Tyre Pressures - Putting Conventional Wisdom to the Test...

Submitted: Monday, Sep 04, 2017 at 07:36
ThreadID: 135516 Views:6455 Replies:17 FollowUps:27
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Seeing a recent post on a tyre that had delaminated prompted me to put “pen to paper”…

"A Faulty Tire?"

The conventional wisdom appears to be to deflate tyres when off-road.

Different reasons are cited including, less prone to punctures and a better ride over corrugations. Although, suspension is supposed to do that work of the latter, not tyres.

In most of the discussions I see on “what tyre pressures should I use” numbers are bandied around without any consideration being given as to the weight of the load it is carrying, speeds being driven, even ambient temperatures. Numbers are often quoted on a “one pressure fits all”. This simply isn’t the case.

Tyres are about providing traction with the surface you are driving on, and if you have traction there would seem little need to deflate tyres. There are circumstances where deflation may assist and is most likely needed, especially with sand driving…

But I suspect more tyres are lost to sidewall damage as a direct consequence of being under-inflated whilst off-road than are lost to punctures through “over-inflation”.

And my own analysis, measured by the wallet in my hip pocket confirms this.

Realistically, most of the tyres used for off-road, across a range of brands, are simply not strong enough in the sidewall to cope with the flexing and overheating generated by under-inflation. And whilst the heat issue can be managed by speed control, exposing the sidewall to “staking” is luck of the draw, but without doubt you increase the risk of damage, perhaps beyond that if you didn’t deflate the tyre.

These days when asked what tyre pressures I use, I simply respond with “ones that suit my vehicle and set-up”.

My couple of bob’s worth on the topic…and it's an opinion of mine, others should feel free to disagree - but my wallet has had the last say for me!

Cheers, Baz – The Landy

Ps: I’m liking this “graduation from work thing (retirement) – we’ve been Out and About enjoying this great country of ours…
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