Pressure Gauge
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For the succesfull driving in the desert are generally needed three components:
- Driver (skills & experience)
- Car (overall conditions, power, torque, etc.
- Tyres (conditions & pressure)
First two points are very individual, but tyre pressure is very important factor, that is independent from the skills of driver and is a prerequisite for driving without getting stuck on every corner or climbing moderately steep dunes. Sometimes 2 psi can maje tremenduous difference in your driving preformance.
On the market are mostly pressure gauges from supermarkets priced around 5 Dhs. I saw some digital as well. Stick pressure gauges are showing the values dependant, how much dust and sand is inside the tube… All those are just useless, with the total range is coming upto 200 psi, when you want to measure just 15 psi; what you see as your reading could be actually 20 psi or even more; they are not enough accurate. Your red arow is somewhere close to 0 at reading.
If you want to get the right pressure gauge, try to find something in specialized shops with off-road toys, where the the total range shall not exceed 60 psi.You can compare reading of your gauge with some petrol stations, which have digital measurement for filling air into tyres and take the value of their reading as a reference point. The deviation (in psi) gives you an indication how your gauge reading is different, how many psi. Then next time as your are deflating your tyres in desert, you may be very close to the value that you need. To compare the pressure with your buddy’s gauge can lead also to certain inaccuracy, as his gauge might be also from supermarket 🙂
What is the right pressure for your tyres? Is it 15, 20 or 10 psi? This is again very individual, it depends on the brand and size of the tyres your are using and also on the total weight of your car. The best method would be to drive (with full power) some long steep dune and mark, how far up you can come. After first test, deflate your tyres by 2 psi and drive same place again, with the same power. If your performance increases with reduced pressure, then you are on the right way to determine the right pressure for your tyres and car. Just drive with your buddies and see how many times you get stuck or left behind.
Thanks Sylvester those are very valid & valuable inputs,
this point was demonstrated very clearly when one moment Ali’s Xterra was struggling just as we entered the dunes & immediately afterwards, after Sylvester & Ali deflated to the correct pressure, it was a totally different vehicle, literally dancing on the very same Dunes.
I vouch for BushRanger Digital Pressure guage, have crossed checked before with the gas station air guage, and it was accurate to the guage i had.
Digital pressure gauges in general are sensitive to surrounding temperature and the read value may drift. The use must be very accurate, it must be carefully and precisely applied to the valve. At each measurment the tyre looses about 0.5 psi. It is powered by battery, which goes off always at the wrong moment.
I’ve been using the bushranger tyre deflator off late and it has a guage attached, with accurate results. It screws on to the tyre valve and allows intermittent check on the pressure while deflating.
Thus far have found it accurate.
Sylvester, You’re right about the digital gauge sometimes really getting frustrating as it switches off if inactive for a while….
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