tyre pressure- gibb river rd

I Ran 28 PSI Front and 32 Rear on the Patrol with a fair load on it. That was with Bridgestone Dueller AT 265/75 Light Truck Tyres made in Aus, not the japanese ones.

I used the same on the Oodnadatta Track . The tyres had 70,000 on them and never had a flat.

Running at the pressures 26/28 might be ok provided youer car is not loaded up to heavy with extra camp gear, etc are you travelling alone or will a woman be with you ie [trailer needed ]....just jokin' as the other post said depends on weight, road conditions , it might graded or it may not, but keeping the pressures down a bit reduces the risk of stone fracture and there's plenty of them, some you won't want to straddle or they will knock your diffs outn I travelled it in December 2004 and it had just been graded and some of the rocks near Durack river were quite large , say as big as a head, the roughest bit i had was between the end of the sealed Derby end to where the mine is about 50-60 klm on , after that it was good . Enjoy your trip.

I drop my tyre pressure to 28 all round whenever I get on dirt road. A much more comfotable ride for the tyres, suspension and occupants. Even more important is to drive at an appropriate speed for the conditions. Cheers Rob

Hello Bill, we did the GRR in SEpt 05. You must drop pressures to 30 psi and you won't feel the corrugations as much. I got a 2 inch gash in the sidewall of my brand new caravan tyre which destroyed it just near Queen Victoria's Nose. Then a few days later on the road near Tunnel Ck I did the same to a bridgestone 265/70 16 inch. The first time I was doing 90kmh but the second only 60 or so as it was shockingly corrugated. See my comment in the GRR trek notes. Cheers.

Bill,

I would be looking at after market suspension before you go.
I would then have 36/38 psi with a full vehicle.

Speed is the other thing. The road may look like you can do 90kmh, but don't be fooled. Keep the speed down especially if this is the first time you have driven this road.

Dips, pot holes, corrugations and on coming traffic are a few of the things that will also make you keep the speed down. After a short time on the corrugations the shocks will start to fade. The tyres will start to spend more time in the air than on the ground. Go into a corner too fast and the vehicle will have trouble stopping.

That is why after market suspension and keeping the speed down is important.

Wayne

The GRR has many different sections of road type, so you might be changing pressures a few times. I would start around 30psi on a good stretch of road and go lower from there.

All tyres, cars and loads react differently to the conditions. You really need to play around a bit, dont just take someone else word, as what suits them most definately wont suit you. If you feel the ride is a bit too harsh, then jump out and drop the pressure... what might take you 2mins could save you from having a sore bum for quite some time.

28psi suited our vehicle from start to end with no change. That included rock crawling, beach and lagoon driving, and the gravel/rocks/bulldust conditions of the GRR itself.

Speed wise, we found it quite safe to drive along at 100km/hr in quite a few sections, when it got a little rougher the speed was moderated between 60-80. Kalumbarru Road is another ball game though, towards the top end its rough as guts and is basically a crawl then a quick poke of the throttle, back down to a crawl again.

That is my experience, everyone will differ... Most of all enjoy the journey, its well worth it!

I never go above 28psi on dirt roads - badly corrugated ones I'm usually down in the low 20's with a fully loaded cruiser. The risk of punctures is reduced; the ride is a bit better and I'd rather the tyres get hammered than the vehicle and occupants. Works for me.

Cheers
Phil

Start gently at 26 and see how your vehicle handles. If you are concerned and get the feeling that you are sitting on a wobbly jelly then up the pressure but I would def. not go over 30. You do NOT need special after market suspension add-ons it's generally a very good road and you should drive according to the surface conditions at the time. I just can not see why so many people must try and set a speed record on corrugated roads with no consideration for their own vehicle or other road users. If you hit any rocks or pot holes that damage your vehicle then you must have been traveling to fast. 4wd is not a requirement on this road however some of the side tracks may need it.

The conditions on the GRR can vary a lot. One bit can be great and around a corner there could be a washout right across the road. Have a look at the post from Anne at Drysdale, with a late wet chances are the road will be pretty messy and may not have been graded for the whole length in April. If it is a really late wet it may not be open at all in April. Check the road coditions at Kununarra or Broome (depends which way you are going). You need to lower the tyre pressue but it depends on how you drive, how heavy the load and what the road conditions are like. There really isn't a magic pressure, what works in one senario may not work in another. As always do your adjustmets to tyre pressue and drive to the conditions. Be wary of track talk. One persons easy is anothers nightmare. In general you are trying to preserve your tyres. Try to keep the pressures and the speed down. If it feels wrong it probably is. There can be plenty of hazards on the GRR including cows, stationary vehicles and cyclists besides the usual rocks, dull dust etc.

It's a great trip. Take it easy and you will have a great time.

Steve