Airing down with Michelins LTX MS??? (1 Viewer)

[DuckLN]

Should I air down? I have the factory sized michelins but my deer camp (gonna be turkey camp this weekend) is in the ozark mountains and our road is super boulderous bumpy steep for the last half mile. You have to crawl as slow as pssible and creep over all these rocks and I am curious what you guys think. I have an air compressor at camp and thought I'd reduce tires from 33 lbs to 20 and see if it helped to smooth out the ride. I have factory 16 inch rims but I understand these Michelins are not manufactured with severe off-roading in mind but 99 % of my travel in on pavement. (I've had 2 sets of BFG AT's on other vehicles but they sling sooo much gravel that i cant talk myself into buyin them again).

Happy thursday

 

[4Peanut]

If you were airing down for traction, for example in sand, I'd say okay. But airing down these tires to smooth out the ride might bring unwanted consequences, like a torn sidewall. Others might disagree, but at 33 PSI I think you're already on the soft side for a truck that weighs three tons empty.

 

[DuckLN]

If you were airing down for traction, for example in sand, I'd say okay. But airing down these tires to smooth out the ride might bring unwanted consequences, like a torn sidewall. Others might disagree, but at 33 PSI I think you're already on the soft side for a truck that weighs three tons empty.

Leaving camp (going back up the mountain) there is sometimes a traction issue in 2 areas especially when you are pulling a trailer and the trail is wet. I normally just spur the throttle a little to add momentum/inertia and make it thru without incident. Others have gotten stuck in those areas but so far I have made it every time.

Regarding the 33 PSI's, I have tried different pressures and found 33 to be the best ride and still offer good handling for pavement driving. No shame in trying to improve though so if Im off base give me some good "for examples" and I'll be the first to listen.

 

[9toys]

i've used 33psi since the get go. has worked fine for me in all situations, so far.

 

[Trunk Monkey]

Sure you can. I wouldn't go crazy low in the teens, but low's 20's.

 

[Gottagetone]

Yep, 20 psi is good to smooth out the ride and you can drive on pavement until you are able to find a place to fill up if you don't have air with you.

 

[rusty_tlc]

20 shouldn't be a problem, I think I ran mine as low as 17 or 18 without issues.

 

[re_guderian]

Try it out close to home if you can. Get out and see what your sidewall profile looks like so you'll know when you get to the rocks. Go slow, and you should be fine at 20.

 

[Wilsil]

To get more traction, you will need toreduce the tyre pressure.
This will increase the footprint of the tyre and the tyre can wrap around the obstacle.
I normally go down to 25psi on rocks, sand straight to 15psi. When it is really soft, I go down even further. Don't drive for long distance and high speed on low pressure. It will damage the tyre.

 

[AllLC]

To get more traction, you will need toreduce the tyre pressure.
This will increase the footprint of the tyre and the tyre can wrap around the obstacle.
I normally go down to 25psi on rocks, sand straight to 15psi. When it is really soft, I go down even further. Don't drive for long distance and high speed on low pressure. It will damage the tyre.

 

[flintknapper]

The Michelin is a highway tire. I wouldn't air down for anything but sand. Too much chance of damaging a sidewall, your rim or blowing a bead.

IF you had an off road tire or even the 10 ply version of the Michelin, then yes (if you just wanted to), but it doesn't sound like its necessary if you've made the same trail before (same tires, same pressure). Just go slow (where you can) and use a little more throttle and momentum where needed.

 

[Output Shaft]

If the rocks are sharp, higher pressures can increase the chance of tread punctures. But lower pressure can increase the chance of sidewall punctures. So there's no perfect solution.

 

[flintknapper]

If the rocks are sharp, higher pressures can increase the chance of tread punctures. But lower pressure can increase the chance of sidewall punctures. So there's no perfect solution.

^^^^^^ True, but there is more to consider. The sidewall has fewer plies than the tread and the overall thickness of the side wall is often substantially less (actually MUCH less if a tire has still a good amount of tread). The same puncture that might be repairable of a tread....is likely non-repairable if in the sidewall.

So...if we are just 'playing the odds'.....I'd go with my chances of the tread holding up. But you are certainly correct, either could happen.

 

[AimCOtaco]

Air down off-road for traction and ride quality no matter the tire used, in this case I would try 20-25 for starters. It's not the width of the footprint you're trying to impact, it's the length of the contact patch (that gets longer) and the added tread compliance to wrap and grab that moves you down the trail.