BajaNomad

Air Down Or Not?

Marc - 8-30-2014 at 08:24 AM

According to the tire shop guys in BOLA air down only in sandy soft conditions and washboard. On rocky surfaces (past Coco's to the highway) airing down exposes the side walls to slices, which was way I was in that shop to begin with. I've been airing down about 1/3. I am not an off roader so what do you guys do. I am in a Tundra 4X4. Maybe just drive really slow is best?

Air Down?

John M - 8-30-2014 at 08:38 AM

Get ready for as many different opinions as you get replies!

I think it depends on a lot of things such as tires, vehicle weight and is it really loaded down, speed you prefer to drive, road surface as you mentioned - washboard, rocks, sandy - experience and so forth.

In our older Jeep, leaf spring suspension and loaded down, I drove that particular section of Baja road pretty slowly or I'd bounce the fillings out of my teeth. Still at low speed, like 15 mph, I'd drop my BFG All Terrains to 15 lbs and just get there when I get there - after all it's only about 13 miles pavement to Coco's.

Our Tacoma, newer and with the same tires, I'd only move the speed up to maybe 20 mph average, sometimes slower, but have the tire pressure up to 18 or 20 psi. The suspension on the Tacoma makes the ride seem smoother. I've upgraded the shocks to Bilstein 5100 series but still the truck is usually pretty heavily loaded.

You'll hear folks that think 40 to 50 mph makes the ride smoother, for myself, I'm not a fan of that.

John M

Neal Johns - 8-30-2014 at 08:41 AM

I run BFG 33 x 12.50 x 15 tires on a 2003 Tacoma with a pop top camper on it and many pounds of tools. I air down to 20 lb. on bad roads, sandy, rocky, or washboard. Every few years I get sidewall damage. This is acceptable to me as the soft tires reduce stress on the suspension and other parts of the truck (example: one man in a pickup did not air down on the dirt road going south of San Ignacio - some of the worst washboard in Baja - and his front bumper fell off. I have been four wheeling for almost 40 years. YMMV

Neal Johns

Ateo - 8-30-2014 at 08:56 AM

Sand and washboard: air down to 18PSI

Dirt road with some rocks: air down to 25-26PSI

That's what I do. Smooths out the ride. Enables me to drive 90 mph.

Just kidding about that. :LOL::lol::lol::lol:

The one time I didn't air down I trashed my tires on the Baja 1000 course. Chunks of tread were missing.

Hi Neal

John M - 8-30-2014 at 09:30 AM

"trust me" - Hi to Mrs. Johns too!

John M

TMW - 8-30-2014 at 09:49 AM

What others have said. Keep this in mind, P series tires (passenger tire) and even some LT (Light Truck) series tires have a rounded tread edge, where the tread meets the sidewall. Airing down a tire like that will expose even more surface to the rocks. The BFG TA/KO tire has a stiff sidewall with added protection strips where the tread meets the sidewall. Looks like the KO2 tire has even better protection in that area.

Marc - 8-30-2014 at 10:03 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by TW
What others have said. Keep this in mind, P series tires (passenger tire) and even some LT (Light Truck) series tires have a rounded tread edge, where the tread meets the sidewall. Airing down a tire like that will expose even more surface to the rocks. The BFG TA/KO tire has a stiff sidewall with added protection strips where the tread meets the sidewall. Looks like the KO2 tire has even better protection in that area.

I have Bridgestone AT on the Tundra and they have twice failed at sidewall. Coming back from Utah recently had chunks flying off.

freediverbrian - 8-30-2014 at 06:45 PM

I have wondered if running at low pressure for many hours and many trips on wash board would compromise the side walls of the tires, I aired down just for the comfort and a happy family

dtbushpilot - 8-30-2014 at 08:15 PM

Been driving off road Baja for many years. I air down in sand but only as much as necessary. I will air down a bit on long washboard as long as there aren't lose sharp rocks on the road. If it is rough with imbedded sharp rocks don't even consider it. FYI I managed to bury my FJ Cruiser to the frame in the shells on the beach in Asuncion while being arrogant and aggressive, I was somewhat embarrassed when Juan drove up next to me in his Tacoma while barely leaving tire tracks.......local knowledge is priceless.

Your sidewalls won't take much abuse, if your sidewall is exposed in rocky conditions be sure your spare (or spares) are in good condition.....

BooJumMan - 8-31-2014 at 08:23 AM

Id def air down 5-10 PSI from highway pressure, even on a sharp rocky road. It's maybe personal preference. I am a recreational off-roader and have yet to damage a sidewall through a central Baja road littered with sharp rocks even when airing down to low 20's. *Knock on wood* haha.

Depends on your rubber though. I save up the extra $$ (or prepare to pay it off on the CC) for a high quality tire. Something like a Goodyear MTR or Toyo MT you can pretty much drive like Ateo and never have to worry about it ;)

woody with a view - 8-31-2014 at 08:32 AM

Quote:
Originally posted by dtbushpilot
Been driving off road Baja for many years. I air down in sand but only as much as necessary. I will air down a bit on long washboard as long as there aren't lose sharp rocks on the road. If it is rough with imbedded sharp rocks don't even consider it. FYI I managed to bury my FJ Cruiser to the frame in the shells on the beach in Asuncion while being arrogant and aggressive, I was somewhat embarrassed when Juan drove up next to me in his Tacoma while barely leaving tire tracks.......local knowledge is priceless.

Your sidewalls won't take much abuse, if your sidewall is exposed in rocky conditions be sure your spare (or spares) are in good condition.....


i once pulled out a friend's F350 from that same beach. i won't say who, but it felt really good!!!

also, north of Bocana i sank in that same shell soup 10 feet from the waterline. i flattened all four tires to 10psi and rolled right out. scariest moment(s) for me as help was a LOOOOONG way away.

redhilltown - 8-31-2014 at 05:21 PM

I with all the above as it is probably better to air down if you have the right tires (Goodyear TKO All Terrain) and you have a good reliable way to air back up!

David K - 9-2-2014 at 07:10 AM

Air down on graded roads to prevent flats... not as much as you would for sand....

For the longest time I was stubborn about not airing down on graded roads, after-all my Tacoma suspension was smooth enough without doing such. However, after a repeated number of flats from sharp rocks in the tread while fully inflated had me finally succumb to other four wheeler's advice... and no more flats!

My tires are typically P metric all terrain truck tires with 2 ply sidewalls: BFG Rugged Trail TA, Toyo Open Country AT, Cooper Discoverer ATR, Hankook Dynapro ATM, and currently Pep Boys/ Cooper made Destiny Dakota AT.

I have never had a sidewall failure in any of these, only sharp rock punctures in the tread and always while running at highway pressure (30-35 psi typically).

For graded dirt/ washboard/ gravel type road: I drop ~10-15 psi (20-25 psi in tires). Now the tire will give some so a sharp rock will not pierce it like it did when the tire was as hard as a rock and didn't give any.

For deep sand the tires are dropped to 20 psi or more if more flotation is required based on the type of sand or climate. 15 psi is typical and if needed 10 psi. This past weekend, 20 psi provided the flotation needed for the beach south of San Felipe with the Dakota tires.

Having a quick fill electric tire pump is essential because on pavement, you want the tires back at their highway pressure. I have a Tsunami MV-50 air pump that clips onto the battery and fills my 265/75-16 tires at the rate of 5 psi per minute. 20 psi back to 35 psi takes 3 minutes per tire.

Whale-ista - 9-2-2014 at 09:50 AM

Interesting discussion. I'm currently running BFG ATs on my 2 WD small truck w/raised suspension. I generally don't air down for trips. But I can see the value in airing down if you were going to spend a lot of time driving/camping on a sandy beach or covering long distances in remote offroad areas.

Most of my driving is on the highway with some washboard/graded dirt for the last 20 to 50 miles. In other words I'm usually not doing extensive OR travel into remote areas, esp now that roads are being improved/extended into more places.

I've driven light trucks and VW vans on dirt roads all over Baja, from mountains to shore, and never changed air pressure. But I don't currently have 4WD, I stay away from the really rough/steep/muddy trails, and I avoid deep sand.

David K - 9-2-2014 at 10:39 AM

Reducing air pressure increases traction... and flotation. If you don't need it and don't get rock flats on graded roads, great. If you ever get stuck in sand or need to climb a rocky grade, 2WD or 4WD, the dropping of air pressure makes a huge difference!