{"id":1444,"date":"2018-02-06T10:00:16","date_gmt":"2018-02-06T00:00:16","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.4wdsupacentre.com.au\/news\/?p=1444"},"modified":"2018-02-06T08:59:51","modified_gmt":"2018-02-05T22:59:51","slug":"should-you-lower-your-tyre-pressures-when-you-take-your-4wd-offroad","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/should-you-lower-your-tyre-pressures-when-you-take-your-4wd-offroad\/","title":{"rendered":"Should You Lower Your Tyre Pressures When You Take Your 4WD Offroad?"},"content":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re just starting out with 4WDing, you\u2019ve probably already realised just how much fun it is to go off-road! It can get seriously addictive, whether you like beach 4WDing or bush 4WDing. Along the way you\u2019re going to get a lot of tips for taking your 4×4 off-road, some good and some less-than-stellar. Regardless of how modified your 4WD is, there\u2019s one trick every 4WDer needs to know, and that\u2019s how to adjust your 4×4\u2019s tyre pressures so you don\u2019t get bogged.<\/p>\n

You might think you need the biggest, chunkiest mud tyres to not get stuck. While that\u2019s true for very muddy, sloppy types of terrain, you\u2019ll be blown away with how much more capable you can instantly make your 4WD if you do something as simple as let some air out of the tyres. So why is that?<\/p>\n

There\u2019s two reasons why you should let your tyres down when you head off-road. The first is so that your tyres have a chance to mould themselves around the terrain you\u2019re driving, reducing the chance of the tyre being damaged. The second is that the lower your tyre pressures are, the bigger its \u2018footprint\u2019 or contact patch with the ground is. That means your 4×4 can sit up on top of the terrain instead of sinking down into it. Imagine the difference between standing in thick mud in your bare feet, versus wearing a set of thongs. The wider the contact patch, the less you sink into the terrain.<\/p>\n

In a moment we\u2019ll talk about the best tyre pressure for sand, and the right tyre pressure for 4WDing in the bush. First, let\u2019s talk about the gear you need to safely and correctly lower your 4×4\u2019s tyre pressures.<\/p>\n

1.TYRE DEFLATOR<\/a>:<\/strong> The first thing you need to let your 4WD\u2019s tyre pressures down is a tyre deflator. Yes, you can theoretically do it with a stick, but it\u2019s not accurate and it takes forever. A much better idea is to use either the Adventure Kings Kwiky Tyre Deflator<\/strong><\/a>, or the Adventure Kings 3 in 1 Tyre Deflator.<\/strong> <\/a>Just attach it to your tyre valve, and accurately use it to drop your 4WD tyre pressures to the right level.<\/p>\n

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2. TYRE GAUGE:<\/strong><\/a> Did you know your tyres heat up during the day as you drive? That\u2019s because as air heats up it changes pressure. The Adventure Kings Kwiky Tyre Gauge<\/strong> <\/a>is perfect for instantly checking your 4×4 or SUV tyre pressures throughout the day to ensure they are always correct.<\/p>\n

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3. PORTABLE AIR COMPRESSOR<\/a>:<\/strong> Throughout the day you\u2019ll find you might need to put air back into your tyres. Maybe you\u2019ve finished driving up the beach and you\u2019re heading for a bush campsite, or you\u2019re done 4WDing for the day and need to air back up to the right tyre pressures for on the road. A portable 12v air compressor<\/strong> <\/a>like the Thumper MKII air compressor<\/strong><\/a> or the Thumper Max<\/strong> compressor<\/strong><\/a> will let you quickly and easily re-inflate your tyres.<\/p>\n

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4. TYRE REPAIR KIT:<\/strong><\/a> It\u2019s good practice to always carry a tyre repair kit<\/strong><\/a> like the Hercules Tyre Repair Kit.<\/strong><\/a> If you do get a flat tyre when you\u2019re out in the bush, often you can fix it yourself by plugging the hole. It\u2019s surprisingly easy to do, if you can find the stick, rock or nail that\u2019s punctured your tyre. Then, all you do is use your 12v air compressor to re-inflate your tyre and you\u2019re right to keep driving!<\/p>\n

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So what are the best tyre pressures for 4WDing? The general rule is beach driving tyre pressures should be around 16psi, and bush 4WDing tyre pressures should be around 24psi. That\u2019s a starting point, and if you feel like your 4WD is still struggling you can try taking a bit of extra pressure out of the tyres, maybe dropping another 4psi. In an emergency on the sand, you can drop your tyre pressures as low as 10psi, but be aware that if you\u2019re already bogged, this will just lower your vehicle closer to the sand and can actually make things worse.<\/p>\n

The other huge benefit to lowering your tyre pressures is that it massively smooths out the ride! If you\u2019re on a rough, rocky dirt or gravel road and you\u2019re getting bounced all over the place, drop your tyre pressures down to around 28psi even if you are still in 2WD and aren\u2019t having any dramas with traction. You\u2019ll be blown away by the difference it makes!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

If you\u2019re just starting out with 4WDing, you\u2019ve probably already realised just how much fun it is to go off-road! It can get seriously addictive, whether you like beach 4WDing or bush 4WDing. Along the way you\u2019re going to get a lot of tips for taking your 4×4 off-road, some good and some less-than-stellar. Regardless…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":123456,"featured_media":1445,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/123456"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1444"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1450,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1444\/revisions\/1450"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1445"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1444"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1444"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/news.emgcloud.net\/news\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1444"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}