Question About Airing Down Tires and Disconnect Sway Bar

Jpsdg

New Member
Joined
Feb 21, 2019
Messages
3
Location
Madison, Ohio
I’ve been reading his forum for a while and I have never posted a question. So I have a question. Your out trail riding. Old Forest Service fire trails and logging roads. A little bit of water, a little bit of mud, the usual ruts and crap. Maybe a log across the trail. Do you air down your tires? Do you disconnect your front sway bar? And what is your reason for doing it or not? Just trying to learn some best practices.
 
  • Like
Reactions: KCNoDots
I’ve been reading his forum for a while and I have never posted a question. So I have a question. Your out trail riding. Old Forest Service fire trails and logging roads. A little bit of water, a little bit of mud, the usual ruts and crap. Maybe a log across the trail. Do you air down your tires? Do you disconnect your front sway bar? And what is your reason for doing it or not? Just trying to learn some best practices.
I'm a big fan of airing down. It makes a huge difference in traction. (And flotation) Don't disconnect much, as I usually just pick a slightly different line. There's times and places where disconnecting is beneficial if not essential.
 
When I was running around on FS service roads 2-3 times a week I never bothered to air down. I usually just ran my tires at around 20 PSI since my Jeep didn't see a lot of highway time. I have an anti-rock so I didn't have to worry about disconnecting my sway bar.

It really depends on how hard the trail is. For simple stuff I don't think it is worth the time to air down.
 
From a beginner's perspective, I would encourage both airing down and disconnecting just for the sake of comfort and enjoying the drive.

There are plenty of more technical reasons to do both (or just one) that will get throughly covered here. But we are out there to relax and have fun first and foremost. Make the rough roads comfortable.
 
Graded FS roads I don’t do anything. Low maintenance FS roads, I’ll air down for a more comfortable ride.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alex01
On FS roads I air down to about 16-18 psi only. Helps the comfort and doesn’t drag my mpg down too much. I only disconnected when I was going to explore but not if I had a destination that I had been to before.
I have a AR so no more worries about disconnecting
 
  • Like
Reactions: Alex01 and Daryl
I wouldn't air down for service roads unless things got technical; higher air pressure will help you dig through the loose scree and find the normally-present solid footing without sacrificing mileage or drivability. Same goes for the swaybar: leave it hooked up until you need to alter things. Just remember that when you're out in that kind of terrain, the object is to avoid technical crawls if at all possible.
 
  • Like
Reactions: Daryl
I do both but I have a dual rate swayloc, if you don’t have a way to air back up for the highway afterwards then don’t drop your pressure below 20 - 25 psi and reconnect your sway bar before driving on the pavement.
 
Last edited:
At first I waited until I hit something that needed extra traction but now I always air down when I hit the dirt. Not only does it improve the ride it is easier on just about every nut and bolt on the Jeep. Street tire pressure is for the street, not the trail.
 
Two points:

First: if you're suffering a rough ride on an unimproved road that allows conventional driving speeds, the problem isn't solvable by "airing down"; sure, you'll mask the symptoms, but the rough ride will still be present. A rough ride is solvable, however, by adjusting tire pressure - and yes, that's different than airing down, for those that don't know - and by selecting a shock that's set up well for the vehicle at both low and high speeds. Also, look to the seats: if they're old and crushed, you'll get a lot of harsh jolts right in the lower back...and that gets a bit tiresome after a few hours.

Second: when you air down, disconnect the swaybar and travel long distances, the strain on the drivetrain is immense. The rolling resistance of the tires goes up sharply, which causes almost every major system on the vehicle to work harder: tires, engine, transmission, t-case, differentials, shocks and springs will all see a greatly increased load because the tires are floating and gripping more than they're rolling over/through terrain that doesn't require that kind of traction, and because the vehicle will be swaying all over the place without a swaybar to reign it in. None of those things are good when you're putting mile after mile on the odometer.

Again, if you reach a spot that can't be easily traversed and you have to crawl it, drop the air pressure and/or disconnect if that's what it takes...but don't do it until you have to. Match the vehicle setup to the terrain at hand, and beware of blanket solutions.
 
  • Like
Reactions: StG58
I haven't done much real off-roading for about 25 years. This year I will return.

I do know airing down's been done quite a while but back in my old days I did't even know it was possible so now I'll add some questions to this thread.

When did this start happening?
Are smaller tires at more risk when aired down?
Does it help more where the vehicle is heavier (front/engine, rear/loaded)?
Does it help steering tires on a two wheel drive truck?
Based on the last three questions should the front tires on a rear engine rail buggy be aired down? Not that I'm planning on getting another one but who knows?

There are plenty of more technical reasons to do both (or just one) that will get throughly covered here. But we are out there to relax and have fun first and foremost. Make the rough roads comfortable.

I wouldn't think airing down would be any issue but what's the most relaxing and fun way to air back up?
 
...



I wouldn't think airing down would be any issue but what's the most relaxing and fun way to air back up?

CO2 or a York is the most fun. I suppose the most relaxing is a slow compressor and a lawn chair.
 
  • Like
Reactions: tworley
Two points:

First: if you're suffering a rough ride on an unimproved road that allows conventional driving speeds, the problem isn't solvable by "airing down"; sure, you'll mask the symptoms, but the rough ride will still be present. A rough ride is solvable, however, by adjusting tire pressure - and yes, that's different than airing down, for those that don't know - and by selecting a shock that's set up well for the vehicle at both low and high speeds. Also, look to the seats: if they're old and crushed, you'll get a lot of harsh jolts right in the lower back...and that gets a bit tiresome after a few hours.

Second: when you air down, disconnect the swaybar and travel long distances, the strain on the drivetrain is immense. The rolling resistance of the tires goes up sharply, which causes almost every major system on the vehicle to work harder: tires, engine, transmission, t-case, differentials, shocks and springs will all see a greatly increased load because the tires are floating and gripping more than they're rolling over/through terrain that doesn't require that kind of traction, and because the vehicle will be swaying all over the place without a swaybar to reign it in. None of those things are good when you're putting mile after mile on the odometer.

Again, if you reach a spot that can't be easily traversed and you have to crawl it, drop the air pressure and/or disconnect if that's what it takes...but don't do it until you have to. Match the vehicle setup to the terrain at hand, and beware of blanket solutions.

While I don't disconnect anymore, if I'm on long day or two of multiple trails I'll be aired down for the day. It's not worth the time and effort to air back up just to traverse 10 miles of pavement only to air back down again at the next trail head. It was the same with the stock sway bar.

I'm also more than happy to mask the symptoms of a rough ride on a washboard road by airing down if it means more comfort and maintaining a reasonable speed. We give very similar advice about tire pressure on pavement.
 
While I don't disconnect anymore, if I'm on long day or two of multiple trails I'll be aired down for the day. It's not worth the time and effort to air back up just to traverse 10 miles of pavement just to air back down again at the next trail head. It was the same with the stock sway bar.

I'm also more than happy to mask the symptoms of a rough ride on a washboard road by airing down if it means more comfort and more speed. We give the very similar advice about tire pressure on pavement.

Key word: trails. Trails are not FS roads, and you usually don't go very fast on them...so airing down is usually an appropriate tactic. Terrain that's more easily crossed with low air pressure in the tires is physically prohibitive of high speeds to all but the most specialized of vehicles.

Also, as I said, adjusting pressure is not the same as airing down. I run anywhere from 27 to 32 PSI in my tires on pavement, depending on the tire, season, load and intended trip; I run 6 to 8 when I "air down." Same process, but not the same intent.
 
A little clarification might help. I'm talking about old logging and fire roads. Roads not maintained for a number of years. I would be traveling 0-20mph at the most. The occasional deep muddy rut or scree area or washboarded areas...nothing very technical. That includes the occasional down tree 4-16" tree across the road. A fair amount of grass and vegetation growing across the trails but not bush whacking.

Also a little clarification on my rig, '04 Rubicon, Rubicon Express Lift 5", 35" beadlocks, PowerShot, armored, etc., etc.
 
Key word: trails. Trails are not FS roads, and you usually don't go very fast on them...so airing down is usually an appropriate tactic. Terrain that's more easily crossed with low air pressure in the tires is physically prohibitive of high speeds to all but the most specialized of vehicles.

Also, as I said, adjusting pressure is not the same as airing down. I run anywhere from 27 to 32 PSI in my tires on pavement, depending on the tire, season, load and intended trip; I run 6 to 8 when I "air down." Same process, but not the same intent.
My rig isn't that specialized. Tolerably set up for rock crawling. What would you recommend my top speed be on the way to the trails at 8psi?
 
This thread is starting to get technical if not scientific. Lol

I air down to 12-15psi on 33's everytime I go offroad....better traction, better ride.
Never lost a bead.

I air back up on pavement.....better ride, better control and tires wear evenly.

Keep it simple and get one of these and one of those....inexpensive.
78701
 
  • Like
Reactions: pagrey
Several times I have caught myself going 50-55mph at 8psi on my 33s on a two lane highway between trail heads. I'll slow down because I think I should, not necessarily because I needed to.