I typically air down to 25 psi if needed when off roading. My tires are 265/65/18. Has anybody with similar tires gone lower? I obviously want to minimize the chance of rim damage and definitely don't want the tire losing its bead.

 

On dirt/mud 18-20, on sand as low as 15. I also just go to 25 and rarely need less than that.

 

Thanks for the response! Near where I live is an extremely steep hill with loose dirt that I cannot climb. I’ll give 20 and maybe even 18 a try the next time I am at the hill.

 

No beadlocks. Just LR rims. Tell us about this hill...climbing is, imo, the LR3's strong suite. How are you set up? What kind of tires? What settings are you in, etc? HD Package or no?

 

I believe I've tried this hill on three separate occasions over the years with no success. It's been a couple of years since I was last at the hill. It's not deathly steep, but if you are driving up, you cannot easily lean forward because your body is pushed back into the seat due to gravity. I think the loose dirt is the bigger issue. If you try to walk up the hill on foot, you'll need to grab brush and roots to keep from slipping. The dirt is also deep enough in some spots that it will get in your shoes.

I don't have a rear locker. I'm running BFG KO2 tires, 265/65/18. I generally don't bother using the terrain response ****, but I do believe I did try all of the setting on this hill. I know I had DSC off the last time I tried the hill. I tried using a slow approach with constant forward movement, a faster approach with a lot of momentum, and everything in between. In all the cases I would make it up about 2/3 of the way up the hill at most and then get stuck. Any further attempts at acceleration at that point would just dig me in further.

In the interest of full disclosure... I don't remember if I aired down the last time I tried this hill. I think my lazy thought process at that time was that this was the only obstacle that would have required airing down so I didn't want to hassle with having to air back up. Everything else could be handled with low range and line selection. Again, my memory is fuzzy on this detail, and there is the possibility that I did air down and I just don't remember.

The last time I was at the hill, it was a bit overgrown with brush and that makes me think that the number of people who drive up in a year is in the single digits. I think it was originally meant to be a utility road to reach remote power lines. I'm hoping to go back to this hill in a couple of weeks when life slows down, and will try 25 psi to start and then keep going down as needed. I'll also try to get some measurements to give some hard statistics to describe the hill rather than just saying steep and slippery.

 

The 'I don't bother with the terrain response ****...' would be heresy to the LR boffins who spent zillions of pounds and years of time developing the systems to develop a vehicle that is better equipped to respond to terrain better than the average Jeep or Toyota. Glad you tried it at least.

Would very much like to see pics if you have any. And do trust the TR modes. They're there for a reason. And they work.

 

I would air down to 25psi, or even 20. With the dirt as you describe I'd choose Sand Mode, turn off DSC, put 'er in 4-LO...put the tranny in 2nd gear and go for it!!

I have a nemesis hill like that of my own...it's at my cousin's property but I haven't been there in over a decade. I only tried it once. I didn't have the same tires (they were less capable) and I didn't know wtf I was doing back then.