Hi All. I was wondering if there is a general rule on how far you can safely deflate your tires off-road with non-beadlock rims? I'm running BFG KO2 C rated tires

Thanks

I haven’t tried going really low with my ‘18. I run BFG All Terrain T/A KO2 in load range E, which run 45 psi on the road. I’ve lowered them only to 35 to date, mainly just to keep the TPMS sensors from turning on the dash light.

Before my 4Runner, I had a ‘02 Tacoma TRD Off Road. I also ran BFG All Terrain T/As on there (the KO2 wasn’t out yet). I ran stock size tires on OEM rims, 35 psi street pressure.

Back then I lived in eastern California and the eastern Sierra Nevada, Death Valley and central and southwestern Nevada was my play ground. I generally aired down to 20 psi in the front, 18 in the rear. Often, instead of waiting 45 minutes for a red hot 12v plug in air compressor to bring my tires up to street pressure, I’d just drive home at trail pressure. Even in summer, the tires often weren’t too hot to touch, but the truck was noticeably more squirrely. At home I’d air up with my shop compressor.

I’ve often heard that one wouldn’t want to attempt to go below around 15 psi before going with bead locks. That’s for Wranglers and other light vehicles. Our T4Rs are considerably heavier.

I’ve found that even a drop of 10 psi works well for most situations.

had mine down to 15 2 weeks ago. trail wheels, 285/70-17 cooper at3 xlt E rated. didnt do any crawling, just lots of desert stuff.

18 on the beach

25 or so dirt tracks and fire roads.

The lowest i've been comfortable going has be 15psi off road, slow speed stuff. I haven't had any issues to date at that pressure with losing a bead.

For the record I'm running E load range Wildpeak at3w, they have pretty tough sidewalls and to the naked eye barely look under inflated at 15psi while sitting still.

On a C Load tire, I don't know how low i'd go, but i'd experiment around 20psi first and see how it feels and performs. I'd be more cautious of my sidewalls because of the Load rating as they'd likely squat more at those pressures and would be more prone to pinching or slicing a sidewall on a rock or obstacle.

There are a lot of factors that play into that. I'd personally start somewhere around 18 and go lower if you are comfortable with it and feel it's needed. Of course you are going to need to air back up, I assume you have that part covered.

I do 15 for sand driving and deep snow, 20 for other trails.
No fast, sharp turns at 15, no problems.
OEM Trail wheels, Toyo Open Country AT2

I keep my K02s at 32psi which starts off at 28 on a cold morning. I have not had any trouble.

I have a buddy that rolled his Tacoma when he lost the bead on a sudden dirt road turn, but I don't know how low he was. I'd be pretty careful at 15 psi.

Toyo Open Country A/T (E rated) at 15psi.
(mild) Winters I daily drive at 30ish psi. Summer 35psi

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I’m regularly at 15-18 on the trails with SL load Wildpeaks


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Thanks everyone. The most common answer seems to be 15 PSI. I’m planning to head up to the Tahoe area in a couple of weeks. So if I encounter any significant snow I may need to deflate my tires and wanted to know how low I could go if I got stuck for any reason.

For driving in the snow some mentioned they drop their tires down to 25 PSI for driving in town. What about freeway driving? Same 25 PSI or higher?

And I do have a good tire pump that will inflated in a decent amount of time.

I wouldn't air down at all for driving on pavement, even with snow.

I do 14-15psi when rock crawling but my C load KO2s have taken quite a few gouges into the sidewalls and they can get pretty pancaked on impacts. I found the traction was best at this psi.

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I'm about the same. 15 in deep snow/sand, usually around 20-25 for potholey forest roads, and I'd be willing to go down to about 5-10 if I was stuck and needed to get out, but I'd have to be more careful about losing a bead especially if there's a side load. My driving PSI is about 37psi.

>Duratracs
>Stock wheels (not TRD)

I drive in deep desert sand a lot, not beach sand. I often don't have to air down my KO2s at all which are usually at about 40lbs.

I would suggest that you just air down to about 30 and be on the safe side. You can then tell if you need to go a bit lower. I would never go to 15. You never know what forces will act on that tire to take the bead out, and IMO it isn't necessary.

IMO, there is not a magic number. It's "feel" that tells you what you need to do.