How much air in the tires?

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Jim McClain

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Took a drive up Mount Hough (Plumas County, CA - Feather River Country) yesterday and came home with the low-tire warning light on. Last time that happened, the tire went flat in a couple of hours. This time it didn't go flat.

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When I had the flat fixed last time, Les Schwab made sure all tires were inflated to 35#. I'm not sure that's optimal for occasional off-road/dirt road travel. Mt. Hough is not a 4wd road, but it's fairly rough dirt. The ride seemed kinda harsh - I would have enjoyed a little smoother ride. I wonder, if the tires had lower pressure, would that make a difference in the quality of ride and maybe help prevent the low-pressure sensor from going off. Would I see any significant change in running at 30#? 25#?

Most of my driving is on pavement. I don't have the ability to change the tire pressure every time I go dirty. I realize these things depend on the specific tire, so mine are Big-O brand Big Foot AT, 235/65R-17. Can you give me an idea what my best choice of tire pressure would be? My hope is these tires will last about a year, until I can afford to put a 2½" lift on it, then get bigger and better tires.

Thanks,

Jim
 

eyehatetofu

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32-35 is in the optimal range; I think inside the doorjamb of my '06 it says 33psi. I would be going 20ish psi off road. BUT since you said you can't change the pressure you are stuck rocking and rolling with street pressure. You go less than the recommended PSI you are going to jack up your tires; not worth it unless you like buying new tires frequently.
 

tommudd

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yes run 33-35 and be good all the time
bad idea to go any lower on the pavement since the tires will wear faster etc plus the safety hazard of running tires too low
 

Jim McClain

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Okay, I hear you guys. I'll keep the pressure up there. I wonder why I'm losing air though. I didn't hit any big rocks or bumps, just a fairly rough 2wd dirt road. Maybe these Big-O tires are just crappy rubber. Or could it be the wheels don't provide a good bead grip?

Jim
 

Ohio-white-kj

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I'd just keep those tires at the recommended psi (look at the door jamb) or maybe a pound or 2 higher.

FWIW - there is a big in the low pressure warning system. At least I've seen it as have others. I have a 2005 fwiw. On a LONG low speed run - say maybe an hour or more where you are rarely over 10 mph or so it will give a low tire warning (SOMETIMES).

If memory is correct they do not start sending info, until 10 mph or so. If the computer does not see a reading for a certain amount of time it triggers warning.

I've had 3 times where it did it, all were low speed crawls of an hour or more. 1st time I thought maybe it was too much mud or something, checked all tires with a gage and fine.

2nd time - same - finally researched and found others had it.

It takes a 1/2 hour or more to clear the error at road speed.

Oh - spare was fine also...
 

Jim McClain

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Oddly enough, the low-tire warning light went out when I made a short (6-blocks) trip to Napa. It hasn't come back on all day. All the tires look the same, although I haven't gauged them.
 

tjkj2002

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Oddly enough, the low-tire warning light went out when I made a short (6-blocks) trip to Napa. It hasn't come back on all day. All the tires look the same, although I haven't gauged them.
See it all the time here,colder mornings the psi drops but comes up when it gets hotter during the day.Going from low altitude to high altitude and back will effect TPMS readings also.
 

M38 Bob

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See it all the time here,colder mornings the psi drops but comes up when it gets hotter during the day.Going from low altitude to high altitude and back will effect TPMS readings also.

That's the whole argument for the use of nitrogen to inflate tires. And it does make quite a difference.
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for jet aircraft and NASCAR drivers.

Bob
 

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