Tire pressure death valley washboard roads

I have a '13 2 door wrangler sport with 33'' tires I run at 35 psi on the highway, 20-25psi off roading. Last year off roading on washboards in DV (Death Valley) with the sway bars disconnected was a nightmare.

Looking for suggests on how to make the ride smoother this year - recommended tire pressure (must take into account sharp rocks in DV known for trashing side walls, speed, disconnect sway bars or not, etc....

Getting below 20 will help. No need to disconnect the front, you only need that for added articulation on rocks or ridges.

What will make a big difference is a set of adjustable shocks that you can tune down on the washboard or trail and back up on the street. Rancho 9000 series or king 2.5s are great choices.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

Air down to 15psi and go faster.

--
Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407

wjtstudios said:

No need to disconnect the front, you only need that for added articulation on rocks or ridges.

Click to expand...

Disconnecting actually drastically improves the ride on washboard roads.
If you don't, the suspension isn't able to freely move and instead of articulating over the bumps, it slams over them.

The best solution for washboards, as James stated, is to go faster. I would not disconnect the sway bay. You don’t need articulation. Having the stability of a connected sway bar will help at the higher speeds you’ll need to go to smooth the ride.

You can’t have both sway bars and speed unless you have an aftermarket disco. I completely agree on the speed. I run dirt roads almost everyday. Once you get above 40, things smooth out.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

I installed the JKS flex links because I’d read reviews how they helped with the effects of washboard and I couldn’t stand the skipping feeling I’d get at highway speeds thanks to the great roads in NJ. I can’t say they’re entirely responsible for eliminating it because I put them on when I did my coilovers but the difference is absolutely night and day.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

What roads? Some of the graded roads suck no matter what.


Sent from my iPhone using WAYALIFE mobile app

Thanks guys for the input. Forget to mention my tires are E Load, if that makes much of a difference.

justin mazzon said:

Thanks guys for the input. Forget to mention my tires are E Load, if that makes much of a difference.

Click to expand...

Yeah. More reason to air down and go fast.

E load is super stiff so that would contribute to the shitty ride on the washboards.

--
Build Thread - Adventures of Fiona - https://wayalife.com/showthread.php?t=47407

My Coopers are E as well - it'll still smooth out.
It's really funny how drastic the difference is once you once you reach that speed threshold when it all smooths out.

Not being familiar with the roads in DV I'm not sure what you are up against. However I'm very familiar with rough dirt roads. As previously mentioned lower air pressure (I usually run 18 for rough roads, lower if I forget to pull my tire deflator in time..haha) and speed. Honestly I find if road conditions allow 45-55 really smooths things out and is more fun too. However you need to be mindful of recent rains as fresh washouts and ruts could really leave a mark on your rig at that speed. Also objects will come up on you a lot faster so like driving try to look out as far ahead as possible. I always try to be courteous and mindful of other vehicles too. I'd hate to damage someones vehicle or hurt someone with a flying rock. Also I hate getting dusted out so I try not to do it to others. I just had this discussion with my brother in law on our way out to go shooting in his 2018 JK Sport. We went out on a road with heavy washboard he kept slowing way down and hitting the breaks. I told him to get up to about 25-30 as long as he was comfortable. He did and it made the ride much more pleasant. He was really surprised as he thought it was going to break something if he went faster. My dad explained to me a long time ago on the El Mirage access rd before it was paved that its about finding a speed which will disrupt the harmonic vibration. That's what causes wash board, breaking bumps, and whoops on heavily traveled dirt roads. Sorry for the long explanation..haha

Traveling on some horrid washboards in Wyoming, I found the best solution was the simplest one....go faster. At speed the tires dont have time to "fall into" the corrugations and you skim on their peaks, resulting in a butter smooth ride. Like an idiot, on the way in I was going slow and felt every single one, thought my teeth would fall out. On the way back I was doing 30-50mph and it was like driving on silk.