Tip Of The Month
Page 3
Tire Pressure
The tire pressue on off road tires are not usually what's marked in the sidewall. It is a misconception that this is the right tire pressure for all conditions.
With the esculating cost of todays rubber we want to get as much life as we can with the money we just spent.
here is a couple of things that will help make that a reality.
chaulk test......
after you get your rig home from having those new meats put on go over to the kids' stash of sidwalk chaulk and grab a piece. Mark a straight line across the tread from sidewall to sidewall. best to do all 4 but not totally nessecary. Drive it just far enough to get a few revelutions to get the line to slightly come off. After that take a look at them bad boys and see if it came off evenly. If more came off in the middle that on the sides the you pressur is too high and your gonna wear the middle faster than the outsides. relieve a little pressure and do it again. once you have it where the chaulk is comming off evenly make note of that pressure and run them there. it could be 27# or it could be 32#. This is where i said all 4 is best. you want even tire pressure on all 4 tires so try to find that happy spot for them all. Differnt tires will vary du to the type of rubber used in the factory or the belt construction of the tire itself.
Now some people will run this pressure for everything. I say fooey. It is alot better when you hit the dirt to relieve some pressure out of thos skids. When you let a little air out it will soften the ride of the trail and be a better experience and easier on your rig...not to mention your back. plus you will get Better traction where you need it most.
it most. I will air down to 11# on a trail that has a lot of fun rocks to play on and then 15 when I just want to have a nice ride along a bumpy trail. Some people use Beadlock wheels that will actually "Lock" the tire onto the rim which keeps the tire from rolling off the rim and causing a flat. those guys you will see all the way down to like 4-5#. I wouldnt recomend going this low without the beadlocks. this is why I will run 11#. Don't be afraid of playing around with it a little and finding what works best for your set-up. Even you guys that are etill running the stock tires will see a huge differnce in the performance of your rig.
Now the only thing to think about is how the heck you get the air bacck in there before you get back on the highway.
There are really 4 ways to do it.
1. If you are running a trail close to a gas station the go drop some quartes in the air machine.
2. get an electric compresser
3. get a mechanical compressor that runs off the drive belt of your rig.
4 get a compressed CO2 tank.
There is a lot here and I will do a future write up on these systems but you get the idea. Don't air down unless you can air back up.....
thanks for reading and
HAPPY TRAILS.
Chad