Airing down is offroad 101. Grab yourself a compressor to air up before hitting the road though. The size increase in your contact patch makes a big difference to traction. I used to run 8-12psi in my 31's and never popped a bead but I did get the odd slow leak from $%^in the bead.  I've got internal beadlocks now and no more problems so far at 5-6psi, haven't tried lower. If you have new rubber and particularly if they are LT construction then you will find them pretty stiff but drop the pressure and run around for a while on them and they will soften up nicely.

Staun beadlocks??  or what?  What did you pay for them?  I want those badly.

I agree on the airing down being offroad 101, but I am amazed at the folks that just won't do it, or never thought of trying it themselves.. I see it almost every time I go out.  Just trying to spread the word more.

Quote from: cj on May 28, 2006, 10:07:01 PM

Airing down is offroad 101. Grab yourself a compressor to air up before hitting the road though. The size increase in your contact patch makes a big difference to traction. I used to run 8-12psi in my 31's and never popped a bead but I did get the odd slow leak from $%^in the bead.  I've got internal beadlocks now and no more problems so far at 5-6psi, haven't tried lower. If you have new rubber and particularly if they are LT construction then you will find them pretty stiff but drop the pressure and run around for a while on them and they will soften up nicely.

Staun beadlocks??  or what?  What did you pay for them?  I want those badly.
 

Yes, and I got mine cheeeap! Picked them up used. Ideally you want to get them fitted by someone who knows what they are doing.

Yeah, I heard that they can be a little tricky to install correctly..

Man, if I had those, I don't think I would even put valve cores in my tires..   

I had an old worn down set of p215's, that when aired down to 18-20 psi they started to squat.  Now I have lt 235's and went down to 15psi, and they barely bulged.  But what a diffrence in dirt road ride! I live on a dirt road, so I noticed the diffrence immediatly, and that road in the mountians was much rougher. 
 So I guess 10 psi is ok?  Maybe a tire pressure post is in order. 
I will try that next time.
Jeff

It all depends on the tire... just be careful and watch your beads and sidewalls.. Some tires are tougher than others.

Also, take a look at your tracks, make sure you still have a good imprint in the center. when you get TOO low for a particular tire, it will start dishing in the center and actually cutting down on your contact patch, there is a sweet spot for every tire, and  you will find it.

I know there are some really nice on board air setups out therel... but until I can get one setup on mine... what else can I use? Do those $30 12V compressors from Wal-Mart work well, or would airing up 4 tires burn 'em out?

~J~

those arnt tires

I know there are some really nice on board air setups out therel... but until I can get one setup on mine... what else can I use? Do those $30 12V compressors from Wal-Mart work well, or would airing up 4 tires burn 'em out?

~J~

Most of them will take forever/burnout on you.  There are a few that are pretty decent, you want to avoid the cigarette lighters and plug them straight onto the battery (more amps).  The SuperFlow MV-50/MasterFlow MF-1050 seems to have a pretty good reputation, and is what I am using.  Here's a couple of reviews on it.

http://www.4x4wire.com/tech/portable_oba/
http://www.gearinstalls.com/pepboys.htm

I know there are some really nice on board air setups out therel... but until I can get one setup on mine... what else can I use? Do those $30 12V compressors from Wal-Mart work well, or would airing up 4 tires burn 'em out?

~J~

If you are going to use a portable, make sure you use the ones that Maplebar suggested, at least..  as far as Wal-mart offerings?  They work like CRAP.. takes forever.. they burn out sometimess.

I use CO2... I have a Tippman Instant air that uses a 20oz, and I also have a 20# bottle I use sometimes..  I can fill the 20oz from the 20# too..  very convenient, will also run air tools and turn water into club soda.. lol..


http://leather-working.com/catalog/index.php?cPath=73



Nothing like it.. blows even the high dollar compressors away with speed and convenience, and you can  carry it anywhere, swap between vehicles.. etc...   It is WAY fast, as you have 100 PSI at the hose, you don't need to build up pressure.. Takes me seconds per tire, instead of minutes.

Plus, you can run your ARB that you want (jk...lol) with CO2 also..

That looks SWEET. Looks like the $25 thing is over (Kragen was blowing their inventory out of them - special price). Cheapest I could find is at target for $55 + $14 S&H. I wonder if I can just get it at the store for same price...

http://www.target.com/gp/detail.html/ref=br_1_4/602-8742843-3648623?%5Fencoding=UTF8&frombrowse=1&asin=B000BM8RT8

Plus, you can run your ARB that you want (jk...lol) with CO2 also..

LOL - well, with dual air compressors, and a 2lb tank I can run the ARB's too

~J~

I know there are some really nice on board air setups out therel... but until I can get one setup on mine... what else can I use? Do those $30 12V compressors from Wal-Mart work well, or would airing up 4 tires burn 'em out?

~J~

I have the $20 compressor from walmart...... its not worth looking at.  I had 215's and it took 10 min per tire to go from 18psi to 30psi, and it has a 20 min duty cycle (20 min on, 20 min off). So I had do drive for 20 minuets to let the thing cool down.
I got a 20% off coupon at 4wheel parts and got the mv50 for $55.  I just used in on my new 235's and went from 15psi to 30psi in about a minuet.  Huge difference.  Now I need to test out lower pressures for the street and maintain mpg.
Jeff

Quote from: Quaddawg on May 29, 2006, 06:52:23 PM

Plus, you can run your ARB that you want (jk...lol) with CO2 also..

LOL - well, with dual air compressors, and a 2lb tank I can run the ARB's too

~J~

Yeah, but I still swear by my portable instant air.. try running an impact with a 2 gallon tank.....

Quote from: Jeremiah on May 29, 2006, 07:53:11 PM

Quote from: Quaddawg on May 29, 2006, 06:52:23 PM

Plus, you can run your ARB that you want (jk...lol) with CO2 also..

LOL - well, with dual air compressors, and a 2lb tank I can run the ARB's too

~J~

Yeah, but I still swear by my portable instant air.. try running an impact with a 2 gallon tank.....

You could mount a paintball cannon to your rig too

~J~

Now you sound like my son!!