That ^

It really does not matter for forest roads.

Most importantly, most people forget that it all depends on P vs LT in harsher terrain.

YOU DON'T WANT TO AIR DOWN P-METRIC AT TIRES FOR ANYTHING BUT DEEP SOFT STUFF.

1/ They have plenty of flex at street pressures.
2/ They are plenty comfortable at street pressures.

I run Backaway to Crown King, Broken Arrow, Crapshoot, and every other low-end difficult, moderate, or easy trail in AZ or UT at 33 psi.

AIRING DOWN P-METRIC IN HARSH TERRAIN=TROUBLE with sidewalls.

On the other hand, LT tires especially E-load are worthless at street pressure in harsh terrain. At street pressures, they have no flex, and thus have poor traction and they will also rattle your teeth. They must be aired down to around 20 psi or less to perform properly in harsh terrain. At 18-20 they should have great traction and ride very smooth as well.

But, again, on a forest road, the only issue would be comfort.

If you mean harsh as high friction, I agree, if you mean harsh as questionable sometimes cutting through a soft layer to solid bed is worth some psi...

I deal with a lot of ruts and mud in the midwest, fully understand that geography is the decision maker

Sorry for the generic expression!

The typical Southern AZ terrain, mile per mile, is the same from easy to very difficult trails, aside from the obstacles. It consists of extended sections of broken sharp rock and constant wash crossings and drainages running across the trail. In these conditions, a P-metric tire will expose its sidewalls too much and would also risk a pinch puncture though I am not very familiar with the latter and unsure if it applies to P more than to LT.

Say, Southern Utah terrain can on occasion be similar to Southern AZ but normally you get a lot less broken loose sharp rock to deal with. In SW Colorado, there is a lot of broken rock, too, but the sections are at least very short and very slow speed.

I saw nothing like this in Montana where we drove more than two dozen dirt roads and trails. We did two rocky trails, but the rocks were well-rounded, like riverbed rocks, not sharp rocks. We went through a lot of fallen branches though, at street pressures, and had no issues. So I guess that is the mountain equivalent of the desert sharp rock!

I explore in the Phoenix area
2016 trail with KDSS
265 KO2 C rated
38 psi street
~28 psi forest roads and smoother dirt roads and depending on outside temperature.

That's what works for me, try things out and see what works.

If you have P rated tires, do yourself a favor and get something else.


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Lucky dog! Its wild how lacking the midwest is with true open lands. Have fun and any dont think about your tires so much unless you feel they could be better. I guess I'm saying you may prefer feeling the road more where someone else may want to float all over lol

Personally I'd head out and see then air down after enough time to feel the difference. It will make future decisions easier. I only air down for muddy hills

You didn't read my posts above, did you? They work just fine at street pressures. However, if I stayed only in AZ, then probably I would be using something else.

That's true, open in all sorts of ways. In Montana, we explored a lot and it is fun because the dirt roads there are narrow so they feel like easy trails but fast. But the downside is that you are normally just in a forest. SO you may think you are on the Upper Peninsula. I like forests a great deal, but I would not normally want to drive an actual 4x4 trail in a forest, only once in a while for the heck of it. Forest trails where I can be slow but do not have to be slow, that's fun.

By contrast, AZ, UT, CO offer so much both in terms of public land and in terms of open vistas. So do SE California and NV though I find them a lot less appealing, especially NV.

Well....seing as you're not the OP of this thread and I replied to the thread, then no I was not responding to you. Just because I posted after you doesn't mean it was directed at you, I would have replied to you quote if I was.

But I agree with your idea of P vs LT tires. At minimum C or LT is the way to go if doing any kind of offroading.

I almost always drop to 20psi, I run 275/70 KO2's on the Pro wheels. I would go lower but haven't yet felt the need. Without beadlocks I see no reason to go lower than 15psi, YMMV.

white rim trail on bfg ko2 c?

I have LT Duratracs load range D.