Thread: Letting tyres pressures down

Originally Posted by mikehzz

All sand is different and if you think you can drive it all on the same pressure you are mistaken. On some of the beaches down near Robe, 16 is too high on some days. I've never seen so many bogged trucks...

Correct, but you can drive on 25psi sand with 14psi in your tyres, you however cant drive on 14psi sand with 25psi in your tyres

I understand lower is better for traction, and the limiting factor is generally how fast you want to drive due to rolloff risk, rim damage, and tyre damage from the temperature build-up in the tyre.

But what temperatures to the tyres need to get to in order for them to start being damaged?

The rover alloy rims have a very large bead retaining ridge on the rim. They hold very well at low pressures.

For sand driving I always drop straight to 16 psi, and have had to go as low as 6psi (we simply crawled over Ngkala Rocks in low first as the sand was as soft as bulldust)

The way the tracks are on Fraser at the moment, high tire pressures are doing damage.

In the high country I generally run 18/22.

If my car weight say 3tonne though I'd be 4 psi higher though.

Limited to 60 kph there's nothing wrong with 16 though.

come on guys, before we new better everyone drove on 24psi everywhere

with modern tyre technology there is no problem

who on here has suffered overheating tyres? if so..why?

Tyres only overheat if you drive faster than you should for the psi you have in them. If you are running at 16 then personally I wouldn't be going faster than 30kph. If I have them at 20-25psi on tar getting to a garage then I keep well under 80kph

Having just done Googs Track I can testify to the damage high tyre pressures do to tracks.
A party ahead of us between the Dog Fence and Googs Lake were towing Camper trailers at highway pressures and leaving big bounce holes on the hills.
When I caught up to them I explained that lower pressures would, a.) get them over the hills first time every time and b.) not leave big bounce holes for the rest of us.
The response was that I should endeavour to find out all about Sex and Travel as they knew what they were doing as they were Club Members who had done a course and lower pressures were only going to ruin their tyres.
Once we got around them it was plan sailing but I'd hate to be coming through the bigger softer hills North of the Lake after them.