Tyre pressures in mud Q.

[sudso]

What's the ideal tyre pressures to run in mud? (Have recently got some BFG mud terrain radials)

1) with tubes in

2) without tubes

BTW I have tubes in at the moment

thanks

[grimbo]

depends on size of tyres, type and weight of vehicle, size of the rims, wha type of mud (slop on the surface of a hard base or waist deep soup etc)

You need to provide a lot more info

[bad_religion_au]

What's the ideal tyre pressures to run in mud? (Have recently got some BFG mud terrain radials)

1) with tubes in

2) without tubes

BTW I have tubes in at the moment

thanks

is there a reason your running tubes in a tubeless tire? i wouldn't go very low with the tubes in, because you can spin the tube on the rim and sheer your valve stem off, and also you can pinch your tube and puncture it.

myself, i go down to 20 in mud in my 40 with 33x12.5's, but i'd go lower if i didn't have such weak girly arms (or if i had power steering)

[mikmav]

I assume he's running tubes for the same reason a lot of other people do..
you get a lot less leaks... before I put tubes in, every time I went out wheelin I'd get at least 1 tyre get a slow leak from a bead. Since I've had tubes, no leaks.

[matthewK]

i run tubless and every time i put them down 1 out of 4 get a slow leak
i useually take my tyre down to 16-17 for mud and sand
some time only to 20

[bad_religion_au]

I assume he's running tubes for the same reason a lot of other people do..
you get a lot less leaks... before I put tubes in, every time I went out wheelin I'd get at least 1 tyre get a slow leak from a bead. Since I've had tubes, no leaks.

ahh sounds like a good reason. i've never had this problem myself

although my tires don't go more than a week without being aired down

[hokey]

on your trucks can you guys even see a difference in the tyre at 20psi from road? it is pointless for grip unless the tyres footprint increases. when we go to the snow we drop the tyres down to 8 without beadlocks. if a tyre pops off the rim break out the hairspray and reseat it.

[bad_religion_au]

on your trucks can you guys even see a difference in the tyre at 20psi from road? it is pointless for grip unless the tyres footprint increases. when we go to the snow we drop the tyres down to 8 without beadlocks. if a tyre pops off the rim break out the hairspray and reseat it.

yes i can see a difference, and the increase in footprint is lengthways, not due to sidewall buldging.

[CHILLI 2]

What works on 1 vehicle may not work on another you wil have to use the trial & error system using others input as a guide, usually between 18 to 25 psi is enough but there may be times when less is better but you do risk tyre damage and leaking beads.As for tubes if you have tubless rims get the tubes taken out or you will find if you dirve in mud or sand with the pressure down, water,mud and sand will find it's way in around the valve stem and puncture your tube anyway which will be far more inconvenient than beading your tyre back up!!!!!not to mention rust around your rim. chilli

[Beastmavster]

Dont go down too low in mud - it only take a little mud to get in the bead for it not to seal properly....

[jeep97tj]

When i was playing in the rocks in my jeep i use to put a piece of 4x2 wood under the tyre and let it down untill the tyre touched the ground again on both sides, that was with 37" mtrs. May be u could try a piece of 2x2 to start with. Doing it with the wood takes into account the 4x4s weight and the flex ability of the tyres side wall, unlike someone just saying to run 20psi. While 20psi might work great on a cruiser running 31x10.5 tyres its not going to work on a zuk running 37x12.5.

[sudso]

depends on size of tyres, type and weight of vehicle, size of the rims, wha type of mud (slop on the surface of a hard base or waist deep soup etc)

You need to provide a lot more info

Thanks for the tips
More info:

Tyres are 33x10.5x15 BFG M/T Radials

Vehicle (rodeo) usually weighs a nominal 2.3 tonne with fuel, gear and 2 people, more when loaded up for camping etc. (unless the weighbridge at the local stones supplies is dodgy)

I bought the tyres 2nd hand on steel rims (OEM GQ rims) and the tubes were already in them.
The seller said he ran tubes because BFG recommended it if your'e going to deflate to less than 22psi with this size tyre.

What's the difference between tube and tubeless rims?

[Wooders]

I'll generally air down heap more for rocks than mud.....Whilst lower pressures help the footprint, you do lose ground clearance and in some cases you want to be able to bite to the hard surface underneath.

[grimbo]

I have the 33 x 10.50 on my GQ. I usually drop it down to about 16-18 for most offroad work. I find in the mud in Victoria on tracks floatation from the tyres isn't as important as cutting through the layer of slop down to the hard ground underneath. So you need to play around to find the right combination of airing down and your vehicle.

[GRIMACE]

in mud also reccomend airing down the rear slightly more than the front.... not sure if it actually works but it seems to in my head

edit: sorry to hijack, just wanted to know if anyone else has herd and used this theory
I have and like i said it seemed to be better but who really knows, U can never direct compare stuff like that

[Wooders]

I'd nearly think the opposite would be better -:
Front being taller & skinier cuts through and doesn't hangup.
Rear travels in the path cut but the front and provides more drive, thus benefits from the airdown more.......

Anyhow that's just my dead braincell thought......

[sudso]

Hmm. After all this food for thought I think I will get them fitted to my Hurricane alloys without the tubes and experiment when SA gets some rain and decent mud.

Fitting to the alloys because the GQ rims and the tubes make the whole wheel pretty heavy so any amount of weight saving will be kinder on the suspension and braking.

Chilli2 wrote:

As for tubes if you have tubless rims get the tubes taken out or you will find if you dirve in mud or sand with the pressure down, water,mud and sand will find it's way in around the valve stem and puncture your tube anyway which will be far more inconvenient than beading your tyre back up!!!!!not to mention rust around your rim. chilli

What's the difference between tubeless and tube rims?

[jeep97tj]

The rear usuall has less pressure than the fron because there is less weight in the rear, also it is better to have more pressure it the front tyres because when turning it is pushing against the side wall trying to knock the tyre of the rim, unlike the rear.