That muddy trail in Sedona taught me a hard lesson about tire pressure

I was bombing down Schnebly Hill Road last spring and nearly slid off the edge because my tires were at street pressure. Dropped them to 18 psi and the traction was night and day. Anyone else find that lower psi makes a bigger difference than their tire tread ever did?

2 comments

2 Comments

tessa3685d ago

18 psi is right in the sweet spot for a lot of the Sedona trails, I run my old Tacoma at 16 when I hit the slickrock around there. Another thing I learned the hard way is going too low can actually pinch the sidewall and ruin a tire fast, especially on sharp rocks. I check my pressure cold and let a few pounds out at a time until the sidewall just starts to bulge a little. Lower psi grabs the trail way better than any fancy tread pattern in my experience, but you gotta find that balance or you'll be patching a tire on the side of the road.

the_jordan5d ago

Sidewall just starting to bulge" - that's a phrase that always makes me a little nervous but I know you're right. I was out near Moab last year and dropped to like 12 psi thinking I was being clever, and sure enough I caught a sharp edge and absolutely blew a sidewall. Had to hike out and borrow a plug kit from a guy in a Jeep. @tessa368 has the right idea with checking cold and letting it out slow, I always rush it and end up having to air back up because I went too far. I think the sweet spot is different for every tire too, those new sidewall compounds are way softer than what we ran ten years ago.