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AlanDow
Junior Nomad
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Downside To Airing Down Tires?
I am spending the winter in Bahia Asuncion and I drive a rear wheel drive Toyota Tacoma and have generally had good luck following the advice often
repeated on this forum, to air down tires when driving off pavement - until I experienced a sidewall blowout. I had just checked the pressure the
morning of my mishap and all four tires were 22 lbs. I was a few miles south of BA on a good section of the road to La Bocana going about 30 mph, and
had not encountered any road hazards when I heard /felt the blowout - essentially a 3 inch split along a radius of the sidewall (from near the rim to
near the tread) on what was a nearly new tire.
Now wondering if it is likely the lower air pressure caused this, indicating there may be a significant downside to this practice, or maybe a
defective tire, or what? So thought I would ask if this has happened to others following this practice?
Also I have a smaller class C motor home and was thinking of taking it back on hwy 5 and wondering what pressure I should air down as the normal
pressure on it's tires is 65lb, so was thinking maybe airing down to 40 lb on the unpaved section of hwy 5 - now after this mishap wondering if I
should do so at all? Appreciate any input from those with more experience on this topic. Thanks
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JZ
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We go from 60-65 to 30-35 on E load tires. Makes a world of difference in comfort, night and day difference level. Woudn't think of not doing it.
[Edited on 1-17-2018 by JZ]
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Bob and Susan
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look at the date code on YOUR tires...
if over 3 years old you are at risk for a FLAT
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S_VYhD49fjk
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David K
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Good questions!
When you are deflated, you are indeed risking the sidewall to damage. You just may have grazed a pointy rock just right or there could have been a
metal plate of some kind or just a tire fail.
Most tires are made to run on paved roads at the recommended pressure in your door jam.
I have a 4-door Tacoma and run the brand of tires I use at 34 psi on the highway. If I deflate, it is to 22-24 psi for dirt roads and to 16-18 psi for
sand. Other types of tires or very loose sand (or those shell beaches south of Asuncion) will dictate different or much lower pressure numbers.
I have not had a sidewall failure, but have had holes punched through right where the tread and sidewall come together. In Mexico, they will put a
patch in. Back home, they replace the tire. This borderline puncture at 24 psi was admittedly driving a bit too fast on a rocky, graded road (north of
San Borja). It may have just as easily happened at full pressure. I tend to feel that deflating the tires to the low 20s resists sharp rock punctures
as the rubber gives more going over a pointy rock.
I used to never deflate for dirt roads (only for sand) and I got a lot of flats on my previous Tacomas! I think deflating for any lengthy drive on
dirt is a good practice, especially if you want to drive at a fair speed. The ride is smoother too.
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TMW
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On my Tacoma I air down to at least 25 and sometimes I forgot or just didn't bother to air up when I would go home and I never had a problem with BFG
TA/KO tires. I'm a little more careful now that I'm running a P version of the Toyo tires instead of the LT version. With the BFG tires you could
hardly tell the difference between 35 and 25 lbs just looking at them. I've never had a sidewall failure, always thru the tread. Now I will knock on
wood.
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4x4abc
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the damage described is either the result of a previous traumatic impact at higher pressure or a manufacturing fault.
What brand tires are they?
Tire damages related to low tire pressure look very different than what you describe.
Most prominent are the "half moon cuts" - if you hit a good size rock with deflated tires and the rock compresses the tire to the edge of the rim,
you'll get two distinct half moon shaped cuts.
The other distinct damage related to low tire pressure is a puncture in the transition zone between tread and sidewall. It is the first 1/3 of side
wall that is at risk due to bulging out.
The better off-road tires (BFG and some Goodyear) have that area reinforced. Most other LT rated tires do not have that feature.
However, you are more likely to have tire damage (usually tread punctures) at full pressure and speeds above 30mph on dirt roads than with deflated
tires. At 20 psi that risk goes down to zero.
A common mistake in airing down is that one does not air down enough for the environment. David's pressures are a good example. They are too high. He
wanted to do something good but was afraid to go too far. By doing so, he did not go far enough. For his tire size and truck, 20 psi is the right
number for dirt roads. 10 psi is the right number for the beach.
[Edited on 1-18-2018 by 4x4abc]
Harald Pietschmann
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4x4abc
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Quote: Originally posted by TMW  | | On my Tacoma I air down to at least 25 and sometimes I forgot or just didn't bother to air up when I would go home and I never had a problem with BFG
TA/KO tires. I'm a little more careful now that I'm running a P version of the Toyo tires instead of the LT version. With the BFG tires you could
hardly tell the difference between 35 and 25 lbs just looking at them. I've never had a sidewall failure, always thru the tread. Now I will knock on
wood. |
P rated tires are like dancing shoes for a rough hike. Would you use tennis for Mt. Everest?
Tread punctures indicate that your tire pressure was too high.
Harald Pietschmann
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David K
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20 psi sounds fine Harald (I run just a tad more is all 22-24), I don't argue that pressure for good tires, but 10 psi is far lower than needed for
sand floatation.... with the 'cheaper' tires I use.
10 psi is indeed the place to be for your BFG All Terrains, I agree on that! I ran 10 psi on my 3-ply Cooper Discoverer STT tires just for normal sand
driving that worked well at 15 psi on other tires.
Stiff sidewall or mud-terrain type tires need much more air removed than street or most all-terrain tires.
4x4abc is the expert on off-roading... He wrote the book and has the website: http://4x4abc.com/
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chippy
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | 20 psi sounds fine Harald (I run just a tad more is all 22-24), I don't argue that pressure for good tires, but 10 psi is far lower than needed for
sand floatation.... with the 'cheaper' tires I use.
10 psi is indeed the place to be for your BFG All Terrains, I agree on that! I ran 10 psi on my 3-ply Cooper Discoverer STT tires just for normal sand
driving that worked well at 15 psi on other tires.
Stiff sidewall or mud-terrain type tires need much more air removed than street or most all-terrain tires.
4x4abc is the expert on off-roading... He wrote the book and has the website: http://4x4abc.com/ |
How did you get to Jan 18? 
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chippy
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Both our dates are 1/18/18
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David K
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Edit: Yes, the Nomad clock is off by 6 hrs and 12 minutes...
***However, I just noticed it is 6 hours off! LOL It is not 10 pm here. I will check mine too.***
OK, I sent Doug an alert.
[Edited on 1-18-2018 by David K]
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chippy
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I´m still set at central time
[Edited on 1-18-2018 by chippy]
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basautter
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I air down to the mid 20s for long stretches of gravel road and upper teens for sand. With lower pressure, the tires flatten out a bit exposing the
sidewall more. This has resulted in a damaged tire or two for me, but better then beating the #$@& out of my body, gear and truck! I am diligent
about airing back up on pavement. The heat from flexing can also shorten the life of a tire.
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Bajazly
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It's funny when I lived in Australia 30 years ago we did some back country travel and the first thing any one would say when you said you were going
off road is, make sure your tires are good and aired up, don't want those side walls running over the rocks in the road.
Different strokes I guess.
Believing is religion - Knowing is science
Harald Pietschmann
"Get off the beaten path and memories, friends and new techniques are developed"
Bajazly, August 2019
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bajatrailrider
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Could not even think to air up tires off road nuts. My Toyota off road truck 18psi / Nissan Diesel 18 psi/ Bronco 18 psi/ Heavy Dodge diesel 20 psi.
Motos 6 front /6psi rear/ KXF700 ATV 2 psi. Sidewall problems zero off road time every week for over 40 years. Nissan has p rated tires was aired down
pulling Wils heavy bronco in deep sand Pole line trip. Zero problems.
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JZ
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| Quote: Originally posted by bajatrailrider | | Could not even think to air up tires off road nuts. My Toyota off road truck 18psi / Nissan Diesel 18 psi/ Bronco 18 psi/ Heavy Dodge diesel 20 psi.
Motos 6 front /6psi rear/ KXF700 ATV 2 psi. Sidewall problems zero off road time every week for over 40 years. Nissan has p rated tires was aired down
pulling Wils heavy bronco in deep sand Pole line trip. Zero problems. |
Still can't believe you run the bikes at 6 psi.
Is the Dodge a 3/4 ton? What's it's recommended payment psi?
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motoged
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No pinch flats ???? Maybe just for sand with no rocks or sharp edges....
Don't believe everything you think....
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BajaNomad
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| Quote: Originally posted by David K | Yes, the Nomad clock is off by 6 hrs and 12 minutes...
***However, I just noticed it is 6 hours off! LOL It is not 10 pm here. I will check mine too.***
OK, I sent Doug an alert.
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Still working on this....
When I was young, I admired clever people. Now that I am old, I admire kind people.
– Rabbi Abraham Joshua Heschel
We know we must go back if we live, and we don`t know why.
– John Steinbeck, Log from the Sea of Cortez
Affordable Domain Name Registration/Management & cPanel Web Hosting:
https://www.regionalinternet.com |
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PaulW
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Heavy Jeep 35" BFG KM2 tires. 14-15psi on the dirt 28 Highway. For Moab on the hard trails I use 12 psi.
Flats - once in 12 years and the damage was a cut sidewall on a tire ready for replacement. Goodyear 35" MTR
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AlanDow
Junior Nomad
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Harold the brand of tire is Douglas which happened to be the all season tire that was on sale when I purchased this set. I mostly drive on payment
and have always bought low cost all season tires and have not had any prior issue with airing down for occasional dirt or sand drives. As far as age,
I bought them less than six months ago and they have a 2017 mfg date, so age was not the issue. Thanks for the replies
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