| Author |
Message |
    
Fletch (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 205.188.116.13
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Wednesday, April 27, 2005 - 10:22 pm: | 
|
I just bought a new argo avenger. I need a little help understanding the difference that tire pressure will have. Will a lower psi be softer on the terrain? (won't tear up the grass) In what situation is it better to have a higher psi? In what situation is it better to have a lower psi? Thanks for any info.
This machine I just got Is the freaking coolest thing in the world!! |
Rogersmith
Member
Username: Rogersmith
Post Number: 29
Registered: 01-2005
Posted From: 4.244.171.109
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 07:39 pm: |
|
Higher pressure= easier steering, tire bead stays on rim, rough ride, less tire(s) contact the ground for traction.
Lower pressure= better ride(sidewall flex is only suspension), better traction as more tires on the ground due to flex. Depending on the particular tire and wheel, the tire bead may dismount, esp on the fronts of argo's.
The harder you ride the stiffer the sidewall needs to stay to not bend the rim on impacts. If you watch where you put the tires and wheels, and they will stay on the rims, low pressure is a wonderful ride. I like to run more in the front and less as you move back, on the argo 8's. 2 1/2 psi in front tapering down to 1 1/2 in the back when empty is what I like. That probably won't work for the Avenger, you'd probably lose a bead. The Avenger owners will tell you how low they get away with. |
Fred Sowerwine, Montana's Max dealer
Intermediate Member
Username: Fred4dot
Post Number: 55
Registered: 01-2005
Posted From: 216.166.168.53
Rating: 
Votes: 3 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 11:08 am: |
|
Fletch, If you want to be easy on the ground, you bought the wrong machine. With the off set wheels, on regular surfaces, you are basically carrying all the machine's weight (1300+ pounds up to 2600 pounds, maybe more) on four tires. The Goodyear IIIs have a deep tread and when you turn, the tread is going to tear things up to the depth of your tread. You can lessen this by decreasing the air in the middle tires and increasing it in the outer tires, but by doing that you will defeat the purpose of the offset which is to make it easier to turn. You also will have the tread of eight tires churning instead of just four. If you want to be easy on the ground, you will need to run the rubber track or put on wide tires with little or no tread.
Now, PSI in the tires will affect ride as the tires are the suspension and it will marginally affect traction (without tracks). Lesser air means more contact area, but tread (and weight) has more to do with traction than PSI does. PSI in the tire will affect track tension with more PSI making the track tighter.
Temperature and elevation affect tire PSI. As the temperature rises, so does PSI in the tire and as elevation increases so does PSI in the tire. My guesstimate is each 20 degrees of temperature change affects PSI by 1 PSI and each 800 foot change in elevation affects PSI by 1 PSI. With our low pressure tires, it can make a dramatic difference.
This is all different from PSI on the ground which is determined by the machine's total weight and the amount of tire (or track) contact area. Lesser weight and more contact area = lower PSI on the ground. Lower PSI on the ground allows a machine to stay on top of soft stuff (flotation).
I'm sure you will enjoy your new machine. Keep us posted on your experiences. If you aren't going to have a Max, having an Argo Avenger is almost as good. |
Fletch (Unregistered Guest)
Unregistered guest
Posted From: 205.188.116.13
Rating: N/A
Votes: 0 (Vote!) | | Posted on Thursday, April 28, 2005 - 10:29 pm: |
|
Thanks for the great info. I have been able to make wide turns with out any tearing of my lawn. One thing the really suprised me is when I was coming out of a pond there was no tread marks where I exited. The ground was pretty soft from recent rains. When I walked over to check it out I left foot prints.
I was really suprised how stable these things are in the water. I know you have to be very careful about weight distribution. I had a fair amount of weight with me and an outboard. I thought It might make me a little nervous but I was quite confortable. I cant' wait for the fall to get into some back water sloughs hunting ducks. |
|
Shop Talk: Tech Tips and Q&A section