Leroy replied:

'The reason for not deflating was to prevent tyre damage or punchers?'

that's the reason for deflating your tyres...

You get a larger footprint when you let your tyres down which helps you in sand and mud. When your tyres have been deflated they also 'form' over rocks etc to help the tyre not be punctured buy the rocks. If the tyres were at a high presure the rocks could prick the tyre like a balloon!

Who gave the good advice?

Leroy

Member - Peter (York) replied:

I have done this track a number of times and have not needed to let the tyres down I have run them at 40psi same as on the road , the track is not rough enough to warrent letting them down if it is dry , if I was doing it in the wet I would look at reducing them to around 30psi if I found it getting slipery and traction was lost I would go down further,most of the rocks on this track are not sharp enough to puncture side walls so the only answer is it depends on the track and conditions at the time .Others may disagree but this is the rule of thumb we work to99 GU Patrol 4.2 TD
Peter York 4x4
Whiskey 4501

Boeing replied:

The other point to consider is what damage is being done to the track when the tyres have not been deflated which is more of a concern in wet conditions. Who gave you the advice?
There is a bit of everything on the power line track so to give a blanket opinion would be difficult.

Cheers

Mark

ross replied:

Ive only done a small section of the track but I could not see any reason to deflate.
It is full of lumps of gravel the size of footballs but you can easily pick your way through them.I dont see how you could damage the trail as it is 20m wide and has already been eroded seriously by the weather and acts as a firebreak due to the lack of vegetation
.I strongly believe in adjusting your pressure to suit the terrain but this is one time they are ok as they are.This trail needs the correct speed to negotiate the gravel lumps nothing else.

Mark replied:

Good to see those who have done the track agree that tyre pressures do not need to be lowered (under normal circumstances). The advise on that particular trip is of a general nature and further advise is on the "4WDriving Techniques" page of that website.

But bear in mind this website has not been updated for several years and the relevance of advise and warnings on these trips is probably very outdated. Such general advise is meant as a guide for those who do not have the experience to know where to start. The current conditions of this and any other track should be taken into account - and that can change by the hour!

That particualr trip was researched in 1997 and there has been a lot of changes in the last 7 years. Being the co-author of this site, it has been in hibernation for many years now, basically from just after I first became a Dad (twice over now) It has been left on the web as we still get heaps of hits, but it is quite outdated in many areas.

As I'm sure David and Michelle would agree, any half-decent website takes a huge amount of work, it's something that cannot be done on a hobby basis - as that site was. Besides, with such great sites as this with their interactive forums, there is little call for the old school 4WDencounter type website.

If people believe that the 4WDencounter site is too outdated and needs to be removed, here is your chance to have your say!!!

Cheers

Mark

Member - Peter (York) replied:

The last time I did the track was late last year with Eureka 4wd training we had plenty of rain that day but Ray did not see that deflation was required and as normal he was spot on .I must say that this track is getting worse each time I do it so I would say the novice BEWARE and go with someone that has a bit of know how ,there are a couple of side tracks to get you around the realy bad sections and DONT go full tilt into the large water hole at the top end of the track untill you test the depth it has a fairly good hole reight in the middle99 GU Patrol 4.2 TD
Peter York 4x4
Whiskey 4501

Martyn (WA) replied:

Synergist,
I did the powerline run a few months ago, I didn't deflate the tyres that much I went down to about 28 psi from 38 psi, gives a bit more comfort, as mentioned above it allows the tyres to form over the sharp edges, a larger footprint does open you up to a larger track which can catch sharp sticks and twigs you would of otherwie missed. Also the larger footprint reduces the point loading on the track, in turn assisting to protect the environment. Our club rule is to lower the pressures, this is an environmental rule rather than a grip and comfort rule. Keep the shiny side up