Airing Down Matters !!

A Hawas
Mar 20, 2020
2 min read

Updated: May 20, 2020

We have all heard it time after time: “You should have aired down.” Does airing down really matter? Is it something you should do all the time? When is the proper time to air down? These are all questions that an off-road enthusiast will have at one point or another.

Before we get too far down the deflated path, you should be considered when thinking of airing down is how are you going to air back up.

Airing up after hitting the trail could be as easy using an onboard air system, or a portable air compressor.

When it comes time to air down, there are multiple ways to let the air out of the tires. You can use anything from a stick to an automatic tire deflator. What you use really depends on your budget.

There are many options on the market to help aid in deflating your tires – adjustable tire deflators (left) or EZ tire deflators (right), Also its necessary to have air pressure gauge to makes it easier to know the current PSI value

So When shall I Air down down my tires ?

The reason for this is that on a trail - especially one with loose sand, rocks, mud, and other obstacles - you want as much surface area to touch the ground as possible

(while still maintaining safe vehicle dynamics). However, there is no set pressure that applies to every 4x4 Car. Weight, tire size, rim size, rim type, ground clearance, environment, and many more. These are all variables that affect the pressure that you can run, one way to figure out what to run is to air down a bit at a time and test it. The issue with this is that you run the risk of unseating the bead and you could damage something or getting stuck on the trail, generally a safe pressure for most regular wheels is 15 psi although your results may vary and it will require some trial and error.