By Charles C. on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 07:18 pm: Edit

Which is correct. Do I air my tires to the pressure recommended in the door jam or do I air my tires to what they say on the tire. If I air them to the door jam (subsequently less than that of what is said on the tire) wouldn't I get uneven wear on the tires? I know that what's on the tire is the max, but I think I could go for a little less handling if I can keep my tires around for a little longer.

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 07:52 pm: Edit

Go with recommended pressure on the tires themselves - door jam recommendation is for what tyres??? You can fine tune your pressure to suit your needs, but make sure your final pressure is within the upper and lower limits specified by the manufacturer. One good trick is to play with the pressure until you like the way the Disco handles, then draw a wide chalk line across the tread on all tires. Drive a few meters (enough to turn a few revolutions of each tire, but not enough to wear away all the chalk), and then inspect the chalk. If the chalk has worn away at the shoulders of the tire, then you are underinflated - if chalk is worn at the middle only, you're overinflated. If chalk is worn away evenly, you're fine. Find a happy medium between your best handling pressure and the chalk test, and you're all set. Also, Disco's seem to like higher pressure in the rear tires (around 8 lbs difference). I've always run higher pressure in the front (to handle weight of engine), but it seems to be the opposite on the Disco...see what you think.

By danno on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 08:18 pm: Edit

inflate to 60psi and forget about it....i personally run 50psi in the front and 55psi in the rear. this is on 235/85/16 Grabber MT's

Danno

By mike on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 10:53 pm: Edit

I just looked into this. I just remounted my tires on AR rims and talked to the tire shop and called the dealer. They both say definitely follow door jamb guidelines. I am running more air in both front and rear tires but keeping the difference from front to rear as recommended. It's a safety handling issue. Rover didn't post it for no reason. Blowing off there recommendations could cost you your life some rainy night at 70mph.

By Gil Stevens (Gil) on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 10:59 pm: Edit

thats relatively grim.....

By Axel Haakonsen (Axel) on Wednesday, May 16, 2001 - 11:08 pm: Edit

If we followed Rover's recommendations to a tee, we would still all be driving stock mall runners.... Correct pressures depends on the type of tire you run, and personal preference. It's a whole black art in itself. Ever noticed how race car drivers always keep adjusting the pressure in their tires?

By mike on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 12:24 am: Edit

Personal preference? We are not talking about off road mods, we are talking high speed hard steering tests rover has run resulting in this door jamb guideline.

By Steve (Oz93discov8) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 07:40 am: Edit

I read once where the lower front pressure had some benefit under extreme high speed turning (e.g. emergency swerving etc) as it allows the front to slide rather than grip (likes the rears at their higher pressures). This is supposed to help stop the Disco from rolling over as it would understeer I suppose?

By Axel Haakonsen (Axel) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 08:10 am: Edit

Mike:
All tires are not created equal. Do you really think that Rover tested every single size from every available manufacturer? Of course they did not. That chart in the door jamb only applies to the stock tires your vehicle came with. Once you go to a different size, you are on your own.

"We are not talking about off road mods,..."
What is the difference? Are you saying that adding a heavy front bumper with a winch, or lifting the Disco won't affect the handling of the truck?

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 10:02 am: Edit

Mike, they have alot of crack in your area , seems like you been smoking some Who do you think knows more about the specific tire on your truck? Land ROver? Or the people that spent millions developing and producing the damn thing?

Kyle

By Ron on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 10:07 am: Edit

The reason for the pressure differential is so that when soccer mom decides to swerve to avoid a cat on I81 doing 80mph the front tires "push" rather than grip. while the effect is not as drastic as say with a corvair or 911, the differential of 6-10psi should be maintained. Tire manufacturers state pressures relative to weight carring and wear more so than handling. The choice is yours. Personally I run mine pretty high (better mileage) but it is up to you.

ROn

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 10:20 am: Edit

Yes Ron , hard tires are a good thing....very good thing.....


Kyle

By Milan on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 11:35 am: Edit

Hard tires are less puncture resistant and don't absorb any road imperfection transferring everything to the suspension. Granted, the suspension is what's meant to take up the bumps but the tires are supposed to flex a little too. Unless you run really low profile tires. Besides, why rattle everything out when you can get a nice ride with good wear characteristics at lesser pressure?

If the tire is rated to carry 3500lbs at 50 psi and your disco weighs 7000 lbs, your tires should be run at 25psi. This is just a good starting point. Front and rear weight is not distribiuted evenly and you should maintain the difference as recomended so the actual figure will varry. The chalk test is good for fine tunning it. The best way is with a pyrometer.

60 psi? Give me a break. That's like riding on steel rims only. No grip and all the jarring. No thanks.

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 11:55 am: Edit

How about this?: follow door jamb guidelines for pressure differential front vs. rear; follow tire manufacturer guideline for actual numeric pressure value; fine tune to your personal tastes as long as you're within manufactures' specs and following the spririt of the door jamb guidelines.

The short version is: just pump the damn things up until they work...and don't buy firestones...

By Milan on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 12:04 pm: Edit

I agree. I also know that to a certain point more pressure means more grip but there is a point where an overinflated tire has less grip than one at lesser pressure. That's why I think that unless your disco is overloaded with stuff and/or towing a heavy trailer, 60 psi is too much.

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 12:26 pm: Edit

Hmmm , Milan , I been running 65 in a set for about two years now. All is well. The other truck has 55 in them and all is well there... Both sets been to Moab and all over..

Kyle

By Mike on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 12:46 pm: Edit

Kyle,

I don't appreciate the personal jabs while we all share ideas and opinions here. If you dish it out your going to get it back.

By Milan on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 12:54 pm: Edit

Kyle, what's the load range and max pressure for your tires? How heavy is your disco in the front/rear?

I know a lot of people that run rock hard tires on and off-road. Even I used to. Once I experimented with many different pressures I wouldn't do that again as I see no value in it. Other than maybe slightly better gas mileage at the cost of ball joints and tread life (depending how much over-inflated your tires are and what compound they're made of).

I'm not saying you or anybody else should do what I do but I'm just not going to run at full pressure unless I need to due to the weight the vehicle has to carry. On the trail, I definitely think the lower the pressure, the better (again with exceptions) and soft tires off-road are harder to puncture with sticks/sharp rocks. On icy/snowy/wet roads again lower pressure seems to work for me.

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 01:04 pm: Edit

Yes Mike , I would expect to. Thats how it ussually works. Why would I expect any different?

Kyle

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 01:06 pm: Edit

Yes Milan , everyone likes to flatten thsoe tires I have yet to have a flat from a sidewall intrusion. I run the tires at what they are supposed to run. Not over inflated. They last longer , truck handles better...Mileage? What mileage??

Kyle

By Peter Matusov on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 03:04 pm: Edit

does it have to pop up on every list?

my disco sees 50 mi a day on the highway five days a week, and racks up some mileage in low range on weekends. to cope with all this, i have two sets of wheels - stock alloys with stock 235/70R16 Michelins 4x4 XPC, and steel with 245/75R16 Futura Enforcers.

I found that anything different from the door jamb specs on the highway results in poor handling;
I was able to tell that front tires were over the recommended pressure when they had 30 psi instead of 26 (with rears okay).
With the futuras, i found the optimum hwy pressures being 28 front / 38 rear. With these tires pumped both to 45, i couldn't keep the damn thing straight (with OME HD springs and Bilstein shocks).

off-road, i don't air down the futuras much, never under 22/30. too slim tires for these rims.

peter m

By Milan on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 05:18 pm: Edit

Kyle,
That's what I was loosely referring to: Proper pressure not over- or under-inflated. That's why I wanted to know what tires you were running and what they were rated at to warrant 60psi.

You're absolutely right about the mileage (unfortunately).

On my way to town today, I checked the door jambs out of curiosity and found different GVWR figures for front and rear axles leading me to believe that the difference in pressure is really due to how the weight is distributed on a Disco rather than to prevent people from "swapping ends" during some emergency manouver. It's simply to ensure correct footprint and equal tire performance given the weight the tires have to carry. Same formula should be used for pretty much any vehicle and any tire.

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 05:25 pm: Edit

Yep...

Kyle

By Ron on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 05:30 pm: Edit

The different GVWR is to allow you to tow/haul crap in the back. Remember it is Gross not actual weight. The weight distribution is almost 50/50 on a disco.

Ron

By Mike on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 06:13 pm: Edit

Kyle,

Looked at your pics, is that rock you are on in your front yard? Don't get out much?

If you drive a lot like I do and have kids in the truck, I think you should pay attention to the less air in front for safer handling rule by Land Rover.

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Thursday, May 17, 2001 - 07:44 pm: Edit

Hmmmm , which rock would that be? Point me in the right direction. I drive 50-60 miles a day and probably 30-40K a year. (Pointing towards getting out quite alot) I think people that for the most part , just like anything else , people should learn to drive. After that it doesnt much matter what ya got in the tires. You adjust and keep on keepin on...

Kyle

By ZF on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 08:28 am: Edit

Kyle, I think Mike must have been smoking too much of something. That comeback of his is the most pathetic attempt I have seen in a long time.

By Michel on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 10:46 am: Edit

ZF, if youre gonna brown nose, at least use your name.

Michel

By Gil Stevens (Gil) on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 11:01 am: Edit

I didnt realize that Kyle lived in Moab, that must be fun. Michel, I will say that I agree with ZF, your comeback was a touch weak, I hope maybe you can come up with something a little better. Thanks, oh and i will use my real neame...

By Michel2 on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 11:05 am: Edit

Michel (or whomever you are since you don't have a profile or email), how is not using your name any different then randomly typing "Michel" in the username box.

See, now I'm Michel too...

By Michel on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 11:30 am: Edit

We'll thats very cool, and I'm flattered that you would want to be me. But Michel is my name, and the only name I use. I guess when I see ZF or some shit, I get the feeling that it's a prank call, especialy when picking on someone else it feels like hiding, or the same person is using multiple names for different things they want to say, and are not really on the up and up. But I guess with enough use and consistancy you get use to it.

Michel

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 12:00 pm: Edit

C'mon Michel, admit it! Your jab was weak! If I had those rocks in my front yard, I wouldn't get out much either. That was actually a compliment! You have to step it up a notch with Kyle. Try something like this:

Question: How many people does it take to drive Kyle's Disco?
Answer: Seven, especially when he's been hittin the hooka so hard that he drives straight into rocks!

By Milan on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 12:10 pm: Edit

Now I know why his disoc is 7000 lbs and he needs 60psi in his tires. He carries 7 poeple on top of all his off-road gear, like air tanks for filling up tires.

By Milan on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 12:12 pm: Edit

Sorry about the crappy spelling...typing too fast

By Kyle Van Tassel (Kyle) on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 12:13 pm: Edit

OK Bill , that shit aint funny I was actually getting quite pissed off at that moment.Before all the ticks got on the truck was up and leaning enough that the coolant ran away from the pickup side of the rad and the truck was over heating. If you look at how the truck is sitting there you can see that I was spotted right into that wall with the right front. Now I have all those ticks hanging there and the tire is still up a foot. The right rear was in a good sized hole as well.That is just one fo the many rocks I have in "My back yard"

Kyle

Kyle

By Gil Stevens (Gil) on Friday, May 18, 2001 - 02:04 pm: Edit

bluegill, that was much better..... lol

By Michel on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 12:20 am: Edit

Alright damnit, I admit it!!! Don't expect to much first thing in the morning.

Michel

By Blue Gill (Bluegill) on Saturday, May 19, 2001 - 01:21 pm: Edit

Cool - Michel's a good sport! But now Kyle's mad at me and I have no chance of getting that winch tray!

By Milan on Sunday, May 20, 2001 - 12:45 am: Edit

Hey Kyle,
You still have not answered my questions. I was genuinely interested.
Thanks

By Mike on Sunday, May 20, 2001 - 12:42 pm: Edit

AHH, now I see why people think the comeback was weak. Kyle removed the photo from his photo gallery of a Lazy-boy sized rock on the side of a driveway being climbed on by his Disco. Come on Kyle, be a man and repost that dorky photo!!