I have a 2WD and therefore only do light offroading. However, every time I go I just pull into the trail and go. I keep my tires at 45 psi. One thing is it is bumpy as can be going over gravel and rocks or frozen ground. Does airing down to 20 PSI or so help with this? I know traction should increase , but what about ride comfort. Also, do you guys drive back with 20 PSI or have some way to inflate back.

Thanks

 

45 psi is a heck of a lot! What tires are you running? Even with 35's 40psi is about all you want to run IMO. Airing down should give you a bigger footprint and you definitely should bring a compressor of some sort. Having a lower psi will make the tire more susceptible to coming off the rim though I believe.

 

when i went rock crawling in my truck. I aired down to 13lbs the ride was alittle smoother on the bumpy roads to and from the trails.

 

Airing down will help with the bumps and rough ride to some extent. Airing down will help with traction in a lot of situations. I would not recommend driving home from your off road excursion aired down to 20-25psi. Compromise and try running 30 psi while off roading and see how that goes.

 

Well I have the E rated BFG's so 45 PSI really isn't a lot for them. Although, I want to try 40 PSI since I usually don't haul anything in the bed.

 

Those are probably the trails I would go on. The ones that take you to the real stuff. LOL

 

haha yeah if anybody has gone down the Uwahrrie National Forest in North Carolina roads knows what I am talking about. You could drive a bently and have a bumpy ride.

 

Airing down helps some.

First, for on road in an F150, about 45 psi is pretty normal. Lots of discussion in the wheels and tires section.

Off road, lower pressure will help make a bigger footprint. It will also reduce ground clearance slightly. 20 psi would be good, you need more speed for 2wd, so you need to keep the pressure up more than a 4wd would. At 20 psi a short trip on road won't hurt the tires at all. Just be sure to bring a friend to pull you out, just in case.

 

Yeah 2wds bestfriends are Mr. Locker, Mr. Winch, and your friends 4wd.

 

yes, air down. When i run my 35" E rated tires off-road I am at least running 25 psi if not lower. Bring air compressor's with you tho so you can air back up before the ride home (plus they just come in handy!!!) .

 

On a trail with large rocks doesn't airing down increase your risk of sidewall cuts, due to sidewall bulge?

I think it would depend on the type of trail - on gravel or frozen ground (or on the beach, of course) airing down would be no problem, but on a trail with fist-sized to basketball-sized rocks I'd think twice about airing down. I did a twelve mile 4WD-LO crawl on a rocky trail in the mountains when my truck was new and the wear & tear on the tread was substantial. There were lots of sidewall scuffs, too, and a couple of small cuts. I wouldn't have wanted to make that trip with the sidewalls more exposed.

 

this isnt always true but a good standard
this is true with most radial tires.. they normally only have 2-3 ply sidewalls. but if you are running a very agressive M/T Bias ply.. they normall have sidewall lugs so when aired down they grab. plus the ply in bias tires are normally much thicker thus alowing more resistance from cuts or gouges. Bias tires are softer yet stronger in the same sence they have a super soft rubber compound that way they can conform better to the terrain, the side wall are going to have more plys therefore making them stronger.

if im mistaken let me know but from my knowledge with tires this is what i come to find.

.....and id say 25 psi would be great for your 2wd, when you are wheelin in a 2wd you have to keep up the momentum so you dont want to air you tires down so low that they warm and come off the wheel that would be BAD

 

I gotta get some pics, but me and my buddies go out rock-crawling and enter in some competitions, we air down to about 5psi (bead locked) to help with the rocks. And these rocks are a whole lot bigger then fist size. You gotta have the right tires with proper amount of protection. BTW airing a Load E rated tire down to 25 PSi wont give your sidewall enough of a "buldge" to really hurt IMHO, but it does allow for more traction and tread flex.

 

I have to admit my experience is limited to what I have on this truck, and I don't have any experience with the load range D or E tires. I have the BFG Rugged Trail P-series radial tires that came on the truck. They still have tread at 48,000 miles. I'm planning on BFG AT KO next, but the darn Rugged Trails won't wear out! I run ~16 psi on the beach, but I'd be worried too much about running rocks with that pressure in these glorified passenger car tires.

I could definitely see where D or E load range tires wouldn't have much bulge at 20 psi, with their tougher construction.

 

glorified passenger car tires... now that gave me a good laugh right there. Like I said, airing down over rocks is good, but you have a very good point in that I am talking M/T type tires. Tires designed for that type of abuse with reinforced sidewall protection and extra sidewall "tread" or side lugs. And ya, these E rated tires are pretty heavy duty. When I first got em, with NO wheel in em yet I was able to sit on them and have them barely move ( im a slim 280lbs ! ) These tires are stiff and tough.