Airing down tires

It's a bit of a trade off really I think.

You get more grip out of the tyres by airing down as they give a better contact patch on the ground by taking the shape of the uneven ground. therefore you are less likely to get stuck due to lack of traction.

You get more ground clearance from not airing down and therefore are less likely to get stuck from grounding out.

So it's swings and roundabouts on the getting stuck front.

There are issues with airing down though. Mud can get into the bead as it rolls slightly off the rim and can allow air to leak even after you've pumped them back up.

Also, you are more likely to damage a rim on rocks etc as the tyre isn't keeping the rim away from them as much.

I personally keep mine about 25psi no matter what I'm doing. That way I won't forget to pump them back up after and won't experience any of the problems associated with airing down.

If you have beadlockers it's less of an issue, but I don't and don't have money to spend on the rims for them.

It's a personal thing. You make your own choice on it.

Kirkynut

does anyone no whats the recomended tyre pressure is for 31/10.5/15s i bought them with tyres on and never got round to checking them?

like kirkynut says i would forget to pump up after a day out so i would need a happy medium so it would be ok to drive home

we keep our 31s at about 20-22psi for on the road - much higher and it gets a bit skittish on wet roads

ok i'll give it a try this weekend,

thanks

With 235/85-16 i am at about 20 psi (1.4bar) for road and offroad.
This is quite low to avoid too much stiffness offroad, and quite high to run on the highway and avoid problems like mud between rims and beads, loosing beads, etc.

I was reading some pages of usa offroaders and it seems that there everybody use to deflate tires to 10-15psi when offroading.

My personal experience on the tires is that nothing help like having big lugs on tires shoulders (like the simex tires): i had for 3 years 235/75-15 tires with simex tread, and thore were great everywhere. Now i have bigger tires on 16" rims, but these are "medium" mud tires. Ground clearance is great, but the traction in mud is half than before. I was wondering if lowering tire pressure can help me to gain more mud traction

Cocopolo wrote: With 235/85-16 i am at about 20 psi (1.4bar) for road and offroad.
This is quite low to avoid too much stiffness offroad, and quite high to run on the highway and avoid problems like mud between rims and beads, loosing beads, etc.

I was reading some pages of usa offroaders and it seems that there everybody use to deflate tires to 10-15psi when offroading.

My personal experience on the tires is that nothing help like having big lugs on tires shoulders (like the simex tires): i had for 3 years 235/75-15 tires with simex tread, and thore were great everywhere. Now i have bigger tires on 16" rims, but these are "medium" mud tires. Ground clearance is great, but the traction in mud is half than before. I was wondering if lowering tire pressure can help me to gain more mud traction

The best way to know for yourself I think would be to try it and see for yourself. We all have opinions but they are just that.

If you don't seem to have any success or have problems, pump them back up and don't bother again.

The worst that can happen is mud in the bead if you don't let them down too much. That can be cleaned out by having it taken off the rim and cleaned. It costs money but isn't the end of the world.

It won't come off the rim at say 12-15 psi.

Kirkynut