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Airing down

Discussion in 'Off-Roading & Trails' started by Kyle_, Feb 9, 2022.

  1. Feb 9, 2022 at 7:13 PM
    #1
    Kyle_

    Kyle_ [OP] A guy and his expensive hobby

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    At some point, does being aired down for an extended period of time, cause the potential to damage wheels, rims, or anything else? Also any experience on lowering the psi on stock goodyear wranglers w/ kevlar?


    I havve no experience, and cannot seem to find the answer.

    Not a friday post.
     
    Matic likes this.
  2. Feb 9, 2022 at 7:16 PM
    #2
    tcjacado

    tcjacado Well-Known Member

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  3. Feb 9, 2022 at 7:22 PM
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    Kyle_

    Kyle_ [OP] A guy and his expensive hobby

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  4. Feb 9, 2022 at 7:40 PM
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    Thatbassguy

    Thatbassguy Sweet or sour?

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    I think it would depend on how low, and how fast you're driving more than the length of time. The trails I run are separated by stretches of paved roads, so I generally keep it at 20-25 PSI. But, I'll go lower if I need to for a particular situation. If the trails were all connected, I'd probably run lower pressure.

    FWIW, My ex wrecked a tire by driving around with it under-inflated for am extended period of time.
     
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  5. Feb 9, 2022 at 7:46 PM
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    Matic

    Matic The "OFG" Baby!!!

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    Yes. It will weaken the sidewall over an extended period of time.
     
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  6. Feb 10, 2022 at 6:59 AM
    #6
    mic_sierra

    mic_sierra Toshiba HDDVD is the future

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    Your question is difficult to answer because it is ambiguous....
    • What does aired down mean? Wear will depend on the specific pressure you are running. What specific pressure are we talking here. 20#? 10#? 7#?
    • What terrain will you be covering whilst aired down?
    • What tires are you running? Different tires have different sidewall flex which is why I shake my head at so-called off road rigs that are running 20 inch rims (very little sidewall flex)
    • What speeds are you running aired down?
    • How loaded is your vehicle when wheeling? Do you have a RTT and accessories and a bed loaded with gear?
    I don't mean to be difficult here, but your question is a bit like me asking a running forum, "I have these shoes, how long will they last?" They have no idea my body type, how I run, the type of shoes I'm wearing, the climate I am running in, the terrain, etc. Check out this article in The Dirt 4WP for some considerations.

    4WP.jpg
     
  7. Feb 10, 2022 at 7:04 AM
    #7
    FitzTaco84

    FitzTaco84 Well-Known Member

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    Agree. For me personally, I only air down significantly when required and then air back up. For instance, if I’m driving on a beach/soft sand, I’ll air down for the day. But go back to normal as soon as I leave for pavement. Not sure why anyone would just run low pressure longer than needed.
     
  8. Feb 10, 2022 at 8:43 AM
    #8
    Woofer2609

    Woofer2609 Getting better all the time.

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    A lot will depend on how fast you are going. An under inflated tire run for extended periods will generate a lot of heat above 50km/h, the lower the pressure the faster it will heat up, and the hotter it will get. This will wear out your tire much faster, and below say 12-15 psi at near 80km/h, you risk a blowout due to the heat cooking the tire (I have seen it happen.)
    Because there are fewer air molecules in your tire, there will be increased friction between the molecules that ARE in the tire, leading to heat.
    The damage could affect your rim if you drive on the blow out, or the undercarriage if tire fragments wrap around a-arms, halfshafts, etc.
    Obviously I am not talking about extended 4 wheeling with intermittent higher speeds; tires are pretty tough, but do have limits.
     
  9. Feb 10, 2022 at 12:22 PM
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    StandardTaco

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    Lowest I've gone with the stock goodyear wranger kevlar tires was 14psi (according to dashboard reading).
    Drove about 12 miles in one day and 12 miles back out the next day. Top speed of 15-20mph for short stretches.
    Tires barely looked low when parked on smooth-ish ground at the campsite.

    Are you talking about an extended period of time sitting still, or driving?
     
  10. Feb 11, 2022 at 7:39 AM
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    Woofer2609

    Woofer2609 Getting better all the time.

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    I store my truck on its side if I'm not driving it to avoid creating flat spots on the tires.:D
     
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  11. Feb 11, 2022 at 8:10 AM
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    Kyle_

    Kyle_ [OP] A guy and his expensive hobby

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    Honestly not a bad idea. I however let my truck sit on 4 jacks so I don't hurt the air inside my tires.
     
  12. Feb 11, 2022 at 8:13 AM
    #12
    Kyle_

    Kyle_ [OP] A guy and his expensive hobby

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    Multi day off-road trip. When I park for the night do I need to air up or does it not matter? I think I've generally realized though that if not needed to be aired down, don't be.

    So I guess to directly answer, both sitting still and driving.

    A point I inquire is all these overland you tubers that somehow appear on my recommended YouTube videos, that they camp aired down. I however also do not want to risk anything.

    Also to go with that, single day offroading I do it a decent amount here in socal, and while the trails typically aren't demanding to be aired down, it would improve comfort and risk popping a tire on a sharp rock for the few that there are...

    I have only gone on street psi of ~32psi


    I however want to be informed before I do it.
     
    Last edited: Feb 11, 2022
  13. Feb 11, 2022 at 8:22 AM
    #13
    StandardTaco

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    In my previously mentioned anecdote, my truck sat still for ~14 hours with the tires at 14psi. No issues.
    As I said, they barely even looked low. If they were overly squished looking maybe that would put unusual stress on the sidewalls.
    I think the bigger cause for sidewall stress though is the constant flexing cycling when driving with low pressure. The faster the speed, the worse it is.
     
  14. Feb 11, 2022 at 8:23 AM
    #14
    Kyle_

    Kyle_ [OP] A guy and his expensive hobby

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    Thanks!
     
  15. Mar 2, 2022 at 10:45 PM
    #15
    tacovagon

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    When I go to the desert, airing down is done after setting up camp for the weekend. I air down to 12 lbs. before leaving camp the first time. My tires remain that way all weekend and I air back up before leaving camp to return home. I've had no tire problems from this.
     
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  16. Mar 14, 2022 at 11:42 PM
    #16
    Enduromatic

    Enduromatic Very Classy Redneck.

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    In my experience if you have a proper, durable off road tire, any wear or damage from being "moderately"aired down, say, mid teens, for long periods of time is negligible. Running much lower than that and torquing hard all the time on a decent all terrain and I bet you would start to notice floppy weakened sidewalls quite a bit down the line...

    Doing the same on a lil highway tire and my bet your side wall will start to show it's ribs damn near instantly.


    For example, running something with lots of plies, heavy carcass side wall, desert tire, you could run really low all day and wouldn't really notice anything giving out before the tire wore out anyhow.



    I'm my opinion if you plan on being aired down and putting and have a halfway decent a/t it m/t... No worries. If you gonna really go as low as you can and actually wheel pretty hard all the time, invest in high quality, designed to be off road, ran low tires.

    If you just wondering about staying aired down for couple days at a time and only on mid trails...I would say don't worry at all unless you're running complete junk tires. And you can very safely get down below that 32 psi you are rocking. Easily, safely and without any worry imo to low 20s given you have a decent a/t at least.
     
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  17. May 21, 2022 at 7:49 PM
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    Barcelona21Taco

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    Except for sand I think airing down is over rated as you are giving up ground clearance to do so. I’ll keep all the ground clearance I can get.
     
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  18. May 22, 2022 at 1:22 PM
    #18
    essjay

    essjay Part-Time Lurker

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    Ground clearance doesn't do you any good when you've got a flat from rubbing your fully-inflated sidewall against a rock.
     

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