4x4 / Off-Road TechThis section contains all discussion related to taking the FJ Cruiser in Off-Road situations, 4x4 applications and any armor modifications.
As expected , we have allot of opinion on this one. That usually means it doesn't matter. I could see a soft tire on sharp rocks, but for the most part I think the Tire itself , tread, etc, is what matters. We have several veterans on he forum here with completely differing opinion.
What is the purpose of the deflaters/ decompressors? Couldn't just manually do it with a tire gauge.
There are many opinions because people run with different tires, different sizes, different wheels, in different conditions and terrains. But, airing down DOES matter if you absolutely need it. It's just that some people choose to air down when they don't really need to, or because they want that softer ride.
And, as DoWork mentioned, airing down does diminish ground clearance by a fair amount. But, IF ultimate traction is what you want...
What is the purpose of the deflaters/ decompressors? Couldn't just manually do it with a tire gauge.
They work far more quickly than a manual gauge. Some allow you to deflate while driving. If you're on a run with 5 other rigs and you're the only one taking them down manually, you won't be popular..
It's also important to have them down at roughly the same PSI all-the-way-around.
In trails will run between 15-20 psi depending on the terrain. Under 10 without bead locks you run a change of getting your tire off the rim if your running stock wheels.
YES...in fact I DO!!!....BUT.....I don't run fast...I don't spin tires....I run trails that take a few hours to go a mile.....I have tires that hold the weight of the rig FLAT.....10 lbs is plenty.....20 is too much.....25 plus and my kidneys explode.....40 on the freeway......
IF i'm running dirt roads(what some call "wheeling") I drop them to <25 just to ease up on the kidney damage.....not for traction....
But ALWAYS keep them the same....that's more important then what pressure you run....
About 10 more questions need to be answered before any advise can be given....my guess...since you don't know and never have done it before....don't bother...
For ME....in Az. doing hardcore(for an IFS rig) rock crawling.....10lbs on a 285lt mt works perfect.....but....are you in AZ with mt's doing rock crawling??? probably not.....
So....what kind of wheeling? how fast? what kind of terain?i.e.sand/rocks/snow/mud/wet/dry/dirt roads? what kind of tires?i.e at/mt/stock? what size tires?how much weight you carry?how steep?etc???
Big DITTO. I agree with Homedad on this as well....for more difficult rockcrawling 10-12 psi would be what I'd recommend for an FJC. Yes, this does mean you risk blowing a bead, but it's an acceptable risk for the traction you gain. Also, it's not hard to reseat a blown bead provided you have the proper equipment.
As for not airing down, which do you think is harder to pop with a pin? A fully inflated balloon or one with very little air in it? The one with very little air will deflect much farther than the fully inflated one before it pops. The same is true of a tire. The tire will give rather than perforate. It's also easier to slice a hard sidewall than one that will push away from the rock trying to do the cutting.
Sean
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Re: Airing down for the trail
Excluding rocks, which I try to avoid.. I like 22-ish.. I use Staun deflators and a max-flow.. Ron
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some i know and have run with run 16 mud
and 16 sand and 40 highway
some i know run 55 highway
33 mud
33 sand
some i know have run 45 highway
28 mud
20 sand
just kind of go off road and experiment what you think works best with your setup, lift,tires, weight, etc
and those wimpy air compressors and very handy imo.. have fun
I air it down as little as possible on the rocky trails just so I would have some level of protection for the drive train by allowing little slippage to the wheels versus great amount of traction alone with great amount of stress on the drivetrain. Usually somewhere between 20 to 25 psi. Experts might want to chime in on that theory.
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