FIELD INTEL: OFF-ROAD TIRE PRESSURE TIPS

When you come on a Four Points Adventure, one of the first things you'll learn about is tire pressure and why we lower it when we go offroad.

WHY IS OFF-ROAD TIRE PRESSURE SO IMPORTANT?

Let's start with the fact that the appropriate tire pressure for your vehicle is dependent on many factors, including the size and build of your tire, vehicle weight, and the terrain that you plan to drive on. So, I can't just tell you a specific number, but I can give you a range to work within for various situations.

The main reason we do this is to add "floatation" to the vehicle. By lowering your tire pressure, you increase the "contact patch" between your tire and what you are driving on.

The contact patch between your tire and the "road" is critical. A small contact patch gives you less rolling resistance but also less "floatation", whereas a large contact patch gives you more rolling resistance but also helps your vehicle "float" over a softer substrate like sand or snow and makes the rocks or "washboards" easier to drive over for both you and your suspension.

One of the best examples I've seen for tire pressure and how it makes your tire react to rocks or sand is a video showing a party balloon rolled over a rock when it is at high pressure and when it is at low pressure. The difference is amazing! You can see, or in this case imagine, that the lower pressures can handle sharp rocks without popping (generally speaking;) as well as give better floatation for softer substrates.

OFF-ROAD TIRE PRESSURE TIPS

So, on a hard-packed dirt road, my advice is to air down to between 20-25 psi. This keeps your rolling resistance at a reasonable "gas saving" level while also making the ride softer and easier on your suspension. This is the PSI range we'll generally stay at for our trips.

However, when we get to obstacles like big rocks, sand, snow, or mud, where we will need more grip or floatation, we might lower the pressure further down to as far as 12-15 psi.

Please, take these only as suggestions, as I mentioned before, the best tire pressure for each situation depends on a variety of factors, and you will need to find out what works best for your vehicle and tire setup for those situations.

Hopefully, these off-road tire pressure tips come in handy on your next backcountry adventure.

Also, please remember to "air up" to the proper tire pressure when you get back to the pavement. A vehicle driving on under-pressured tires on pavement is very hard to handle and can lead to a serious accident.