We all know the deal, when you are looking at heading out into the great unknown, there is only one type of vehicle, you need to consider, that is a 4WD!

The definition of a 4WD is literally what it says on the box, all 4-wheels are driven by the vehicles motor, this differs from your standard family car which is typically 2WD or AWD. The benefit to this is both the front pair and rear pair of your vehicle’s wheels, this allows you to have double the traction on surfaces that are less than optimal, like on sand, mud, rocks, dirt and more.

Whilst initially this increases the ability to drive your vehicle on some tracks that are seemingly shouldn’t be able to handle, there are plenty of tips and tricks that you should know to make sure you can get your 4 wheel driven vehicle further down the track without getting damaged and much more smoothly than giving her all she’s got which could end badly!

The first place to pay attention is whether or not your vehicle is in absolute running order, starting where the rubber hits the road, you want to make for certain your tyres are in the best nick possible, this includes being balanced, aligned and set to the safest pressures for the job!
The pressures are easily checked and adjusted using some simple tools that you can bring with you on the tracks.

When we drop our tyre pressures down we gain additional traction and also smooth out our ride, however your vehicle will 100% behave differently to others, this means you need to experiment with exactly which pressures work best with your vehicle. The best tool for the job is a Kwiky Tyre Deflator this deflator tool is essential for getting accurate pressures incredibly quickly!

There are a couple of starting points for dropping your pressures and we are going to go over the pressure ranges you might want to start with

0% Reduction in pressure (highway)

Tyre manufacturers do a lot of work making sure tyres operate with excellent performance, high grip and handling cornering at speed with high loads for tens of thousands of kilometers, without failure or fear of punctures or getting a high-speed flat tyres.

0% reduction in pressure is perfect for hard flat and paved surfaces which are relatively smooth and predictable.

20% Reductions in pressure (dirt/corrugations)

When we begin dropping pressures down you need to consider what is happening on uneven surfaces with a fully pressurized tyre, essentially when you have corrugations or “wash-boarding” your tyre will need to travel up and down over each corrugation, this travel is rough at best even at slow speeds this travel is known as a paint shaker because of the rough vibrations.

There is a cure for the vibrations that many people suggest, and that is approaching the corrugations with speed this means your tyres skip across the tops of the corrugations resulting in a much smoother ride, this is much more comfortable but only offers traction on the surface for 50% of the time at best.

This is why we reduce our pressures, by dropping down your tyres from highway pressure to just 20% less than our highway pressures, we increase the surface area of the contact area significantly, this means we increase the time our tyres are in contact with the corrugated surface and increase our ability to steer and brake on the skittish surface.

A 20% decrease in pressure would be from an average tyre pressure from 32psi to around 26psi which will definitely increase your comfort on the tracks!

30% Reduction in pressure (Mud )

If you are looking at deeper mud and dropping down your tyre pressures to around 30% gives you many benefits, starting with an increase in surface area along the length of your tyre increases your vehicles buoyancy, and increases the ability for your vehicle to simply tackle the muddy obstacles, because you have a larger reduction in pressure, you need to drop your top speed as well ensuring you don’t un-seat your bead.

A 30% decrease in pressure would be from an average tyre pressure from 32psi to around 22psi which will definitely increase your traction and control on the tracks!

50% Reduction in pressure (Sand & Rocks)

If you are following along, this next step makes enough sense;

ROCKS

When you are driving on a rocky playground, you need to consider that the sharp edges of the track can do some damage to high pressured tyres, by dropping pressures to half what your tarmac pressures are you allow not only a 200% increase in contact area. Your tyre sidewall can flex and contort over the surface and not only prevent damage but get more drive over obstacles.

SAND

Sand is one of the most common terrains that many people in Australia choose to tackle, however it is one of the hardest terrains to drive on, because it is halfway between a solid and a liquid, because of this natural trait, it is firm underneath but slippery. With 200% additional contact area, you have 4x small tank tracks that let your vehicle drive even when the surface is smooshy.

These pressures allow you to gain much more traction, but because of the reduction of the pressure you need to treat cornering and braking much more cautiously to prevent ripping tyres off the rim.

A 50% decrease in pressure would be from an average tyre pressure from 32psi to around 16psi which will definitely increase your traction and improve control on the tracks!

Sand is one of the easiest ways to get stuck which leads us to our next step!

80% Reduction in pressure (Emergency last resort)

As a last resort, when every well laid plan goes badly, you need a way out, and one of the best ways to get free is to drop every spare PSI out of your tyres, by dumping this excess air out, this is where an 80% reduction comes in, by dropping your tyres to the lowest pressures possible you definitely increase the risk of pulling your tyre off your rim, but you increase the surface area on the surface which can pull you free from trouble but once you are free you MUST get your pressures back up to the appropriate pressures.

By packing a reliable Air Compressor to increase your pressures back up to spec you will find that your trips will be much more fun.

A 80% decrease in pressure would be from an average tyre pressure from 32psi to around 6.4psi which will definitely increase your traction and improve the likelihood of getting out of trouble on the tracks!

To find out more about how to get your 4WD further offroad, head to www.4WDSupacentre.com.au call us on 1800 88 39 64 or visit one of our stores to speak with an expert in person!