Air down psi for stock Bridgestone dueler h/t?

[PCH4R]

What do you recommend?

I used to air down my KM2s from 35 to 18psi. Those had serious sidewalls though.

I was thinking maybe 20psi for these tires? Maybe 22?

 

[LandCruiser]

It depends on the wheel and tire and the speed you plan on driving.

But I usually air down my 5th gen's tires to 20 psi when off road. Haven't thrown a wheel off a rim, yet.

YMMV.

 

[03_4x4Runner]

If you are going to run in any rocks at all I would not go below about 25 with the stock tire. The thin sidewalls will be more exposed and easy to cut. If you are in sand with the stock tire you could go lower as there should not be any rocks.

 

[Intruder]

It depends on the wheel and tire and the speed you plan on driving.

But I usually air down my 5th gen's tires to 20 psi when off road. Haven't thrown a wheel off a rim, yet.

YMMV.

Yeah, I think a P rated tire that'd be the lowest you want to go. I go down to 12 with my MTRs, but I also have confidence in the kevlar sidewalls.

 

[LandCruiser]

Yeah, I think a P rated tire that'd be the lowest you want to go. I go down to 12 with my MTRs, but I also have confidence in the kevlar sidewalls.

These are E load range LT's (TA KO's), they seem more beefy and stiff than P-rated tires.

 

[BobsTrail]

If you are going to run in any rocks at all I would not go below about 25 with the stock tire. The thin sidewalls will be more exposed and easy to cut. If you are in sand with the stock tire you could go lower as there should not be any rocks.

I run 20 on trails and 15 in soft sand with stock Dunlops. I like the comment about 25 for rocks from 03_4x4Runner above.

 

[Intruder]

I like the comment about 25 for rocks from 03_4x4Runner above.

I think you have to balance it out. We had a guy in a bone stock Tacoma on a trail with us in the summer. He was running around 25 psi and couldn't climb this one rock obstacle. Tires kept spinning from lack of traction. We aired him down to 18 and he was able to climb the obstacle afterwards. I think he was more at risk of blowing a bead or tearing a tire from spinning on the rock than he was from airing down further. Less air in the tires means that they'll more easily deform around a sharp rock instead of getting punctured as well. You just have to be aware that with less air in there you want to keep your speed way down - we usually run trails at about 5 km/h max.

Any time you air down (or go off road in general) you should either have a full size spare and the ability to change it on the trail or have a plug kit and ability to reseat a bead. Realistically though, if you're running a lot of rocky trails you should ditch the P rated stock tires for a proper AT or MT tire with a beefy sidewall and good shoulder lugs.

 

[PCH4R]

Thanks for the input all.

I set my Staun deflators to 25psi.

My goal is to get some use out of the stock tires while I figure out my lift/armor goals, and then do the lift and new tires/wheels at the same time.

 

[jrandom]

My goal is to get some use out of the stock tires while I figure out my lift/armor goals, and then do the lift and new tires/wheels at the same time.

Just thought I would throw this out there. Tire shops will give you money/credit for your tires, the newer they are the more you'll get. Also a lot of people getting around $100~ a piece for them on craigslist/similar. They sell for around $160 new and apparently pretty popular tires on F-150's.

But yeah I totally understand where you are coming from

 

[vailTRD]

I would not air down street tires at all. I completely shred my sidewall with about 200 miles on my te. Granted, I was on some rocky terrain. Still, street tires are NOT built to offer any sidewall support whatsoever.

 

[JB.]

i.
My goal is to get some use out of the stock tires while I figure out my lift/armor goals, and then do the lift and new tires/wheels at the same time.

Lower psi improves resistance to something penetrating the tire, any tire, though that doesn't rule out specific circumstances where higher pressure might have performed better.

Offroading with Standard Load tires requires extra care, but if it were me, I don't think I would complicate things by trying to mix in a separate air pressure approach based on the particular tire.

I would focus on having an adequate flat tire backup plan in place so I was free to experiment with air pressure any way I wanted. Later on, you'd be in a position to give good input to someone asking the same question.