Best Airdown Method/Tool?

[Maniak]

Okay call me stupid ... but I don't understand why pushing the valve stem in with like a pocket knife or screw driver and checking when gettin close is a bad method ... may take 5 minutes for all 5 but I got a good digital pressure guage for like 5 bucks ...
just wonderin there's a lot i don't know !

Its not bad, it just slow. When I have full pressure It will take a while to manually go from 30+ psi down to 13psi on each tire. By using the Staun things I can get them all started and walk around the vehicle. I've got it pretty close to timed where as I walk around each tire is down to about 15psi or so. I can then bring it down to 13psi manually.

hi this buck,, if u air down both tires or more importantly air yp two tires at same time if your not on absolutely level surface, one tire will,can have more air than the other, better to air the tires each at one time and check pressure,, many guage type pressure guages have drain valces on them where u can watch pressure and relieve them at same time,this from airing duals on commercial truck trailers where air pressure must match on partnered duals or they will overheat and wear each other out

I understand you want the truck level but I doubt there will be that much difference in pressure. Its not like I'm airing down when I have the suspension twisted up. I'll have to experiment with it but I'd expect it to be just as accurate as it would be with me getting up, walking around and filling up each tire manually since I am then checking each tire. Heck, having the sun on the tire will change the pressure too..

~Mark

 

[Maniak]

even 2 inches can make quite a bit of difference,, when one wheel is that much highernthat its partner it is suppoeting more of the entire chassis weight, then when its back to level that tire is softer tnhan the other,, but mebbe in just nitpicking,, buck

Sounds like something I'll test out. I'm curious to see if it actually matters. I can't see it really making that much of a difference, but I'm willing to test it out.

~Mark

 

[Stic-o]

The pressure in the tire is the same no matter if there is more weight on a tire or not. The tire just changes shape. It does change with temperature however. But down at 12-15psi it's really nothing.

Here is some inserting articles on tires and temperature


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=73


and here is one on weight.

http://ask.metafilter.com/143775/Why-doesnt-tire-pressure-vary-with-vehicle-payload-much

 

[rookieshooter]

I know a lot of you guys have more experience then me with the subject of air down devices.

But I posted a short video on the ARB air down tool on my build site. More for the guy that might never have seen one.
It shows real time and by removing the shrader valve completely makes it faster.

http://www.explorerforum.com/forums/showpost.php?p=2916477&postcount=3367

 

[Tbars4]

..:shifty_ey .. I smell an update...Where's it at?..

 

[Tbars4]

..I surely thought there was going to be a test on these with a write up..:scratch:

 

[Scott B.]

Race ya...

 

[Brian1]

..I surely thought there was going to be a test on these with a write up..:scratch:

I dont know when it is going to come out, when I see it I will let you know

 

[bronchole]

I have used a valve core tool to remove the valve core in connection with a cheap air gauge:

This is the fastest method. There is no restriction whatsoever. The accuracy is in the hands of the operator and their skill to re-insert the core in a timely manner when you get to just above the desired pressure. Make sure to carry extra valve cores with this method. It is possible to dammage or lose a valve core with this method and you don't want to sit there with you finger covering the hole while someone else is having to pull the core out of your spare tire to fix that.



I also have a Currie air down tool like this one:

This is probably my favorite method. It airs down nearly as fast as pulling the core out because that is exactly what it does. There is slight restriction when this is set to vent. The mechnism that allows you to quickly check the air pressure and switch back to venting is very nice. It is also nice that once you reach the desired pressure that you don't have to worry about the skill shot of getting the core back in. Its already there, aligned and in the sealed path. You just slide/screw it in. You can still dammage a valve core with this method so I still recomend carrying some spares.




I also have the blue-low range trailhead deflaters:

I would really like for these to work. Effortless, just screw them in, drive for a while while they are airing down, pull them off the next time you come to a stop. The problem is that as others have reported, they don't always work as advertised. I'm thinking that this may be related to 2 things. They may need to be occasionally lubricated and they need to be calibrated to work with your particular valve stem cores. Calibrated? Ya calibrated. The issue here is that the spring inside of these presses against the spring on the valve core. If the spring rate and preload of the valve core is different that what the deflator was set to then the combination of the 2 will result in a different tire pressure. I really wish these would work, but I can't rely on them to do the job rite.



A buddy of mine gave me a set of the Smittybuilt copy of the Stauns:
http://www.smittybilt.com/product/index/69.htm
I pretty much had the same problems with them as the trailhead deflators. not reliable.

An interesting side note on the automatic deflators. I had my trailheads set for 14PSI and the Smitty built set for 12 PSI. I set them up this way a few years ago back when I was hoping for one or the other to work out. After using each of them several times with varrying degrees of suscess/failure I have just been carrying them around inthe center console. Recently I took them out to set them up again and give them another try. The interesting thig is that when I initially tested each one of them on a single tire I was working on, they seemed to work perfectly. That's when I decided that they are not reliable. I know for sure that both sets had at one point or another over deflated one of my tires by several PSI. BTW, I run the exact same rubber valve stems on all 5 of my tires and the exact same short rubber valve stem cores on all of them and the several I carry as spares.

Happy trails,

Dan

 

[Tbars4]

...I did a little not so technical testing last weekend at Truckhaven of the Trailhead Deflators and thought I would share..

..I usually run into the guy who makes these a couple times a year and I did so again last month...I had him re-calibrate the psi on my deflators from 10# to 15#'s as 10#'s was what I would run my old MTR's at on the Explorer but 15#'s is what I run the current KM2's on the Explorer now..(alot softer sidewalled tire)

...This calibration is where he just adjust the psi of each deflator on an airtank...Basically fills it up and let's the deflator drop down to the current set psi..(shown here testing Stauns)

The following info can be found while searching through their site..(BTW, they make 2 different models..1) Deflates down to 5-20 psi and 2) Deflates down to 15-40 psi )
http://www.trailheaddeflators.com/product.htm

..First, in defense of Trailheads they do note on their site as follows:

The shut off pressure on your tires may vary due to several factors, especially the flow rate of your valve stems.

..They also note..

NOTE: In order for deflators to reliably begin operation, tires must be inflated to a pressure approximately twice the setpoint, e.g.: If the deflators are set to shut off at 10 psi, tires must be inflated to approximately 20 psi or greater

..They also caution..

CAUTION: The greatest care has been taken during manufacturing to insure a quality product. However, if the deflators become dirty internally, they may leak and never completely shut off. They will then need to be cleaned. We recommend the use of quality valve caps at all times when not deflating to help prevent contamination of deflators from dirty valve stems, and that the deflators not be installed on your tire for more than 60 minutes.

________________________________________________________________

...First test was to check my current air pressure after just driving over 100 miles to a filling station a mile or two down the road from camp...

..Next I threw on the Trailhead deflators and headed toward camp knowing that the pole line rd. I was taking was both dirt and partial pavement with plenty of bumps to the campsite..

..:shifty_ey ..If I'm going to have a failure on this test and zero pound a tire out I couldn't think of a better place to do this other than on the way to camp with lots of people waiting with tools and support..

..I got to camp and quickly checked the pressure on all 4 tires and they were all dead on 15#'s with my tire guage. (keeping of an accurate gauge or two in each truck is a must offroad especially with lockers)

..This is a pic of the deflator hanging out to the side on my Explorer's wheels..On these wheels I would only run down a fire rd. or similar while deflating..

..My Rangers wheels with the valve stem tucked in would allow for more airdown road options while driving with these deflators on..

..Ok but Maniak came up with an idea...We will try this out on his dual tire equalizer set up.. (Something like this but made for low pressure and offroad use http://tireairpressuregauge.blogspot.com/2011/08/psiclops-xl180.html )

..This test worked also as it dropped both tires down to 15#'s...

..But there was another unofficial result which happened by mistake...Maniac pulled the Trailhead Deflator off at 17#'s to verify the pressure with another guage...We used the same deflator to see if it would in fact start and continue to deflate from 17#'s to 15#'s..

...It was a success..:biggthump...I must add though that the dual tire deflation in combination wih one Trilhead Deflator seemed to take forever as you are deflating 2 tires out of a single pinhole..

...Again, this was a non technical test and it was at and near camp...Your results and reliability may vary...

..For those who want to do some research on 2 and 4 wheel Equalization, this page is a long read with a bunch of info..(Not promoting them just the info )
http://www.4crawler.com/4x4/ForSale/4air.shtml

 

[Rick]

I use these too. I've passed out about 40 of those over the years on our group runs Not sure what they cost now, but they were very cheap 10 years ago...

 

[Tbars4]

...I keep a set of those with me 24/7...:biggthump

...Here is a "How to" for using them..
http://www.parksoffroad.com/prodreview/deflatortest/tera/teradelfate.htm

..IIRC they are now selling for about $18-$20

 

[theluke19]

I bought one of these, based on reviews-

http://www.amazon.com/G-H-Meiser-EZ-Tire-Gauge/dp/B001CJHU9W/ref=sr_1_2?ie=UTF8&qid=1351973108&sr=8-2&keywords=air+gauge

I liked the fact you can hook up the air hose to it, and have a quick gauging method- however, I wasn't very pleased with the push-button release valve- it didn't seem to let air out as fast as using the pin on the end of a regular tire gauge.

might have to pick me up a set like you guys have to try them out

 

[Scott B.]

I use these too. I've passed out about 40 of those over the years on our group runs Not sure what they cost now, but they were very cheap 10 years ago...

I've been using these for 15+ years. Maybe not as fast as some, but ultimately reliable.

 

[Rick]

I've been using these for 15+ years. Maybe not as fast as some, but ultimately reliable.

I would imagine it is as fast as any design which doesn't remove the valve stem... There really isn't any restriction to flow.

I am not a fan of the style that stays on the rig as you drive. With my luck I would rip the valve stem out by snagging the extension on a rock or root...

 

[bronchole]

They really are not meant for you to go hard core wheeling with them on. They are meant to allow you to screw them on at the begining of the trail and either BS with everyone else that is airing down in some non-automatic way or if everyone is automatic leave them on for several minutes and stop and take them off.

 

[Scott B.]

I would imagine it is as fast as any design which doesn't remove the valve stem... There really isn't any restriction to flow.

I am not a fan of the style that stays on the rig as you drive. With my luck I would rip the valve stem out by snagging the extension on a rock or root...

I'm not a fan of driving with a release valve on my valvestems, either.

I usually work on 2 tires at a time (one side of the truck.) Takes a few minutes, but everyone is usually BSing, no there is really no time lost.

 

[Rick]

I usually work on 2 tires at a time (one side of the truck.) Takes a few minutes, but everyone is usually BSing, no there is really no time lost.

What I do is put them on one side of the truck, wait 30 seconds or a bit longer then put them on the other side too.

That gives me a bit more time to check the tires without the possibility of letting them get too low.

 

[JDraper]

Quickest way to air down is to use one of these..

 

[theluke19]

Quickest way to air down is to use one of these..

Hah or just forget to tighten your caliper bolts