Looking after my tyres

[LC85]

HI I have just had some new MTR's fitted to my 60 series & had it out on the weekend on some fairly rocky country,I have noticed some small cuts on the sidewalls.When I was out I had 36 psi in my tyres would lowwering the pressures help save my sidewalls.Does anyone have any tips on looking after tyres

[taziiy]

if the rocks you where on have sharp edsges you will always get cuts and lower pressures would help your tyre fold over the rocks better and could reduce the risk

[-BJ-]

I heard the risk of puncturing your sidewalls goes up if you let down your tyres ???

But you get better traction if you have lower pressures.

Right ?

[taziiy]

I heard the risk of puncturing your sidewalls goes up if you let down your tyres ???

But you get better traction if you have lower pressures.

Right ?


Yeah there proberly is but i havent had it happen yet but you do get better traction well i find i do anyway

[Mick.]

I run my MTRs at 10psi in the bush and i've never had a puncture. Sorry I did put a big hole in the side of one but that was with 30psi. ::)

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

One of the first signs of running tyre pressures too high that you can look for is chips and cuts in the tread and sidewalls. Go back to the 4psi increase after an hours worth of driving, starting from cold, and I bet you'll find that your tyre pressures were WAY too high for what you were doing!! You want them to go up 4psi after an hours worth of driving IN THOSE CONDITIONS! More than 4psi, starting pressure was too low, less than 4 psi, starting pressure was too high. Take the time and effort to work out what it should be in any given set of conditions, and your tyres will repay you with longer life and better wear!!

[DIRTY]

One of the first signs of running tyre pressures too high that you can look for is chips and cuts in the tread and sidewalls. Go back to the 4psi increase after an hours worth of driving, starting from cold, and I bet you'll find that your tyre pressures were WAY too high for what you were doing!! You want them to go up 4psi after an hours worth of driving IN THOSE CONDITIONS! More than 4psi, starting pressure was too low, less than 4 psi, starting pressure was too high. Take the time and effort to work out what it should be in any given set of conditions, and your tyres will repay you with longer life and better wear!!

Interesting theory, i drop mine to about 10psi as soon as i hit dirt ;D

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Little, light vehicle like a Suzi that might be just about spot on! Try the 4psi thing and see if it makes any difrnce! It works for bitumen road driving, as well as for off roading, you just gotta start from cold tyres, and work it out for any given set of conditions! Bit of a pain, but you can save a lot of $$ over the extended life of a set of tyres!

Had a bunch of people out this last weekend for a training run, and I asked them to try the 4psi guide; all were very impressed with the difrence it made to drivability and handling, both on road and off!!

[LC85]

What would be a good starting pressure for my vehicle on fairly rough,slow,rocky tracks.How often should I rotate my tyres.

[Peter @ Aawen4x4]

Keep the 4psi thing in mind, but for a 60 series, running a 32 or 33 tyre, a good start point for rocky stuff keeping your speed below about 40 kph would be in the vicinity of 20-22 psi. Check after an hours driving, and if its not gone up by 4 psi, it was too high, let 2 psi out now, and next time start 2-4psi lower. If its gone up by more than 4, start was too low, add as much pressure as it has gone over the 4psi mark, ie if you start on 20, and it goes to 26, it should have gone to 24, so you only need to add 2 psi, the difference between 24 and 26. If it went to 30, you'd add about 6psi! Hope that helps!

I rotate tyres every 10,000 ks, with the wheel alignment and balance. It helps even out the wear, and keeps the tyres at about the same rolling diameter, very important if you do a lot of rocky stuff!! Include your spare or spares in the rotation programme, its really not good when you put a spare on that's brand new, and all the others have worn 10mm of tread off!! If the traction is high, that's enough to make things really uncomfortable, and maybe even break a Hilux or 60/80/100 series Transfer case if ignored!

[Patrolman Pat]

LC85 I run my MTRs at 34-36 on the road, 24-28 on gravel roads, 18-22 on rocky tracks, 12-18 on sand. Done nearly 30000kms on them and still looking good. Rotated every 10000 ks, including spare.

[crusher]

LC85 I run my MTRs at 34-36 on the road, 24-28 on gravel roads, 18-22 on rocky tracks, 12-18 on sand. Done nearly 230oookms on them and still looking good. Rotated every 10000 ks, including spare.


Surely that couldn't be 230,000 km for one set of tyres ???

What would be a good starting pressure for my vehicle on fairly rough,slow,rocky tracks.How often should I rotate my tyres.


I'd start at 16 - 18 psi and see how you go. Rotate them every 10000km or if your really keen every 5000.

[Patrolman Pat]

LC85 I run my MTRs at 34-36 on the road, 24-28 on gravel roads, 18-22 on rocky tracks, 12-18 on sand. Done nearly 30000kms on them and still looking good. Rotated every 10000 ks, including spare.


Oops. Should read 30000. Hit the wrong key. ::)

[LC85]

thanks all has been a big help will try the 4 psi gain idea next time