Baja Beach 4WD: 32 psi to 15 psi, see the difference!

Btw David what Rating are those tires you are running ???? are they D OR E?

 

Load Ratings are hard to find on these tires, there is an E with a '4' by it on the sidewall... and Four Wheeler did a test and said they were E rated... However, I do not know if they had the LT or P metric version. Mine is the P Metric ones (which is what the BFGs were that the truck came with).

 

How does the PSI experience on sand translate to other surfaces?
Dirt? Gravel? Mud?
Thanks.

 

dirt, gravel, large rocks and off-road snow are similar to sand where a greater contact patch is better so airing down is helpful. think about tracks on snow mobile or a tank. you kinda float over everything.

deep mud and on-road snow and ice are different where conventional wisdom says that a more inflated tire will have a smaller contact patch and a higher pounds per sq. inch on that contact so that it will actually cut through the snow and mud to get down to the road or hard pack dirt under the mud and give better traction that way. think really tall skinny tires on a tractor.

 

Deep Sand is the only material that mandates deflating... I have crossed through mud, snow, and rocks at street pressure. However, if I ever had difficulty, the tires would be where I would go.

 

Where I go offroad lowering pressure helps me everywhere, I cant climb half the hills with full pressure, or it starts hopping and something is gonna break, when hitting the trails I always air down to 15-17 psi, makes all the difference in the world...

I have been on trial runs where I see guys in fully modded trucks with full air pressure and they cant make some of the hills, and then I come by in almost totally stock trim (I have lockers F and R) and just put past them while laughing, and they are wondering how I made it. I love when that happens.

 

Before you "always air down": Have you tried climbing using the lockers, or do you also have to air down even with lockers?
Thank you.

 

airing down is better in any situation off road. every time i go wheeling i air down to about 20 psi. it makes the ride smoother, your tires will chunk less, and provides way more traction when climbing hills. i have tried to climb hills with full air pressure, couldnt make it for the life of me, then let 15psi out and walked right up it. its more surface area on the ground and it folds over rocks better

 

X2 I was stuck in this with full pressure "Thought i could make it" I aired down to 15psi and crawled right out.


If I'm in the dirt I air down even on fire roads it makes all the difference on the ride and traction.

 

yeah ride is 3x smoother with less air in the tires. every time i see that picture i want to go wheeling in snow... only been once, and it wasnt much snow.

 

Thanks... !

 

i run 15-18psi on the rocks with my km2's (255-80-17) never had them in the sand but id drop to 10psi and feel comfy in sand.....they are E-load range

 

No I dont even go in the dirt with full air pressure, thats just silly. Besides like said above the ride is much smoother and traction is NEVER an issue, I could possibly try to climb some of the hills with pressure, but I dont want any slippage where I am usually at, that could be disasterous, as a matter of fact I just got back from a Trail meet with the Jeep Forum up to Pancake rock and I made it everywhere without any troubles, well the only problem I did have was ground clearance, now my oilpan holds about 1/2 quart less..thanks to a rock that put a dent in it.

Just so you now I am talking about a 97 Jeep Wrangler, I dont have an off-road Taco...but the same priciples apply.

 

Gravel put several holes in my Rugged Fails thanks to small rocks... I have since moved on to Goodyear Wrangler MT/R (w/Kevlar baloney), and after about 1,000 miles, I have already managed to penetrate them with a small piece of gravel.
The puncture was in the tread, not the sidewall, but regardless, tires, even the "rugged" ones, aren't all that strong.

I recently tried a steep, prolonged, hill climb, where the surface was entirely exposed rock. I made several attempts, and barely made it 20 of the ~100 feet up the climb. After airing down from 40 to 18psi, it climbed right up with zero difficulty.

PS: Tried with and without locker/a-trac, in varying combinations, didn't change a thing until I lowered the tire pressure.

 

Thanks for that... Air pressure is a fantastic way to increase traction!
When you retire the Goodyears, give little 'ol Hankook a try!

 

I used to air down until I got nitrogen, haven't gone off-roading in a looonnnngg time.

 

My tires contain mostly nitrogen, too (78%)!

 

Airing down definitely helps. Me and another guy took my truck on the beach with the tires at ~7.5 lbs up front and ~5 lbs in the back. It was great. cruised the beach for probably a couple miles. Just have to be careful and not do anything stupid * especially with the tires that low, don't want to pop a bead * Didn't need 4wd *didn't have it even if we did *.

 

Different kinds of sand, weather (temp., humidity), and tire type all will determin if or how much needs to be deflated or if 4WD is needed is comfortably drive in sand.

 

you realize that their is already nitrogen in the air we breath. unless you r race car having nitrogen in doesnt do anything.