It’s good to consider load, terrain, and tire. I’ve read that it’s a good practice to keep a 3x5 for the tires you have installed with pressures for off road, normal, and towing/heavy load. The max air pressure in the GY Adventure is 50 lbs. if you upgrade to K02s that number increased and you may want more than 50psi when towing. With the 20” wheels I’ve been deflating to 25 off road, but when I move to 18s I may reduce that pressure Knowing bothe the tire and conditions is extremely important. Ford had recommended a tire pressure below Firestones recommendation back in the 90s for tires that came stock on the Explorer. This lead to several tire failures. You may have to dig deep into tire specs to get enough information to make the best decision

 

Interesting thing was that my instructor at LR experience had me keep the tires at the “normal” or higher pressure for the off road course because it had rained and was very muddy. They like to use higher pressure to cut through mud with a narrower profile, and it also helps avoid tire and wheel damage. On a dry day where it’s more about rocks and dry traction, they would air down some, but not as much as you’d think. I must say, it worked. Even with just the adventures, we sliced right through every single mudded rut and bog and never had one wheel spin. The ride wasn’t at all harsh, certainly as compared to my 20 year old TJ.

 

when i got me new wheels installed with K02’s the shop recommended 50/50. it always felt a bit rough and thought that was how the extra load K02’s felt.

going to bring down 10 psi for street driving and see how it feels.

i can feel every bump and crack in the road. one oem wheels the truck would eat all those up

 

If the KO2s are Light Truck tires (Load range E, 80 psi max inflation), completely disregard the tag on the door of the Defender or the Heavy Load / Light Load discussion above, and go with the recommendation of your tire shop, or call BFG and they will do the equivalent math for you. LT tires require much higher inflation pressures to achieve the same load rating as P(assenger) tires such as the stock ones in our cars. Running them at too low a pressure can actually cause them to overheat and fail. They are heavier and do ride harder than passenger tires, that's just the way it is.

 

What are you guys running for psi? I have the 20” Wranglers. When I brought her home she had 50 psi up front and 52 psi in the rear. I reduced that to recommend psi, 47 psi front and 50 psi rear. I also have it set to light load.

Does all this sound correct? I’m obsessed with proper tire pressure (on-road), have a portable compressor for off-road deflate, although I’ve read off road psi is slightly below above.

Thanks everyone.

 

If you are running the stock tires at the recommended "normal" pressure on the door tag (47F, 50R), you don't need to set the TPMS to light load, as the system won't detect a slow leak until you are well below the danger zone. Leave TPMS to regular load for more accurate monitoring.

If you will be using the light load recommendation (about 34F, 37R), then you should set the TPMS to light load. That's the setting I use on the road, as I rarely carry more than a couple of passengers in my car - 90% of the times I am by myself actually - and find the ride more comfortable and compliant with the lower PSI numbers. I run on 19" GY Wrangler Duratracs currently, but the inflation settings are the same for all sizes and tires that Land Rover uses for the Defender, including all seasons, winters and all terrains.

I have never felt the need to air down more than a few PSIs off-road on the Duratracs, unless I am driving on a beach in soft sand in which case I would probably deflate to 18 - 20. Around 30-32 PSI seems to work great on dirt roads, gravel and rocks for me, which is 90% of what you'll find off-road here in the US Southwest. At 30-32 PSI, the TPMS set on light load doesn't even trigger a fault, which is good because it would alert me if I actually did have a flat while off-roading.

 

Thank you very much, Sir! This is hugely helpful information and I’ll align my rig to this. Thanks again.

 

I have my awesome BFG AT T/A KO2's (D-rated) installed in size 275/55/20, on my P400. Loading down the vehicle for a two week journey on and off-road through the trails of northern NM and Southern CO (engineers pass, Imogene, etc.). I've read all the posts about airing down and not airing down, so the smart consensus seems to be to only air down MINIMALLY for rocky trails (no less than 30 PSI), and maybe a little more for sand dunes, but I don't plan to go crazy.

My main question is how high should I inflate for highway driving on these tires, with a heavy load? BFG's website says a max of 50 PSI, but I've seen other opinions here and there.

I've got a 100lb rooftop tent, 20 lb awning, jerry can and water-port all on the roof-rack, with a fridge, food, tools and all the gear needed for off-the-grid living for 2 people... so a significant amount of load weigh inside and on-top of the vehicle....

@umbertob posted some helpful info above, but can I really push the PSI upwards of 80PSI in these tires!? I was thinking maybe 50 for on-road and 30-35 for off. But maybe I'm thinking too low?

 

I'm curious if anyone has tested MPG with the tires set at light and normal pressures?

If not, I'll do the test and let everyone know

 

My car was overinflated at delivery. The ride quality was absolutely transformed after adjusting pressures to the light load levels and making sure TPMS was set to light load. It was markedly better than when pressures were around/above the higher settings.