Lowest tire pressure you are willing to run offroad (without bead locks)

[mike8675309]

What's the lowest pressure you'll run for a given tire wheel combination?
What's too low, and what is the story of how you found out?

For the 34.5" Goodyear Territory, it seems the conventional wisdom is no lower than 20psi on a heavy vehicle like the Bronco. Goodyear itself has told people no lower than 29psi.

**UPDATE**
I pulled the numbers from the thread, and here is what I see so far after categorizing the feedback and just drawing the average, min, and max. I included the number of responses below, and higher than the average.

Generally, most people who reported why they lowered pressure it was for comfort more than traction. We had a report from someone that they used low pressures on their Diesel truck that was much heavier than a Bronco. And there were a couple of notes on how important it is to be careful of excess wheel spinning or pinching the sidewall when lowering the air and generally just driving smart.

It seems a couple of things are clearer now than previously.
If someone is running higher than 17 PSI because they are concerned about losing a bead, it seems you don't need to worry so much.
On rocky terrain or Fire Service Roads, you likely could get way lower for more comfort.

One last point, if you air down more, that does mean more time to air up; as someone pointed out, they actually upgraded their air system due to how long it could take to air up.

	Average	Min	Max
Snow/Sand	13.2​	8​	20​
	3 lower
	2 higher
Rocky	13.47​	7​	22​
	9 Lower
	8 higher
Fire Service Road Average	17.2​	10​	25​
	4 Lower
	5 higher

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[popo_patty]

Goodyear runs their numbers high for liability. I regularly run at 10-15 on the trails. Have been as low as 7 in my Bronco without beadlocks. 20 PSI isn’t enough for settling that tire down and gaining from the benefit of airing down other then a small bit of comfort

 

[Ripcurl]

I usually do 18 psi on my 2 door for typical mountain terrain off roading out here but would feel comfortable a bit lower I suppose

 

[userdude]

I've ran 15 and 17/18psi on stock SAS GY's a couple times, didn't seem to have any issues. I have a two door, no mods. The Offroadeo trail guides said pretty definitively you don't need to go real low, though, 25psi is fine, so it's probably a bit of taste (and waiting on them to air back up, c'mon already!).

 

[Hemisfear]

I go 15-18lbs when rocky, 18-20lbs for gravel/forest service roads...

 

[7sKnuckledragger]

35x12.5x15 on my TJ I’ll go down to 10psi without beadlocks with bfg km2’s
37x12.5x17 on my JKUR I’ll run 10-12 psi on cooper stt pros and the patagonias. And that’s on rocks, rubicon, Johnson valley etc
The JKUR was beaver than a 4dr bronco with steel bumpers, winch, tire carrier, steel fenders, etc
Have yet to bust a bead. I’ve broke driveline parts but not the bead.

 

[robepa]

I snow wheeled on the stock Sasquatch wheels and tires at 8 PSI with no issues. To be clear I drive carefully and consider the side loads on the tires. I have gone as low as 5 PSI for a short period to get thru a spot. You should be able to change to the spare and inflate a tire when you go that low.

I run 18 PSI on rock dirt with no issues.

 

[Scooter2]

12 psi is my bottom line (On the JL AEV pintler rims/ 315 Ko2's - still waiting on the Bronco).

 

[telenerd]

For the dunes I was about 15 and climbed up just about everything. It felt I could have went lower. Just playing it safe.

For rocky trails I’ve ran about 12. The good years actually work very well. Even in Snow I was impressed.

 

[kodiakisland]

18psi is my go to for real trails and 24psi for dirt roads. Lower depending on circumstances down to 12psi.

 

[telenerd]

I've ran 15 and 17/18psi on stock SAS GY's a couple times, didn't seem to have any issues. I have a two door, no mods. The Offroadeo trail guides said pretty definitively you don't need to go real low, though, 25psi is fine, so it's probably a bit of taste (and waiting on them to air back up, c'mon already!).

I picked up a Moreflat twin air compressor and 4 tire inflator. I can air up all 4 tires in about 10 minutes. My Vair compressor would take 30-45 minutes depending on how low I went.

 

[BulldogBear]

Same - 10-15. As long as you're not spinning your wheels excessively or an driving into an extreme pinch in the sidewall it shouldn't be an issue.

 

[scotman623]

BFG KM3 37X12.5-17 . I run 15psi on rocks and mud-Dirt..10psi sand or snow.. 2 Door badsquach. Method non bead lock.

 

[Headsong]

Why? Honest question. Never aired a vehicle down. Just ran fsr's on grasslands near Pierre, SD at 42...no trouble. What did I miss?

 

[slews]

Why? Honest question. Never aired a vehicle down. Just ran fsr's on grasslands near Pierre, SD at 42...no trouble. What did I miss?

On most FSRs you definitely don't *need* to air down, but it does smooth out the ride a bit and reduces the risk of sliding, etc. I highly recommend it, but I wouldn't discourage anyone from driving FSRs just because they don't have a compressor or whatever.

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