tire pressure without beadlocks

[NealG]

I've been told 28 front / 22-20 rear is good for sand w/o beadlocks, but not sure why the front is set higher than the rear? Is this due to weight of engine up front, and the relatively lighter backend? Is there a standard delta on airing down between front and rear tires, generally?

 

[amREADY]

Some really good experience and feedback here. There is no doubt that airing down like these comments will help the traction and ride...to a point. On the other end you have a very capable vehicle. You don't want your tires 'hard' so your suspension is doing every bit of the work over washboard and you are chattering tires over every little thing. But you can just knock a bit of the air out and do just fine.

It isn't for the more extreme conditions, but mixed use of some obstacles and some higher speed dirt road running, just fine. Even crawling through and over some things, fine.

If I was you and was new to this, I'd pick a road or trail that had varied terrain for a mile or so. And session it. Run at 38, the 36, 34, and so on. You'll get a calibration and feel for the different pressures and how they make the truck feel and perform. It's a fun exercise and is very informative.

If you don't have any weight in the back, start with 38 front and 36 rear. Then drop both by 2 lbs as you go.

I'm comfortable running 34 and 32 in the back over a wide variety of terrain. And where I go typically has a mix of high speed and crawling. If it had more mud, snow and sand, I wouldn't hesitate to go lower. But I just go and it's fine.

This isn't in opposition to the other advice. I'm just saying, you don't need to have everything perfect or totally optimized to get out and enjoy.

I'd buy a decent air compressor though. You might have 2 flats, so you're gonna want to repair and air one or both up when you're offroad. Buy a quality one with decent cooling and capacity. The little junky ones are no good for large tires. Just wasted money.



Sent from my SM-N960W using Tapatalk

 

[Tominator]

I live in Kauai, don't use bead locks and drive on the sand a lot here. I use 20psi in each tire and carry a 15 gallon tank to refill enough to drive on pavement. I have found that between 20 and 25 psi will work on sand. When driving on rough roads i don't go below 25.

 

[BroncoAZ]

I ran the same 315/70R17 tires on my Bronco (5500#) for years. General off-roading I dropped to 18 psi, rock crawling 15psi, sandy beach I was down to 11 psi with no issues. I wouldn’t drive them on the road under 18 psi because of the potential for heat build up in the sidewalls.

No reason not to have some kind of compressor in the truck. This Milwaukee kit is on sale for $100. It takes about 10 minutes per tire to take a 35x12.5 R17 from 15 psi to 35 psi. It’s also perfect for my wife to use when I’m not home rather than firing up the 80 gallon compressor.

https://www.summitracing.com/parts/mwt-2475-21xc

 

[pbtjrlmrt]

This topic is a little like "what brand oil is best"...LOL There are so many variables...GVW, Road conditions, Driving style/speed, etc, etc. People have run an empty truck on sand as low as 8-10lbs with no issue. Don't do any quick turns though It really comes down to the specific conditions you're travelling in and how the truck is loaded. There is a lot of good info on this site and internet in general. My personal and only for me rule of thumb is 10-20 on sand depending on the type of sand. 20-25 on gravel washboard type stuff. 15-25 rock crawling depending how severe the trail is. I run my empty truck at 38 on the road for fuel mileage and so I don't need to worry about vehicle weighting as 38lbs is the manufacture suggested pressure based on GVW and towing capabilities. On Road if you're a perfectionist you can do the chalk test to find that sweet spot for tire longevity. Lower pressure on road below 38 can provide comfort but be aware of how the vehicle is loaded.

 

[Kirt Breaux]

Some really good experience and feedback here. There is no doubt that airing down like these comments will help the traction and ride...to a point. On the other end you have a very capable vehicle. You don't want your tires 'hard' so your suspension is doing every bit of the work over washboard and you are chattering tires over every little thing. But you can just knock a bit of the air out and do just fine.

It isn't for the more extreme conditions, but mixed use of some obstacles and some higher speed dirt road running, just fine. Even crawling through and over some things, fine.

If I was you and was new to this, I'd pick a road or trail that had varied terrain for a mile or so. And session it. Run at 38, the 36, 34, and so on. You'll get a calibration and feel for the different pressures and how they make the truck feel and perform. It's a fun exercise and is very informative.

If you don't have any weight in the back, start with 38 front and 36 rear. Then drop both by 2 lbs as you go.

I'm comfortable running 34 and 32 in the back over a wide variety of terrain. And where I go typically has a mix of high speed and crawling. If it had more mud, snow and sand, I wouldn't hesitate to go lower. But I just go and it's fine.

This isn't in opposition to the other advice. I'm just saying, you don't need to have everything perfect or totally optimized to get out and enjoy.

I'd buy a decent air compressor though. You might have 2 flats, so you're gonna want to repair and air one or both up when you're offroad. Buy a quality one with decent cooling and capacity. The little junky ones are no good for large tires. Just wasted money.



Sent from my SM-N960W using Tapatalk

Have you noted any accelerated tire wear running these pressures full time? I’m think of running 32 cold psi on rough dirt/caliche roads and interstate highways at High speed. I don’t do much deep mud or heavy rock or soft sand. I’m looking for a “catch all” psi.

 

[jzweedyk]

I run 36/33 on the road all the time. Scab, lightly loaded. I have about 20K miles on the tires and they still have 7/32 left. Radials are not as pressure sensitive as the old bias plys were, and a couple of pound lower doesn't effect mileage that much. Don't overthink it.

 

[amREADY]

Have you noted any accelerated tire wear running these pressures full time? I’m think of running 32 cold psi on rough dirt/caliche roads and interstate highways at High speed. I don’t do much deep mud or heavy rock or soft sand. I’m looking for a “catch all” psi.

No I haven't. I also use 4A or 4H especially when climbing or over sharper rock. That makes a huge difference. As does smoother throttle and braking.

If tires are too hard, they are certainly prone to chunking out if pressed hard. Or even if not and the shot rock is sharp.

If rock is that smooth steep river rock..fist and baby head sized round rock, having firmer pressures is bad news. Not for tire wear, but traction. Same for smooth slabby rock and spinning tires.

There are a lot of variables..how much weight your carrying being one. I wish I could be more definitive and succinct. I'm just saying that if you're not pushing the truck to its limits and doing a real mixed bag day of driving, messing around and optimizing tire pressures can impact the experience unnecessarily. But so can chatter on washboard or getting stuck or sliding off the road. So, as with all things, some discretion is needed.



Sent from my SM-N960W using Tapatalk

 

[Peterb]

the other fact is that our trucks tend to have wheel hop or worse the skipping sideways of the the back axel on rough roads which offends a lot of raptor owners, imo going to 25 lbs or less makes a big difference but over 30 is only a marginal improvement, the skipping sideways is never out of control its a movement sideways that corrects without much driver input

 

[amREADY]

the other fact is that our trucks tend to have wheel hop or worse the skipping sideways of the the back axel on rough roads which offends a lot of raptor owners, imo going to 25 lbs or less makes a big difference but over 30 is only a marginal improvement, the skipping sideways is never out of control its a movement sideways that corrects without much driver input

First time I had mine offroad I was like wtf. I paid this much for this POS. I was at 38 plus a couple from the highway and hot day. Had to get speed up to smooth it out. I wasn't impressed at all.

So ya, knocking some air out makes a huge difference.

Sent from my SM-N960W using Tapatalk