surprise, and a little of mine, it felt like butter, cruised right over what had previously bucked my truck pretty hard. though it's now clear that i REALLY need a good set up bumpstops up front. factory ones are deffinately the limiting factor in my suspension right now.

i would have taken some pictures, but to give you an idea, i had 5 sets of hid lights on and it was still dark....... makes for a creepy trail run