airing down e-load tires

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 12:12 am

ok, so i have Firestone Destination MT's, 235-85-16, E-load rated. i was told that i coudlnt airdown offroad because its steel belts, or something in the sidewall, it will destroy the tire. is this true? i dont airdown past 20 pounds. i didnt know whether to believe the person or not, im clueless on what to do now! help! i figured it was ok since it is a mud terrain, and firestone expects people to use it offroad and airdown? i bought a portable air compressor and a currie tire defaltor, and now im not sure i can even use it! i only aired down once so far, while owning these tires, for one day of trailriding, to 20lbs, and hope i didnt hurt my tires :?:

Guest · **Posted:** Wed Jan 21, 2009 2:34 am

I normally go to 20 in my MTR's, If I deflate at all, but I would be perfectly comfortable going down to 15

InCommando · **Posted:** Thu Jan 22, 2009 10:13 pm

The info that you received is BS. You would not, of course, want to go at highway speeds or carrying a heavy load/dragging a trailer with low air pressures, but lowering them for off-road use is fine. Rubicons came factory with e-rated tires. The construction of your tires ( steel belted radials ) is like 99% of all tires sold now.

Your source was either confused as to your intended use or.. :roll:

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Fri Jan 23, 2009 12:00 am

Good question RAYMAN, I also ran into the same answers. Most tire manufacturers that I talked to said that a LOAD E tire “typically” does not have the sidewall flex that would be desired for airing down. They recommended staying with a LT load C tire for more sidewall flex and the ability to air down without any ill-effects. The BF T/A KO’s are specifically designed for airing down.

Guest · **Posted:** Fri Jan 23, 2009 3:40 am

InCommando wrote:

The info that you received is BS. You would not, of course, want to go at highway speeds or carrying a heavy load/dragging a trailer with low air pressures, but lowering them for off-road use is fine. Rubicons came factory with e-rated tires. The construction of your tires ( steel belted radials ) is like 99% of all tires sold now.

Your source was either confused as to your intended use or.. :roll:

There's been a few times when i've driven home with 20 psi in my tires 60+ miles :lol:

XR · **Posted:** Fri Jan 23, 2009 6:01 pm

I've run my 245/75-16 E rated MT/Rs at 12 PSI many times.I've run them on pavement at slow speeds for 20 miles at those pressures too.No problems in 6 years.

tjkj2002 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 23, 2009 8:30 pm

MT/R's are made for rockcrawling and airing down.Firestone stuckination's are not ment for offroad and not ment for airing down(and no they are not,I work for Firestone and they are not for offroading).235/85's are made for 3/4ton+ trucks and towing 15,000lbs+ and don't like airing down.

If you have steel belts in the sidewall(never heard of this in LT tires) then it's not a good idea to air them down.

RAYMAN975 · **Posted:** Fri Jan 23, 2009 11:53 pm

how are they not meant for offroad? hmmm

idk why they are "stuckinations" either, i couldnt be any more happy with these tires, they are great

dieselenthusiast · **Posted:** Sat Jan 24, 2009 12:54 pm

RAYMAN975 wrote:

how are they not meant for offroad? hmmm

idk why they are "stuckinations" either, i couldnt be any more happy with these tires, they are great

RAYMAN, I’ve always disliked Firestone and their quality has historically been less than stellar. However, to overcome my personal bias, the Firestone A/T and M/T are both pretty good tires. :wink:

Like most reviewers, people are a little hesitant to run a Firestone because of their reputation and the history of the company has been a little shady. Everything from business practices (Union vs. Non-union) to the quality of their products are all reasons to question their motives. Back to your question……………. The M/T seems to be performing well, there has been a little chunking going on due to the tread design, but I’m not sure how they are any worse than any other M/T. The M/T’s seem to be fairly quiet on the road, perform well in mud, sand, and lose dirt. According to all the reviews that I have read, I would say they perform just as well as the BFGoodrich Mud-Terrain T/A KM2, Goodyear MT/R, and Toyo Open Country M/T. I’m not a tire expert, therefore I can not differentiate between the differences of quality, manufacturing, and tire design of each of these M/T tires. Obviously tjkj2002 has some inside info that I don’t have..........

KJ 119 · **Posted:** Sun Jan 25, 2009 8:13 pm

ThunderbirdJunkie wrote:

InCommando wrote:

The info that you received is BS. You would not, of course, want to go at highway speeds or carrying a heavy load/dragging a trailer with low air pressures, but lowering them for off-road use is fine. Rubicons came factory with e-rated tires. The construction of your tires ( steel belted radials ) is like 99% of all tires sold now.

Your source was either confused as to your intended use or.. :roll:

There's been a few times when i've driven home with 20 psi in my tires 60+ miles :lol:

Same here... :oops:

airing down e-load tires

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