Dialing in Off Road Tire Pressure

A comprehensive guide to off road tire pressures, including the pros and cons to airing down off road, a guide for dialing in the perfect tire pressures for different conditions with your vehicle, and some of the equipment and skills you will need to operate off road at low tire pressure.
Learn more about us at teamoneil.com
Click here to book a course: teamoneil.com/driving-courses/

[@VKSgtSLaughter]

9:52 you give great advice for different driving situations: Street: 30 to 35 PSI Gravel: 25 to 30 PSI Off-Road: 20 to 25 PSI Sand/Mud/Deep Snow: 15 to 20 PSI Good video, Keep up the great work!

[@albert102785]

Hi quick question for u I have a ram 2500 diesel I have nitto ridge grapplers 37x13.50r17 what's a good tire pressure for street n mud Sand

[@Mp57navy]

The pressure depends entirely on the size of your tires. Below numbers are based on a 2.4 ton vehicle. Example for 35": Road: 24-28 PSI Gravel/Off Road 10-15 Deep Snow: 8-10 46" Road: 26 Gravel: 10 Off-road/Deep snow 2-6... you can go ambient, if you're in deep shit. technically. Just pump em back, when you're out and want to move.

[@killstrees]

This is a great video! I am a logger and off roading enthusiast and have learned the benefits of airing down. The only access to a lot of logging in the pnw is steep, rocky, nasty roads and it's very interesting how a lot of loggers dont know about tire pressures. They can save themselves tons on tires from taking a little time to lower pressures. My coworkers made fun of me until they realized I wasn't popping tires every other day like they were. Granted I am practically floating around in a little old Tacoma compared to their HD pickups, but still. They all slowly and quietly lowered pressures and nobody has had a flat in a few weeks! It's funny as a new kid watching the old timers reluctantly taking notes.

[@himesjon]

Great video too. Doing Search and Rescue work in WA concerned about all the crappy FSR /logging roads as well.

[@robertharp7526]

9th

[@jamesyu4901]

Intelligently explained! Great content.

[@markbalan8274]

On tbe Balkan roads, lowering your tire pressure is probably one of the only options if you want to drive something.

[@DopetheWind]

Airing your tires down is easier on suspension components but harder on steering components, especially with big tires. The more friction, the more steering effort, the more stress on the box/rack, tie rod(s), and other stuff. You can even shear your steering box clean off your frame. Relatedly, if you increase the amount of pressure required to turn the wheels, the steering pump requires more pressure and saps more energy from the crankshaft. With diesels and big engines, no big deal. Small 4-banger, not as much. Pair this with going nice and slow, your radiator fan is turned up to 11 and lots of heat is accumulating under your hood. Clutch wear. If its a manual, airing your tires down increases how much work is required to turn them; you may have to ride the clutch more, especially if you do not have a very low first gear / low range. Rim damage, your rim is closer to the ground, don't bend/snap them.

[@NalinKhurb]

Thanks for more info :)

[@Kuj]

Thanks, finally a video without a 2 minute intro I inherently skip. Thank you for cutting straight to the point.

[@pra3t0rian]

I love it when I see bros with more dollars than cents, driving on 40’s, getting stuck, then arguing about why they don’t air down.

[@Pedro5antos_]

"Pretty significant pros and cons"!! Awesome video as always team

[@PeterHartman1]

You did a great job on this video. You laid out the pros and cons better than any video I have seen.

[@johnreiter6360]

I’ve been dirt roading for 45 years and have not had any issues that caught my attention enough to look at deflating my tires, until last summer. I will confess I was overly concerned about side wall damage that influenced me. Last summer I was on a couple of long dirt roads that were endlessly washboard and they vibrated my Yakima roof rack apart and my front skid plate, I’ve used Yakima racks for way over twenty years and they’ve been flawless. So now I’m learning about tire pressure, better late than never and this is the clearest and most concise info I’ve found yet. Great vid and thanks for the info.

[@Teamoneilrally]

Thanks John!

[@tomballard8433]

Awesome video!! Thanks! LEARNED A LOT!!!!!!

[@karthikkarunakaranmenon6785]

So very useful. It helps to clear the myths and doubts on tire pressure... Thanks a lot...

[@msromike123]

Best video ever! Wow, I know what to do, and I didn't have to listen to any music!

[@clarissaclark4770]

Thanks friend. I really needed this video.am a off road novice needing to get up 3 miles of sharp rocky trail to my off grid property in Az.

[@Megura3030]

Excellent video thanks for the introduction to airing down.

[@LiVApathy]

Excellent presentation and speaking skills. Thank you.

[@theraf8100]

Just wanted to say great video! Never would have thought of the ratchet strap trick to bead the tire...good stuff.

[@bladder1010]

Very good informative video!

[@MaciejJankowskiPL]

Very good set of tips. It would be great to hear and watch something about safe and effective towing a trailer.

[@richinjs]

A cool video would be. What to do when you whant to start rallying, how to prepere street car FWD, RWD, and AWD what do do with differentials, and suspension,what to add and what to take out, and what to buy first.

[@strongly14]

Excellent information thank's

[@benjamincolumbus]

Great video, love the imported hilux!

[@jaredbennett9568]

Excellent point on steering inputs! You don't want to turn your sidewall toward a rock and poke a hole in it on pull off the bead

[@scottwillimack184]

Great info brother! Thank you!

[@shubidubi88]

I appreciate this video it was very informative and I learned a lot. Your e a great teacher 👍👍

[@Trish_Ann_0604]

THANK YOU!!!

[@DeleriousOdyssey]

Great video!

[@rolandogonzalez2627]

Awesome explanation man! I looked at several of airing down tire videos but nothing concrete ... thanks

[@jonhill7244]

Thanks for the video. I drive a 2003 Porsche Cayenne Turbo with 20" wheels. There are no off road tires of suitable size. In talking with certified smart people I am told the best option is reducing the tire pressures. The advantage I have is a onboard air compressor that uses the air suspension to increase pressures when going from off road to on road. Thanks for the wisdom you shared.

[@filipfilipi2692]

great! please more off road driving

[@michaeljennrich8527]

Running a stock subie 14 Forster on 225 /60 R17 Falken WILDPEAK A/T TRAIL. Going to be on offroad on Forest service roads and eventually some rock/loose gravel/small obstacles. Had my baby in Moab and all over Colorado but didn't pressurize down. Now I'm going to be in trails where this recommended and dont want to mess anything up. It's stock 30 F and 29 B for pressure. So I could drop pressure from say anywhere of 17-25 for what I could be getting into as a safe bet and avoid that danger zone you talked about? Awesome video and appreciate the thoroughness

[@dna59]

Love the hilux!

[@erice4611]

I run my Tacoma offroad 15psi for hardcore offroading and 20psi for moderate offroading and 25psi for light offroad and 30psi on street.

[@dillonjohnson8810]

Great video. Thank you

[@brucewaldbauer7216]

On stock tires , drop 10-15 percent depending on load . If oversized go another whatever percent they are oversized . So 20 percent oversized drop 30 percent . I have a tracker on 32” tires , that are actually 31” tall stock was 27 “ . I run 16 up front and 14 rear on the road and 15/13 off-road . Much less and I get mud and grass in the beads when I get aggressive

[@TERRORoftheLORD]

I would add, possible rim damage! To the dangers of deflating. My Dad's friend aired down his tires too much, and destroyed the rim on his four wheeler.

[@oldcroneysgarage9739]

You're gonna break rims no matter what you do its just a normal thing

[@gabrieljordan9977]

Dude its for extreme offroad situations and its just a little bit of air out of the tire, not a almost flat tire. Smaller wheels are better for this due to higher clearance between the wheel and terrain

[@Johnny-tq9no]

1984 Chevy C30 on my dirt bikes if there were rocks you would air up otherwise you’ll start Finding flat spots in your rims a couple psi makes it a lot safer and doesn’t affect grip too much

[@user-wo7rz3yn4o]

It would have been good to know the pressure of the tire in each of the demonstrations as the tire rolled over obstacles. I'm also concerned about loosing ground clearance with lower tire pressures.

[@waynes.2983]

Benefit to airing down...the increased tire flex helps to force sticky mud and rocks from the tread.

[@shanebep3135]

Really educational video as usual! Just a tip that will make these videos that much better: use Broll to cover up jump cuts, if you've run out of Broll to use, try extending the clip, flipping the image, or reusing a clip of broll that was used way earlier in the video so the viewer hopefully won't notice it. Hope that helps you guys with the flow of the videos :) I love watching these.

[@Teamoneilrally]

Thanks Shane! We're slowly getting the hang of it, any advice most welcome.

[@chrisbouchard4719]

I'd like to see a tire reading video for autox/road course

[@nerdwell5318]

How about a video where you test various portable air compressors? Are any of them better than the "car parts store Chinese" units?

[@Genesis-tz1sp]

When I go offroad on hard, rough terrain with small angular rock, I deflate my tires to about 23 psi. My car rattles a lot and I find that it does not feel that much better than when I drive there with using street pressure. Im always tempted to deflate my tires down to 15-20 but I never do because people generally only associate soft sand and muddy terrain with that pressure range. In terms of finding that sweet spot, I'm wondering if two possible approaches and/or indicators would be: 1-Stopping your car over an average sized rock and deflating your tire until it hugs the rock 2-Deflating the tire until the car simply stops rattling? What ties into that is am I running a risk of damaging my tires if, as a result of hitting that sweet spot, I start driving faster at say 80 kmph/50mph?

[@waynes.2983]

Once I went to Lake Tahoe with a convoy of friends. They were all in SUV's. I was in an 02 wrx wagon. When the snow got really bad I aired down to 15psi. None of them did. Nobody brought chains. Anyway, they all got stuck behind a road closure. I had gotten so far ahead of them that I got to the hotel 12 hours before the rest of the group. My buddy called me asking where I was because they were all stuck. I told him I was already on the chair lift heading to the backside of Alpine Meadows.

[@JSJensen]

Wayne S. So many similar stories here. In heavy winter storms I air down to 19psi and safely make it. Most people don't realize this.

[@deankruse2891]

Subaru AWD, especially viscous transfer case, is better for snow driving than any 4x4.

[@logan88]

usually i don't 4X4 with a friend who doesn't take care of others

[@bannablitz247]

As long as you pay attention and drive like you should and can reseat a tire you can run very low tire pressures 5-15 range with no problem.

[@nicholasdunn3499]

What psi would you suggest running a stock diesel zr2 as a rally fast sweep truck?

[@stewartj3407]

I was gonna say you’ve somehow found the holy grail, or made it, with that dual cab Toyota pickup. You never see those in the states, then I saw it was right hand drive and that explained it. I know Afghanistan has a crap ton of em.

[@raginggamer5764]

I have a 2010 Toyota Tacoma double cab with 265/70/17 KO2s (31 inch tires) and I air down to 20psi when I off road and on the street I’m usually at 33-35psi. I’m thinking about going to 255/80/17 so I can get a 33 inch tire without having to do a while bunch to my taco

[@emacdaqt350]

Make a video on how to place tire back on bead. Please

[@geebroni4118]

When driving in snow with chains/traction devices, what is a good pressure?

[@tgshomestead7076]

So what did you use for the front diff on the red Hilux? What about the rear? Thanks.

[@humanperson900]

How are all terrain tires in terms of rally? I'd Imagine they'd have to be significantly better that mud and snow rated all seasons

[@Teamoneilrally]

All terrains are pretty great for rally applications, definitely a step up from M+S All Seasons.

[@tgshomestead7076]

I didn't know that in the US you could register and insure RHD Hilux's? Was that also a 3L diesel in it?

[@TheRetroLab]

What about rough pavement? Do I want to drop my pressures a little bit for that kind of surface or just stick with the recommended pressures for the car? Cheers :)

[@Teamoneilrally]

You definitely could drop a little pressure to smooth it out.

[@aquaisuseful682]

Hey Team O,Neil. I’m 19 and new to manual and a huge rally fan. I loved it since I saw footage of group b. I want to know if a Ford Focus st is a good starter for beginning to learn manual and modifying and beginning my rally experience! Thank you for reading!! I also am in progress of getting my degree in automotive tech

[@Teamoneilrally]

The Focus ST is a great car to learn manual and get into some high performance driving! If you really get into it and serious about competing, the Fiesta / Fiesta ST platforms are the way most people go, they're smaller, lighter and there are a to more rally parts available out of the box. Have fun out there and keep in touch!

[@aquaisuseful682]

Thank you so much sir!! Thank you! I’m so happy you replied back. You made my day! Thanks!!

[@leonardocalderin3285]

I just bought a 97 chevy k1500 4x4. This video just popped up on my feed. I wonder if this is a sign...

[@maciejsiekacz1526]

I feel you. I just bought a 95 Grand Cherokee, and this kind of videos start to show up on this chanel. It od a sign.

[@leonardocalderin3285]

Na thats just google listening in on what ur saying...

[@nurikongur]

Most probably , either google or siri or WhatsUp is listening you while you talking with your friends with or without those apps 😏

[@stephenanderson172]

I have a 2021 Chevrolet 2500 HD with a Duramax diesel. Street tire pressures are 60/70. How low would you go with a truck this heavy?

[@VinnieChenzo]

What is a safe airdown psi for a truck like an F-250 diesel? The tire recommends to 80 psi but the truck recommends 65psi and 70 psi.

[@off-roadingexplained8417]

My benchmark is basically.... Get a LOT of load on one wheel , sort of max articulation... And air down tow where your side lugs (if applicable) touch the ground. Usually this is around 22-29 PSI. And then if you get stuck.. yeah.. what he said ...

[@Joshua-sx9zk]

What are you airing up with??

[@mohammed.alfarsi.454]

If I air down tire, how fast can I drive on the street, for example (15 PSI = ? ) what's the speed limit?

[@4G12]

Long story short, if you're serious about off road driving, bead lock your tyres and carry a heavy duty air compressor.

[@th1nk_outside]

or use a unimog ;)

[@Pooooooops]

People commonly run 33 or 35 x 12.5 on an 8 inch rim won't debead down to about 8psi, no need for beadlocks. 10" rims are a different story.

[@Pooooooops]

But you aren't wrong either

[@leanit5756]

Besides increasing chance of wheel damage, lower pressures also increase risk of pinch puncture of the tire sidewall.

[@markthomas2166]

Here is a question you didn't cover! :-) I have a Tacoma Prerunner: 2WD with a locking rear diff. Airing down in back makes sense. Will airing down in front help me at all?

[@Teamoneilrally]

Air down the front to smooth out the ride over rough terrain, you'll also to get the benefit of more steering grip in corners (if you're going fast enough that you feel the difference). Especially with the rear diff locked it'll want to understeer in turns, dialing in your front tire pressures will help that a lot.

[@Luka-ox4qk]

Is suspension on that toyota stock. It has great articulation for a truck. Mine doesn't really wanna articulate wheels. So in most situations I'm on three wheels. Also is it leaf springs at the rear?

[@Teamoneilrally]

It's close to stock, not exactly sure what is on it for suspension but it might be an inch or two higher than original. Coil springs in the front and leafs in the rear.

[@DiPliego]

Great video. Did have a question for larger vehicles though. What would be the approximate ranges of air pressure for vehicle that calls for 65 psi regularly? Street: 65 psi Gravel: ? Off-road: ? Sand/mud/snow: ?

[@ropersix]

Would you recommend airing down sedan tires for a dirt road (maybe just to 25 psi or something)? I have a 2003 Subaru Impreza, and will be driving 30 miles (60 miles total out and back) on the Hole in Wall Road in Grand Staircase-Escalante NP. I'll only go if conditions are dry, and would be able to make it with normal pressure. For shorter drives I've never even though about airing down. But for 60 miles total? If airing down would help, I'd go ahead and do it (and bring good compressor).

[@Teamoneilrally]

Airing down will help for all the same reasons it would in a jeep or pickup truck, you'll have a little smoother ride and four bigger footprints on the ground for more grip. As far as an '03 Impreza, it depends on tire and wheel size what "the right" number is, If you've got 17s stay pretty high like 30psi, 16s you can go a little lower like 27 or 28, 15s you can go lower still to that 25psi or so... Or if your tires are a little oversized you can go a little lower. Also it depends on tire construction, a normal all-season street tire you might be at 25, but something heavy-duty you could go 22, or a rally tire you could go high teens.

[@ropersix]

@@Teamoneilrally Thanks!

[@JSJensen]

Timothy Roper Driven those roads often. Highly recommend airing down. What aspect tires are you running? I switched my A7 to smaller wheels for a larger aspect tire just to be able to air down more.

[@ropersix]

@@JSJensen Cool, thank! I have 55s right now, and will give them a try, but will keep smaller wheels in mind once I can get out and going again.

[@froggamer4884]

Off road hilux ❤️❤️❤️❤️

[@MegaChineseNinja]

7:19 What off road capable vehicle gets 32 MPG (w/ street PSI obvi)? 😂 I need to find one.

[@user-et9ck5zq1t]

VW Beetles are somewhere in that range With some rallying modifications, of course

[@th1nk_outside]

since you asked twice to add more cons of airing down, heres another one: you have to air up afterwards, at least for street use, and you need a compressor for that.

[@Mp57navy]

Or a gas station. Drive careful until then.

[@whatthesnell]

Test and Tinker - all you really need to know.

[@Toyota4Runner5thgen]

🤯❤

[@charlespellerin1023]

The tire guets wider or longer ? Think again

[@Teamoneilrally]

Contact patch gets longer, sidewall gets wider

[@charlespellerin1023]

Test wide vs skinny on the same hight same terrain same vehicles and same driver

[@Lordoftheflatbush]

Less punctures

[@Blue-X]

How bout tyre pressure for a gravel rally car??

[@Teamoneilrally]

That's a HUGE part of the puzzle Depends on weight of car and size of tire, but usually: 25-30 is usually very safe but not great grip 20-25 is good and most people find their happy place in that range 15-20 is great and very do-able especially with light cars and/or larger tires Some drivers never go below 15, others live down at 12-13PSI... Every car will be different, tire brands, hard-med-soft compounds, wheels... The real answer is find somewhere representative to test and go down and down When you finally have a failure, go back up 2-3psi and that's your answer Once you know that minimum number you can adjust front and rear pressures to change handling Ask ten different drivers and you'll get ten different answers Driving style too - you can run lower if you're tidy but if you're sideways everywhere you'll need more air And how rough the road is... Temperature.. If you need to make the tires last or not...

[@Blue-X]

@@Teamoneilrally offff, that is a loot to think about but very important at the same time I guess. Thanks for the answer 😁

[@Teamoneilrally]

Most teams run more pressure than necessary, it's common to just set it and forget it at 25 or so. Are they leaving money on the table? Definitely. Is it the safer play? Absolutely. A lot of teams also don't adjust their suspension, they just set everything in the middle or to manufacturer recommended specs and go for it... And that's all good really, if it's not in your personality to test and tune and tinker and keep your secret little notebook of settings for different races and conditions and all that, just enjoy racing and focus more on your driving skills or getting really good with pace notes. If you can, build a team around yourself that fills the gaps of the stuff you don't really care about so much. There are people who LOVE the race car adjustments and setup stuff, and it's a bottomless rabbit hole once you get started.

[@triuman]

@@Teamoneilrally No kidding with the rabbit hole, look at the WRC cars and how much goes into them regarding complexity and money! Yikes!😉

[@410kane]

What if tires are lower profile

[@Teamoneilrally]

Then you've gotta keep more pressure in them.

[@410kane]

@@Teamoneilrally so you let some air out but not as much as taller tires obviously 👍 just curious because I see some guys run low profile mud tires on their pickups and I wonder if it's pointless

[@jonrachy]

I miss my old Hilux ☹️

[@Jdjsksjdhdj]

Rocks will take chunks of your tire I bet this helps. Always seems to..... .

[@christopherreed6004]

Jeep Cherokee tire pressure go flat tires off road

[@hiseminencetheholymacdiarmada]

This may seem like a no-brainer, but I know some people that need to hear this…. If you air down, HAVE A WAY TO AIR BACK UP!

[@dannykyle738]

I run my Cherokee with 60psi in the tires, she gets bouncy on gravel but its fun

[@Mp57navy]

60 psi.... that's twice the pressure needed. Unless you carry 2 tons of cargo.

[@rallycsx]

Oh man...You got a HiLux…

[@JBannerAutos]

Probably an extreme example of how a tire is absorbing harsh bumps before the suspension does. www.carbageonline.com/wp-content/uploads/2018/03/Carbage_DK_Mint400-57.jpg

[@NooDLES411911]

20psi is the sweet spot for off-roading

[@MrJohnHartman]

For what size tire, with what stiffness of sidewall and what vehicle weight?

[@centredoorplugsthornton4112]

11 minutes in, right hand drive red Toyota.

[@user-et9ck5zq1t]

"... And you're gonna have a catastrophic failure, y'know, a blowout on the interstate at high speed..." **cough** 1999 Ford Explorer Sport **cough**

[@runrun8239]

Great video!

[@Teamoneilrally]

Thanks!