AWD v 4WD

[White Pointer]

I take my 4 cylinder outlander, 2007 model, on stockton beach, worse than fraser, tyre pressures from 16 to 12 psi, depends on loading, have had 6 4x4's, landrovers, suzukis, toyota's, challenger and never used low range yet, the trouble with the outlander is clearance, stay out of the ruts, take a few long cable ties with you as the plastic shields tend to scoop, also take a full size spare and a wheel jack and a base board for it.

G'day,

About 6 years ago I was pulled over by transport inspectors about 200M down the road from my house in Scarborough. There were 4 inspectors and they were pulling over 2 cars at a time.

I was in my 2-year old Land Rover Discovery. They inspected the car and asked if it had been recently serviced and did I have proof of that. It had been serviced and I had proof. Thye then proceeded to check the tyres for pressure and remarked that the front tyres were under inflated. I told them they were wong and showed them the tyre placard which says 28psi front and 38psi rear. They were incredulous so I explained to them what dual purpose tyres were.

That's a long way of getting to a point.

If the tyres on your car are not of the type specified by the manufacturer your car is not roadworthy. It is easy to fix this. Ask Queensland Transport for a Modification Plate for an alternative tyre type and provided it's not stupid they will give you one. Then tell your insurerer about the modification and the approval and they will probably be OK as well.

If the pressures in the tyres on your car are not within the range of pressures specified by the tyre manufacturer according to your Modification Plate or (if you don't have one) your owners handbook and tyre placard your car is not roadworthy. And if you deliberately made it unroadworthy (by letting the tyres down) you will not be insured.

An Outlander running "P" rated tyres at 12psi is destroying the sidewalls. They simply are not strong enough to tolerate the low speed torque loads. The failure may not happen on the beach at low speed. It may happen after you have fully inflated the tyres and are cruising home at 100km/h. One sidewall fails and it is instant deflation and smoke within seconds. You might have just been unlucky and picked up a nail in that tyre but the sidewall was so fatigued it just blew out instead of a slow defaltion. Three other fatigued tyres are now carrying all the weight.

Don't risk your life and your insurance cover. Fit the right equipment so the vehicle meets your lifestyle needs, keep it compliant and tell your insurer. We want you around.

Regards,

White Pointer

[BenDover]

Biggest load of crap ever.

Firstly what the hell does having your car serviced have to do with transport and an inspector?

A mod plate for running lower tyre pressure? Thats the funniest thing in the world......!! ha ha

Ive seen many many tyres deflaited on the beach and usually people ask me to borrow my compressor as Im pumping mine up while Im waiting for the barge to arrive. Tyres with weak sidewalls dont have to be deflaited as much to get the same effects. Thats why when people ask "what pressures?" there is no right answer, just a guide. They usually dont blow out. Just creat an egg and a bit of a unballance and wobble. The only tyres Ive ever seen blow are ones that sat in a shed for 6 years and already had dry cracks all through them. They split.

If you want to get technical about insurance and transport/inspectors. As soon as your car touch's salt water its an instant right off in the insurrers eyes. And not letting your tyres down puts a huge amount of extra load on your engine. Maybe causing fatigue and if there are any unseen problems, thats when they will appear. Maybe on the drive home. I hope a transport guy doesnt bust you for putting excess wear on your engine.

If your that worried about insurance and inspectors - Buy a CAR...

Thats where the name softroaders comes from. People who used to drive cars and were scared of 4x4's on the road. But can see the advantages of being up a little higher. Lots of room in an 8 seater thats not a van. ALong comes a much smaller plastic version of 4x4 with all the mod cons for the missus. And because it has a sticker that says 4wd/awd on it they feel tough and invinsible when driving it. Then want to take it offroad.

[ozscott]

Yep - I ran 23psi all over Frazer with passenger rated 31 inch tyres on my Disco. With original smaller tyres I had to run lower on the beach in deep deep soft stuff but not the 31's. And 23 saw the sidewall's just starting to bellow out and was only a little bit down from the placard. However the placard is useless if you have gone from a 29 inch tyre to a 31....

Anyway, go get legal advice if you want to be comfortable, but please to anyone reading this please dont just accept what you read as gospel.

WP - You should go get shares in a slide tray company based at Fraser

Cheers

[PinHead]

I just wish the transport inspectors would start getting rid of some of the heaps of junk off the road. Especially those 4wd that are lifted above legal..tyres way outside legal..more body roll than a round hull boat in a swell and P platers behind the wheel. Almost every day you hear of a single vehicle rolloever on one of the toads..usually one of those. Poorly built vehicle with an incompetent behind the wheel..a danger to all.
There is one usually in my front yard.

[finga]

Almost every day you hear of a single vehicle rolloever on one of the toads

That's a slow, expensive way to get rid of toads. One at a time. :huh:

[PinHead]

smart A..I cannot help it if my typing is crap and I am too lazy to proof read

[wosdam]

I just wish the transport inspectors would start getting rid of some of the heaps of junk off the road. Especially those 4wd that are lifted above legal..tyres way outside legal..more body roll than a round hull boat in a swell

Posers are voters too!

[BenDover]

Posers are voters too!

Well said... Mines lifted above legal. My tyres stick out and huge (just gone 37's) But I still didnt take any offence because mines not a heap of crap :grin: . Nor do I hear about 1 lifted 4x4 with big tyres rolling or crashing on the highway everyday. You have a point about p platers though. They are dangerous in any car.

[GBC]

[quote=BenDover;1166426]

A mod plate for running lower tyre pressure? Thats the funniest thing in the world......!! ha ha


I think you you ask WP nicely, he'll tell you that the car wasn't mod plated for those pressures, it was designed for those pressures, and that's what's on the OE placard.

The placard on my colorado for max load pressures (one tonne vehicle) - is 200 kpa front and 260 (or 280 I can't remember) rear.

200 kpa is 29 lb - for a fully loaded vehicle.

Just because heaps of people use 40 odd lb when loaded up and highway running doesn't mean they're right either.........

Manufacturer's specs give everyone the sh!ts, but they ARE the yardstick by which we are judged when it all goes wrong.

Deflate where needed, inflate when you can.

Read your placard and try it for once - you might be surprised - I certainly was. Never thought I'd assume 29 lb wasn't underinflated for the highway, but now it's all I use in the fronts as a max.

[ozscott]

When you have tyres of a different rating then the psi goes out the window...for eg my Maxxis take 80pounds max for max weight....at LTs...for my towing I use 60 pounds in the rear which is WAY higher than the stock tyre's highest pressure.

Cheers

[FNQCairns]

Correct me if i am wrong here but isn't the pressure of any individual tyre the sole domain of the tyre manufacturer.

All well and good following the cars placard when using the same brand and model of tyre originally fitted but when one fits a new brand the placard is good now only for sizes.

[ozscott]

Correct me if i am wrong here but isn't the pressure of any individual tyre the sole domain of the tyre manufacturer.

All well and good following the cars placard when using the same brand and model of tyre originally fitted but when one fits a new brand the placard is good now only for sizes.

I tried to communicate that above FNQ but the vodka didnt let me do it!

Cheers

[foghorn]

I know what you mean white pointer, this could happen if you drive around all the time with lower pressures, however I have driven more that 60k's with pressure around 16psi when the compressor went down, nothing over 80k's, the tyres are still OK, when on the beach I should mention NOT to do sharp u turns, if you are concerned yourself you should fit cross ply's.

[GBC]

Correct me if i am wrong here but isn't the pressure of any individual tyre the sole domain of the tyre manufacturer.

All well and good following the cars placard when using the same brand and model of tyre originally fitted but when one fits a new brand the placard is good now only for sizes.

Not being a smart arse FNQ, but where would I look to find optimum pressure vs axle weight for any given tyre?

Mine only ever give a max weight and pressure, then barring the 4psi rule the rest is generally guesswork? Esp with differing front/rear pressures.

[FNQCairns]

Not being a smart arse FNQ, but where would I look to find optimum pressure vs axle weight for any given tyre?

Mine only ever give a max weight and pressure, then barring the 4psi rule the rest is generally guesswork? Esp with differing front/rear pressures.

Exactly. after the 4deg rule (if used) I believe it is mostly guesswork. I don't do optimum when it comes to tyres, if they wear properly I know I must be close enough.

yeah Chimo, I saw your post after i posted, otherwise I wouldn't have bothered.