Lowest PSI off road on stock mitsu wheels

[amerkel08]

Hi guys, we are coming into winter, so I wanted to take a quick pole:

What's the lowest PSI you have run on stock wheels off-road? (Especially in snow)

Im not here for the standard lecture of what people think the lowest should be, I'm looking for real world experience on the lowest you have run.

I'm running stock 95 LS wheels with 33x10.5 BFG KO2s. The lowest I have gone is 15PSI, but I haven't done much snow overlanding. I'm preparing to do more this year and some of the guys I plan to run with say they go down to 3-5PSI in the deep stuff to get through. I'm debating wheel locks but wanted to see if anyone had experience going that low.

Thanks guys!

 

[Peter_n_Margaret]

I will go as low as necessary.
I have driven with ZERO showing on the tyre pressure gauge.
Provided the speed is commensurate and manoeuvring is highly restricted there is no issue.
Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

 

[Inyo_man]

I've run as low as 12psi.
If you're planning on doing more snow-wheelin', you might think about picking up some chains.

Cheers

 

[Toasty]

I like 8psi in snow, general trail use I do 10-12psi. 33x10.5's on the stock wheels should be good for any psi you want to run, especially if the tires have been mounted for a year or so.

 

[nwoods]

I've gone down to 12 in sand, but to go much lower, you might consider running an internal beadlock bladder. https://ok4wd.com/exterior/wheels-tires/wheel-tire-accessories/internal-beadlock

 

[wicked1]

I've gone down to 12 in sand, but to go much lower, you might consider running an internal beadlock bladder. https://ok4wd.com/exterior/wheels-tires/wheel-tire-accessories/internal-beadlock

Could you discuss the internal beadlock bladders? How well do they work? What do they do? Compress against the bead area to try to hold it in place?

 

[nwoods]

Could you discuss the internal beadlock bladders? How well do they work? What do they do? Compress against the bead area to try to hold it in place?

Exactly that. They "pinch' the tire bead into place, against the flange of the rim. When your tire buckles because of the low pressure, the bead stays intact and you won't loose air, or get sand/snow into the rim that further breaks the seal.
-https://www.coyoteents.com/beadlock-tests-and-features/
-https://www.pirate4x4.com/threads/staun-products-inner-beadlocks-and-alcoa-forged-aluminum-wheels-get-put-to-the-test.2702207/

In this photo, you can see the gap created at the bead by a combination of low pressure and extreme conformance around a rock. The internal beadlock prevents that gap from happening, and maintains whatever pressure you have, and prevents the bead from separating entirely from the rim

 

[z168]

wow thats pretty cool. thanks for posting

Curious how the secondary valve stem will come out of the wheel. Anyone done this?

 

[Toasty]

wow thats pretty cool. thanks for posting

Curious how the secondary valve stem will come out of the wheel. Anyone done this?

These are a pain in the ass, they do work but the juice isn't worth the squeeze. One thing is that tire shops will hate you, most won't even touch them so consider that if you're away from your personal tire machine or your local shop that likes you and/or specializes in these. The other thing is that you still get sand in the bead and then it gets under the inner tube during the next tire change and causes a leak. Not running beadlocks for the last 15 years and I've yet to pop a bead, in fact when I needed to change a valve stem on the trail I had to use a high lift to pick the truck up off the tire bead to break it. If I still had the Staun internals they'd have been ruined that trip because I had to do that twice. Having said that, I wheel harder than most so maybe you'd never need to service a tire on the trail and the beadlocks would be fine but I think punctures are more likely than a popped bead at any level. Also, they function as a "limp flat" not a run flat so don't expect to get too much further than you would any other flat because eventually you'll be running on the wheel. Anyway, that's my experience. They're cool and do work but they're not practical outside marketing and specific uses where you'd likely benefit more from traditional bead locks

 

[nwoods]

I would (and do) trust Toasty's experience