4WD TYRE DEFLATION TIPS FOR SAND and OFF ROAD

Summers here, and so beach driving is probably popular with most keen fishers and 4x4 drivers new and old. With that in mind every year there are always new members who are looking for information on how best to drive in sand or on the beach so our blog about reducing your 4 x 4 tyre pressures when driving in Sand and off road conditions is a great place to start.

The following 4WD Tyre Deflation tips are provided by Blueprint Industries. These are the general guidelines we provide with our AirDevil Heavy Duty Air Compressors, but can apply to all 4x4 users regardless of what brand air compressor they may have. We do not claim these tips are the be all and end all, but for inexperienced drivers and those new to sand driving it does provide a good start.




Why should you deflate your tyres:-

To reduce the impact on dunes and sand tracks.

It can also reduce the strain on your vehicles engine and drive train when used correctly.

It provides better traction and a softer ride on hard dirt and rocky tracks, however you must also allow for the fact that your tyres walls will also be softer so beware of staking or puncturing your tyre.

What does Lowering Your Tyre Pressures do?

Basically the vehicles footprint on the road / sand is increased as the tyre flattens out. This provides a greater surface area on the sand over which the vehicles weight is distributed and therefore the tyres will tend to float on top of the sand rather than digging in.

On Gravel and corrugated roads lowering your pressures will give you a smoother ride, and make life easier on your Shock Absorbers.

How Low Do You Go?

For Sand / Beach Driving many 4 x 4 clubs and magazines recommend a pressure of between 15 and 18 PSI. This is a good starting pressure for most beach work, but this will vary depending on your vehicle size and weight.

If you are bogged or in extremely soft sand you may want to go lower than that, however it is recommended that once you are out of trouble that you re-inflate your tyres to a pressure that you are comfortable with. An example of this is we were recently driving in a dry creek bed in the Northwest, and had dropped the pressures to 18 PSI, but found that even at 18PSI the vehicle was straining to keep moving in the very soft sand. We ended up dropping the pressures to about 12 PSI which enabled us to drive along the creek bed in high range with ease instead of low range. Even at 12 PSI the tracks we were leaving in the creek bed were 4 to 6 inches deep.

At the end of the day how low you go is up to you and you should make sure you consider the type of tyre, environmental conditions, the weight / load of your vehicle.

For general Driving on Gravel and Unsealed Roads which may be in 2WD or 4WD a good rule of thumb is to drop your tyre pressures by 10 to 20% so if you are running 40PSI as standard drop to 36 or 32, this will give you a much smoother ride, and again be easier on the vehicles suspension. Remember tho if you drop your Tyre Pressures you need to also drop your speed by a similar ratio.

Another IMPORTANT consideration is if you are running Split Rims then you need to be careful that you do not go too low as you can pop the tyre off the rim very easily.

Remember:

When driving on lowered pressures you should avoid sharp turns and high speed as you could damage the tyres or even “ROLL” them off the rim causing an accident.

When running your tyres at reduced pressures you are working outside the manufacturers specification, so always take make sure you do not cause physical damage to the tyres on rocks and other sharp objects that may be on the tracks.

Always keep tyre pressures common between your tyres.

Make sure you have a suitable AirDevil Compressor to re-inflate your tyres afterwards such as our BP160A compressor that was reviewed in the Western 4x4 Magazine, these are also now available with a 0 -70 PSI Gauge for greater accuracy. The AirDevil BP160 series Compressors are now available in 12 and 24 Volt versions, so suitable for motor homes and some import 4x4s. They come with 2 Year No Fuss Exchnage Warranty, and yo have a choice of hoses available.

Also remember that when you are driving on the beach or in soft sand and you want to stop, let the vehicle roll to as stop if possible rather than standing on the brakes and digging the tyres in.

This Information is provided in good faith, and should be used with care, no responsibility will be taken by Blueprint Industries or its staff.

For More information about our Compressors please visit Blueprint Online

Tyre Deflators:

There are several tyre deflation systems on the market and for some basic information on Tyre Deflators please read our Deflators Blog

We also now have the Trailhead Deflators from the USA in stock. These are a very nice unit with easy adjustment by using the supplied allen key. Adjustment is internal so it can not accidently be unlocked and changed when removing them from the tires.

Available in Blue and Red for 5 - 20 PSI pressures.
Also available in Silver for 15 - 40 PSI pressures.

For Information about our compressors and other accessories please email sales@blueprintonline.com.au

Happy four wheel driving.