Decent MT/Aggressive AT tyres for my My14 JKU on 18" rims - WHYSOHARD?!

[JKFTW]

Originally Posted by tmanto02

Nice mate! A fellow Overland driver too I see. Love the rims and couldn't bare swapping to aftermarkets just yet just to get a greater and slightly cheaper selection of tyres


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haha that was EXACTLY my 3 month long conundrum. Totally agree.

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[LeighP]

You see that mud stain under the headlamps on both sides......thats muddy water that's sloshing up inside the nose and coming out around the light cut-outs.....and guess whats also near that same location?.....your aircleaner intake.
I had muddy water residue inside the airbox intake and the bottom of the airbox itself after doing some trails with a few muddy , water filled sections...nothing too deep. Thats the main reason mines now got a snorkel on it.
Just something to think about.....

Appreciate the STT Pro feedback, keep it coming. Did you air down or run at highway pressures?

[JKFTW]

Originally Posted by LeighP

You see that mud stain under the headlamps on both sides......thats muddy water that's sloshing up inside the nose and coming out around the light cut-outs.....and guess whats also near that same location?.....your aircleaner intake.
I had muddy water residue inside the airbox intake and the bottom of the airbox itself after doing some trails with a few muddy , water filled sections...nothing too deep. Thats the main reason mines now got a snorkel on it.
Just something to think about.....

Appreciate the STT Pro feedback, keep it coming. Did you air down or run at highway pressures?

While you're not wrong this particular slosh barely touched the bottom of the air box, but I take your point and avoid most deep ones for lack of a snorkel. This was the final bog before we left for the day.... and you know how that goes

I have yet to ever lower pressures, my yet-to-be-educated view was that was mostly of value in sand. Whats the value on mud? I do see people crawling around muddy areas on low pressure.

how often would you lower pressures in mud vs not?

and if its possible to give me such an idea... when you do lower pressures, if you didnt, are we talking considerably more risk of damage using highway pressures, or marginal?

Its natrually reasonable effort to deflate and inflate.


Cheers,
Ryan

[LeighP]

Lowering pressures lets the tyres conform to rocks and the track better, the Jeep also rides better offroad at lower pressures. I drop mine if I'm doing anything much more than dirt tracks. I use 20-22 on my GY Silent Armor A/T's......others use different pressures depending on the tyre and they're own experience. If I was doing sand I'd use 15-18 probably. The low speeds off road stop the tyres from overheating due to the low pressures.
Theres also the element of damage thats more possible at higher pressures (the tyre doesn't deflect, it punctures).....but lowering pressures also exposes more of the sidewall to damage.....so thats a trade off.
I have a reasonable compressor that I bought 2nd hand (almost no use) off ebay, and a proper gauge/deflator unit (also off ebay) that allows you to pull the valve core to deflate......fast and convenient. You can pay a lot for the speed of a twin piston ARB compressor, or less for the slower common single piston types.....
Theres two schools of thought for mud (which is something I try to avoid as I feel its akin to dipping your car in valve grinding paste then driving it around)......first idea is not to drop the tyres pressures for mud, meaning your tyres will cut through the sloppy stuff and find the firmed bottom to grip.
The other method is to dro pthe pressures looking for less ground pressure hoping that'll keep you out of cutting into the deeper stuff and getting stuck.
The best method is - it all depends on the conditions and the type of track/mud.....the last muddy track I was on had a firm bottom, the mud was almost just filthy water.....no need for dropping your pressures if that the only problem.....might be best to ask advice of people who like to play in the mud....as I said, I avoid where I can, lol.

[tmanto02]

So now my plan is lift my Overland 2 inches at the same time as upgrading tyres why still sticking to the stock 18x7.5 inch Overland wheels. Given the width of the stock wheel, what's the biggest tyre I can get away with for on and off-road usage?


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[MightyMouse]

Tire fitters have fitment "rules"...... tire places will stick with them due to liability issues etc. You can physically fit wide tires on narrow rims BUT it can have very undesirable consequences.

For a road car its good to have the widest rim possible to support the tire during cornering but with a 4WD IMHO a bit narrower is better as it tends to protect the rim and bead.