Off-Roading Tyre Pressures Explained

When buying a new car, any decent sales environment should have tyre pressures pointed out. This is important for normal driving as the pressures are intended to work with the car’s suspension to provide an optimum ride and handling package.

That’s on tarmac.

It’s a different story for off-roading though and the situation will be different for different driving locations and terrain.

On tarmac, the pressure and the tyre’s construction will help to provide absorption of ruts, undulations, speed bumps and more. On a dirt track, there could be rocks, mud, spiky grasses, deep puddles to contend with and the tyres need to be more flexible to cope. Generally, this is done by lowering, not increasing, the tyre pressures.

A caveat needs to be applied here too: this reduction is generally, and note the word generally, for areas where sustained off-roading will be undertaken.

Lower pressure mean more flexible sidewalls and this also means the actual footprint of the tyre can be wider. This leads to more grip and more stability. That softer sidewall then eases the load on the suspension and can lead to a more comfortable ride for the passengers.

Another benefit of lowering the pressures is that the mass of the vehicle is spread further over the widened footprint. This is important is driving over a sandy terrain, as there is a lesser chance of sand building up ahead of the tyres, slowing forward momentum and leading to bogging. Lower pressures also mean that crossing rocky terrain lowers the possibility of fracturing the sidewalls from rocks intruding or pushing the tyre harder as it rolls over it.

But by how much should the pressures be lowered? Looser surfaces generally (that word again) see a reduction of around 50% in order to be a better and more successful traversal of sand and mud. A third of the normal recommended pressure for rocks, gravel, and similar surfaces are recommended.

The Garage Miami will be able to advise on the best possible pressures for the areas to be driven, and can help out with the right sort of tyres and equipment.