Recommend tire pressure for logging roads?

[allagash24]

Going to the golden road in Maine in a couple weeks. The section we will be doing is about 60-70 miles on logging roads.
I have a non sas badlands on the stock 33” bfg k02s.
Door sill recommends 39 psi cold which is what I’m running now.
What would be an ideal psi for this situation? I feel like 39 is too high. Thanks!

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[Tonka Bronka]

25 PSI should do you just fine. We were up there last year to camp. Great time!

 

[PWillette]

Greetings my fellow Mainer. 39psi is too high for just about any situation IMO. Before I moved up tire size I was running my 33" KO2s at 33psi on pavement...much better ride. On logging roads +/-25psi IMO. Have a great trip!

 

[Rydfree]

Greetings my fellow Mainer. 39psi is too high for just about any situation IMO. Before I moved up tire size I was running my 33" KO2s at 33psi on pavement...much better ride. On logging roads +/-25psi IMO. Have a great trip!

^^
This

39psi beats you to death.

 

[Roger123]

I'd start at 25 and go down from there, I run mine at about 18 on those types of roads (2 door lightly loaded).

 

[bassist]

Going to the golden road in Maine in a couple weeks. The section we will be doing is about 60-70 miles on logging roads.
I have a non sas badlands on the stock 33” bfg k02s.
Door sill recommends 39 psi cold which is what I’m running now.
What would be an ideal psi for this situation? I feel like 39 is too high. Thanks!

How fast are you going?

I just run stock pressure, and I might do anywhere from 10-15 miles of gravel on a typical round trip commute that also involves freeways.

 

[ChrisB351]

Im gonna start by repeating whats already been said... 39 is way too high for anything. I run mine around 35. It'll fluctuate from 32-37 with weather temps and I can feel a difference in the ride.

Im not familiar with logging roads but 25-30 should be good. Be sure to air them back up before you get on a highway tho.

 

[Valhalla]

I would go with a more artistic approach. Once on the logging road, drop pressure to where you see the slightest change to a bulging state. Stop there and see how comfortable it is over the ruts and rocks. you shouldn't need dropped pressure for ability here. It is more for comfort. You can drop a bit more if it's still "too rough".
Same for street pressure, I wouldn't run those below 32#. I also don't think 39# is too high. Just performance and preference.

 

[ksdon]

Our 2 door with Mickey Thompson Baja AT that are E rated, do excellent at 29 psi.
We live on the equivalent of logging roads. We have to drive rock.dirt every day to get to a paved road.

Look up "tire chalk test". That will let you know at what PSI you get full thread contact with your tires.. From there you can drop down 5 psi or so and get a little better comfort if the roads are really rough. But that chalk test will get you to full thread contact.

 

[Scoop]

For 70 miles of dirt road I would not hesitate to drop to 15-20 psi. If it's a washboard road you'll be be glad you did! Just make sure you have a means to air up - compressor or CO2 tank - before you make the return trip on pavement.

 

[Brian_B]

I'd start at 25 and go down from there, I run mine at about 18 on those types of roads (2 door lightly loaded).

This is what I do in my four door - ~20 on fire roads or if I’m going between off and on road a bit, and drop down to around 15 psi for playing in the rocks.

Makes a huge difference in ride comfort and grip

@ksdon mentioned chalk test and I would recommend that for setting your normal every day pressure. My tire placard says 35, and they will run ok at 35, but when I chalk tested them it was obvious they were a bit over inflated and it would have lead to wearing out the center of the tread. For my current tire and my rig, the chalk test evened out around 28 psi, annd my previous tire was 30, and they both rode much better on road at that pressure as well.

My first set at 30 psi I was at around 50k miles, very even wear, and still had half the tread life remaining before I replaced them because of off road wear (chunked lugs and sidewall scoring from sharp rocks)

 

[userdude]

As @Valhalla has put it well, you get different performance for different situations at different PSIs.

High (36-42 psi): Better gas mileage on highway, stiffer (rougher) ride on road

Medium-High (30-35 psi): Smoother ride on road, worse gas mileage (sometimes -3-5mpg depending on tire)

Medium (25-29 psi): Softer ride on fire/gravel roads, not safe for high speed on road

Medium-Low (18-24 psi): Softer ride on rocks, not safe at higher speed on road

Low (13-17 psi): Softer on the rocks, watch out for your sidewalls if you're not on M/Ts

Super Low (12 psi or lower): Need special tires and config (bead locks) and only needed for max traction on technical rock crawling or mudding

To wit, Ford's Off Roadeo suggests 25psi as the lowest you'll probably need to go. Think of this as the "all safe bets" psi. If you're driving over rubble or a rock garden, consider 18-20psi as the lowest if you have C load tires (especially the Goodyear "Max Traction" not M/T's or mud terrain), 12-17psi if you have more sidewall.

Another thing to consider is bead, which is why you probably want to stay at or above 15psi at the lowest unless you can recover.

 

[SoDak1623]

I usually run 35 on the road and 28 for off road adventures.

 

[allagash24]

Greetings my fellow Mainer. 39psi is too high for just about any situation IMO. Before I moved up tire size I was running my 33" KO2s at 33psi on pavement...much better ride. On logging roads +/-25psi IMO. Have a great trip!

thank you! Born and raised here and never been on the Golden Road! I will adjust my pressure down from 39 and see how it goes. Will probably do 25 on the golden. Hope your top is off today!

 

[allagash24]

For 70 miles of dirt road I would not hesitate to drop to 15-20 psi. If it's a washboard road you'll be be glad you did! Just make sure you have a means to air up - compressor or CO2 tank - before you make the return trip on pavement.

I’ve got a small electric one but not sure if the outlet on the Bronco will handle it. Thank you for the tips

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