My Suzuki 4-wheeler says that tire pressures should be in the 3-5 lb range. Is that correct? Do ATV tires really need to be that low? I put on after market tires from Fleet Farm, standard ones, nothing fancy.
Dave
Yep, it’s that low.
You may need to go back to Fleet Farm to find a gauge to measure the low pressure.
The tire should absorb the shock of terrene (stumps, rocks and bumps) thus the low pressure and a balloon effect. If the pressure were too much you would have more of a basketball bounce effect that could really send you and the machine out of control.
These tires have a stiff side wall, that allows them to run lower pressures. Also they don’t weigh as much as a car so 35psi is not needed. Higher psi also offers greater fuel economy. With atv’s traction trumps fuel economy.
Almost all vehicles that are used where extreme traction is needed run low pressure in the tires. LP adds to the size of a tires footprint, also allows the tire to conform to the terrain or obsticle so the lugs have more contact.
Imagine a high pressure and low pressure tire sitting on a rock. The LP tire will sort of wrap around the rock and the HP tire might stay completely round and not offer as much surface of the tire to contact the rock.
They do make low pressure gauges but I generally use the foot push test to make sure both are somewhat equal and use my eyes to make suer the tire is not running too flat. Its a skill that will easily come to you when you know what 4 psi looks like.
Hope you enjoy the new meat. – Mark
Quote:
My Suzuki 4-wheeler says that tire pressures should be in the 3-5 lb range. Is that correct? Do ATV tires really need to be that low? I put on after market tires from Fleet Farm, standard ones, nothing fancy.
Dave
I’ve actually blown a valve stem out on the trail before and it was 10 miles back to the truck. I just stood on the unaffected side until I could get the wheeler out of the off-road trails and to the gravel trail. Then once we got the wheeler speed above 15MPH, centrifugal force took over and I could ride the wheeler as normal with a PSI of 0. As mark said, they have a stiff side wall and are made for extremely low pressure.
I keep mine at 6.
Excellent. I learned something new.
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