Tire Pressure

[Deano Bronc]

Saw this earlier and thought it was kinda cool. Shows what changing air pressure does to your tire and how it conforms to an obstacle.
I didn't realize how much the difference was from full air pressure and about 15lbs until I did the trail going back to Fossil Ridge on Drummond Island. A group of us went down that trail at full pressure and it seemed like it was going to shake the Bronco apart. Needless to say, once we got to the end of the trail, we all lowed our air pressure when it was time to go back. I will never do that again.

Normally I keep my pressure around the recommended 39psi for highway use during the summer. I've let my pressure drop to the mid30s for the winter.
When I am on 2 tracks, I sometimes leave the pressure alone but have also decreased my pressure to mid20s just for comfort purposes.
For places like the Badlands and Holly Oaks, I normally set my pressure around 15psi.
And for the sand dunes such as Silver Lake, I set my pressure to 10psi.

What kind of pressures do you run and in what terrain? For instance, what is the recommended pressure for Moab with stock Squatch rims and tires?

[TechnicalDisaster]

On the stock tires I never go below 20psi. When I get my D rated tires with more sidewall I will go to 15psi.

I will always air down before going on a trail. Its so much more comfortable.

[BroncOitis]

Great information Deano Bronc

Having stock 35” tires without having Beadlock wheels, I tend not to go below 15psi when climbing rocks.
I have learned that when you are rock crawling, going below a threshold of 12 psi you are taking a chance of a rock pushing up into your tire and through to the rim of your wheel, and we all know the outcome of that.

I can only speak of experience on sand with a Jeep I had, and I would bring the tire pressure down to around 6 psi, that’s right 6 psi on 35s.
I always knew not to corner too sharp especially on dirt or pavement, but in sand you’ll be fine.
The lower the tire pressure on sand will really make a big difference, I’ve tried all tire pressures starting with around 15 psi and working my way down to 5 or 6 psi, when lowering the tire pressure it’s not so much the smoother ride, but about how wide your tires flatten out on the sand.
You could have a 10” wide tire when fully inflated, but as you drop the tire pressure you end up with a 10” tire that could be flattening out to about a 12” tire, remember you don’t want to dig on sand you want to float on it.
Like I said, I have not tried the Bronco on sand yet, but I’m pretty sure I’ll be somewhere around 6 or 8 psi.
and when on Rocks I’ll stay around 15 psi.


Thanks Dean

Good information!!!

[MIRunner]

BroncOitis said almost everything I was going to write. When we went to Silver Lake a few weeks ago with Brian and Kristy we ran 6-8 psi in the Bronco. We ran Traci's Jeep at 6 in the dunes at Sand Hollow, UT a month ago but ran around 12-15 on the trails on stock wheels. Our off road training instructor who has been wheeling for 30+ years said that 12-14 is safe unless heavy rock crawling which then you should have beadlocks when you get to that point where you still will want to air down quite a bit without worrying about popping the bead

[BroncOitis]

Silver Lake Sand Dunes in Mears is exactly where I did a lot of self-taught training on sand.
We loved going out there 2 to 3 times a year for more than 15 years, we always stayed at the “Hey Boo Boo” park…🤣 (Yogi Bear’s Jellystone Park) right there in Mears.
We need to get a big group MIRunner next year and hit SLS again, it’s been years since I last went.
The last time I went they had just moved the front Entrance to the back of the park, we maybe went 2 times since then.
Made sense to move it where people could get in easier, the way it was set up for years at the front entrance was a nightmare for some to get up that single lane hill, because a lot of people that tried getting up it, were not aired down enough and we would wait, and wait in line to get up it.
I had no problems even in 2 wheel drive climbing the hill because I was at the proper air pressure.
Anyhoo!
Back in the 90s we had to wait in line for hours sometimes during peak times (Holidays) and that’s when we would buy several cases of beer and drink it before we went in, since you couldn’t take alcohol inside the park, they would always check our coolers….

Air pressure is a big factor if you want to climb hills in sand, air pressure my friends!!!

[SlashRacer]

I usually drop down to 13 psi at when offroading. I run at 13 psi on Drummond, Badlands ORV park, and Holly Oaks.

[brnc_o_vrlndr]

The lowest I ever went (even with having beadlocks now) was 4 psi! I had a '95 Wrangler with the 2.5L, manual transmission, 8" of lift, and 35" tires. I "aired down" to 20 psi and got stuck on every hill. That 2.5L, even with 4.88:1 gears, really struggled with those tires and horsepower-sucking sand. A guy approached me and, long story short, told me to air down to 4 psi. After some debate, I decided to listen and that sand may as well have been pavement after that. It was amazing, but I moved in straight lines the rest of the day and took every turn as if I was driving a school bus.

[Cornwelltoolman]

I typically run 10 offroad in whatever terrain but I don't go very fast over rocky obstacles

[OldGOAT]

I don't know who to comment on because it all is very useful information on proper tire presure.
Very interesting from all of you, I learned a couple of things reading this.

Thanks Robert

[DEBO294]

I never went below 20 in Moab, but gonna be on the beach here in Long Island soon. Seems like 15 I’ll be fine. Never thought I could safely do 10 without headlocks until now. Thanks! Just go slow and no sharp turns on the sand and seems like I’ll be fine.

[SlashRacer]

When we did Hells Revenge, I dropped down to 13psi up front and 11psi in the rear.