08UnlimitedSahara810

I am going on my first expedition this weekend in the snow. We will be riding on forest roads, trails, etc. Currently there is about 10 soft inches of snow on the ground with about a foot due before we head out.

What should I be setting my tire pressures at for this trip?

Widewing

Well, snow is snow regardless of the underlying surface. In general, whatever pressure you normally run on the street in warm weather is the place to start. I usually inflate to +2 PSI when I know snow is in the forecast. Because snow will keep tire temps lower than a typical cold but dry day, I air up 2 psi knowing that the pressure will drop about that much in snow. Snow sucks heat out of tires faster than air will... Conductive cooling.

What ever you do, ignore any advice to air down.. Snow isn't like sand, you don't want additional flotation.

If the snow is exceptionally deep, consider chains and disable traction control in the really deep stuff, or it will bog you down. If you are following in a caravan of Jeeps, you need only stay in the tracks. In that case, enable traction control. However, if you venture off into the deep stuff, disable it again.

You'll get a feel for what works best pretty quick.


My regards,

Widewing

Kachad

I hear you there - the idea is to increase your contact area psi, in order to hit solid traction, aye? Same idea behind pizza cutters working better in deep snow?

I've always debated this myself. Do you air down knowing that when you do hit the rocks you'll want that surface area versus the higher psi and overall trail traction?

Can't wait to continue the debate this weekend

SaginawMike

On a recent trip to West Branch I found most of the trails were hard packed due to snow machines. The only trouble I had was on hills. My stock Duelers cut through the snow to the frozen earth then just started to spin. I'm thinking only chains would have made a difference. I didn't air down.

jkkat

When we go snow wheelin we go down not up. With snow deeper than the space between the bottom of your tires and the axles or body your tires will try to reach solid ground you will NOT go anywhere. Airing down so your tires get wider and you stay on top of the snow is much better.

07crawler

I do agree 100%...last year in the snow I got stuck 4 times before airing down to 5 psi on my stock 32's and then just went right along without a problem...(less air DOES make you float better in snow)the snow was up to my pumpkins under the jeep and slushy in the tire area...the only other time I got stuck was when the snow underneath piled up and high centered me on my pumpkins..LOL...alittle tug from a friend and we were off again....go down...not up....another thing..there were toyota trucks with us with 40's on..they aired down to 2-3 psi...THEY RODE ON "TOP" of the snow which was 3 feet deep in places between the trees...it was amazing

dsp

Last year I went to Sno-blind in Westbranch, we had 3' + of snow. You have to air down for sure when you have a lot of snow. I will be heading there again in Feb.

goldtr8

i have done the deep snow trail busting in the past and plan on doing it again this weekend.

I will be airing down to about 10 PSI with the Rubicon with stock tires.

Last time we went none of the group aired down as the day went on we all dropped pressure. When I got about 10 psi the axle bounce almost stopped.

mac05er

When you are all done playing in the snow don't forget to clean the packed snow out of your wheels unless you like the shakes I know everyone posted above knows this but for someone who might pick this up on a search thought I would just point it out also.

Widewing

I don't know guys, I'm at a loss to understand why some swear that airing down to damn near flat is beneficial.

Maybe it's because most of you are running Mud Terrain type rubber. Most of these are less than adequate in snow. Hard compounds and ultra-stiff sidewalls reduce the chance of being cut on sharp rock, but these tires simply don't flex when cold.

That's why AT type tires are usually superior in snow. Far more gripping edges and greater flexibility are key. Modern "winter" tires will not work at all if significantly under inflated. Try running a set of Blizzaks at 10 psi and see what happens.....

I would never run Mud Terrains in snow if I had another option. That is the primary reason that I left the stock SR-As on my JK for the winter. They are vastly better in snow than the BFG MT KMs that come on the Rubi. I've driven both types in snow, and an X with 32" SR-As will simply drive away from a Rubi in fresh snow. We discovered that a few weeks ago. We (me and the wife) were following my Friend Paul in his unlimited Rubicon along some fire roads out in the Pine Barrens. About 6 to 7 inches of snow. Some snowmobile tracks, but no wheeled vehicles other than perhaps an ATV had been down them. Paul was creeping along at 5 mph. We stopped and I asked why he was so slow... Poor traction. We switched positions and he couldn't or wouldn't try to keep up. Poor tires, as simple as that. We swapped Jeeps for the ride back. He was right, the BFGs wouldn't hook up. The Jeep would step out, moving sideways as much as forward. It would understeer like mad and the ABS would kick in with the slightest pressure on the brake pedal. I double-checked to make sure he hadn't disabled traction control. I shifted into low range and
tried the lockers. Some improvement, perhaps. But, no great shakes. The Unlimited was a 6-speed (silver, soft top), my X has the automatic with LSD rear axle. It was the tires... The BFGs are barely marginal in snow.

That said, I've been driving in snow for 40 years. I've owned three Jeeps, a 4x4 Ranger, a Samurai, a 4dr Sidekick and my wife's '03 Grand Vitara. In all those years; in all those 4x4s; in snow as high as top of my YJ's bumper, I've never gotten stuck. Stuck meaning unable to extract the vehicle without assistance. Not once. I don't air down tires either.

Get a set of tires that work well in snow...


My regards,

Widewing