Hello again Everyone!

One more question this time about tire pressure.
Whee should I be

Tire Pressure with out winch bumper
255/70/16?
235/85/16?

Tire Pressure with winch bumper
255/70/16?
235/85/16?

The previous owner had installed a winch bumper and roof rack which I am planning to sourcing.

Thanks!

 

Tire pressure depends on a number of variables. The manufacturer of the specific model tire you buy should provide specifications for load and pressure, usually in a table. The most critical thing is not to exceed the load limit for your tire pressure because damage can happen very quickly, even though you may not notice it until much later. This damage occurs due to overheating of the internal tire carcass. The tire looks fine, but it has been damaged by heat and the carcass starts to separate. It may not blow out the sidewalls until hundreds or thousands of miles later, and you'll wonder why it failed so suddenly.

For the typical kind of LT tires fitted to Land Rovers, and typical Land Rover weights, you'll probably be safe to drive at high speeds if you have at least 35 psi. You can certainly go to 40 psi or more. I doubt you will see uneven treadwear over the long term from forty-something psi tire pressures with these kinds of tires, and just 40 psi can often safely carry loads of 6000 to 7000 pounds at speed - far more than a normal Land Rover. You'll also see the best fuel mileage from these higher pressures. What's more, these kinds of tires typically take pressures up to 80 psi. However, the ride in a lightweight Land Rover at 40+ psi is rough.

Going below 35 psi may be safe especially provided the speed is reduced to prevent overheating the tire. If you don't drive on the freeway, you may find that closer to 30 psi is more comfortable. Bear in mind I've been conservative in my estimates and depending on the specific tire you select, you may not have any trouble using lower pressures. The recommended pressures for the stock size tires are 27 psi for front, and 38 psi for rear. These are based on the chance that the rear would be loaded heavily. An unladen Land Rover is not that weight-biased toward the rear. So if you want to work out the ideal tire pressures for your typical load, you'll want to take actual corner weight measurements, or consider a "chalk test" or select another procedure like that.

There's no good reason to go much below 30 psi on the street, but if you go offroad, you can air-down the tires to much lower pressures to increase the contact patch size, which improves traction and flotation (on sand and snow). It's usually safe to air radials down to around 12 psi. Any lower and your risk of breaking a bead goes up unless you have beadlock rims. At these low pressures, you want to keep the speed to a minimum. If you're going to go 30mph for any length of time, it's better to air-up first. If you're going to drive as fast as 40mph, be sure to air up first. The advantage of low tire pressures offroad is so great that if you do any amount of serious offroading, you'll want to have a way to air down and back up, and the faster the better since airing up in particular can take a long time with small portable compressors.

 

Thanks binvanna, much appreciated the detailed feedback.

For now I am only commuting in the city with no additional cargo load. I was curious if I needed to adjust tire pressure after adding the additional weight to the front from the winch bumper. Still I wil be doing only city commuting.

Thanks

 

My 98 TDI D1 is running 3" lift with koni shocks and 265/75's on offset 16x8 rims with 38 psi f/r , is a tiny bit harsh but the response from the firm tyres makes up for it.
I drop them down to 25 when i go bush or lower for mud .
I have an ARB winch bar with warn winch, spotties and uhf ariel, rear has stock bar with cargo barrier in the rear and 50ltr waeco fridge.

My commute to work is about 280klms per week and i find the above works well for me.

 

Thanks loanrangie, this is good info!

 

Great info again, everyone! I've got the 2" OME lift and need some new tires. I used to have General Grabber AT2 in 255/70/16, but now I'm looking for 245/75 based on this thread.

What brand is everyone running? I'm honestly a mostly highway guy (80%), snow/winter mix (15%) and then beach/sand (5%). Thoughts?

 

I've run 2" OME lift and 245 x 75 16's on my last 3 Discos since 2001. They're fine as far as I'm concerned.

I've had great success with various Bridgestone A/T's. I always keep 2 sets of tires. A/T's for street and I put the M/T's on when I'm going off road.

 

Thanks Everyone!
I got a set of 235/85/16, I like the look and feel of them.

 

I have 255-85-R16s all around.

Came with them. I think I'll drop to something else later on, I just don't know what. I have a 2" OME lift and with these tires this thing is tall. I also think that the taller tires make it go a lot slower. I saw an SE7 on the interstate the other day and it was making speeds I can only achieve downhill in a tailwind.