[sideways]

We had a thread like this ages ago but it's been a while so I'l fire up a new one.

So what do you use to let down your tyres and why?

Here's what I use. On the left a set of valve caps with the core remover on them. I don't often use these to let the tyres down because they're a bit fat and fiddly. In the middle I have a knurled brass stick with a valve removal tool on one end and a little nub on the other, if you pull a valve out and count slowly you can get the pressures pretty close at around 1 psi a second. This came in the glovebox of the LJ81 so I'm kinda attached to it, it's what I normally use. On the right I have a set of "bog buster" deflators, I don't use these any more as they take a fair bit of time at low pressures and they can be a bit inaccurate. very easy to accidentally stuff up the settings too. The ones with a white spot are set to a different pressure.



I've got a digital gauge (IIRC, also from bog buster) that I use too.

What do you have?

[atari4x4]

ARB ezy deflator.

have used a valve tool before & have seen a mate loose a valve core using it, many lol's were had when he was stressing about not being able to pump up his tyre at all, then i suggested stealing the core out of the spare.

also have used keys & sticks, about 2 mins with the valve fully depressed would get a 31" down to around 13 psi from around 30psi from memory.

[JrZook]

atari4x4 wrote:

also have used keys & sticks

Cause I'm still a pov uni student, these are my weapons of choice

[christover1]

recently got ebay staun copys,
but always used a stick for last 30 years

[SierraDan]

Valve remover valve caps

[andrew96]

Usually a stick.. Haha

[Matthew]

Arb ezy deflator for the time being.

Once (if) I step up to large bore valves I'll make/modify something.

[bakerboy]

This
http://www.ebay.com.au/itm/X-Boost-Rapi ... 09e&_uhb=1

Had stauns, were okay if you only wanted 1 pressure and wanted to calibrate them all the time

[alien]

i use the Currie EZ Deflator (same as ARB, just cheaper)

[tassie jeeper]

i use ARB-EZ iv had stauns and they work and its great that u can deflate all 4 tyres at once however i found them inaccurate found they needed constant adjustments and also found with my "EZ" i could deflate all 4 tyres 1 at a time quicker than my father could do with my old stauns

[MacDaddy]

I use one of these -

I got mine cheap at our local 4WD Show... they are quick and easy...

They come in many different brands on ebay -
http://www.ebay.com.au/sch/i.html?_sop= ... ator&rt=nc

[want33s]

I have a set of Staun deflators and was never happy with them till I disassembled them and cleaned them up with 1000 W&D paper then reassembled with graphite powder. Haven't needed resetting since.

[christover1]

I set my staun copies higher than needed,(around 15psi) and manually adjust to desired pressures.
Allows for the inaccuracy and for different terrains.
Were only $15 so I can live with the inconveniences

[greenzook89]

I use the tyre inflation gun that came with my supercheap compressor, my mate has stauns and Im always aired down first.

[SuziBlu]

Straun Deflators, or stick/key.

[gregc]

I use some Pirtek fluid transfer valves for airing up and down.

Here is a thread about them from a little while back

viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35084

I am yet to see anything faster for either inflate or deflate. They are quite literally as fast as your standard nitto high coupla valves.

[droverdave]

my 5$ tyre pressure gauge has a little extra bit of metal on the top, fits nicely in the valve.

[Jones]

Theres a nutter going around Bundaberg at the moment, airing down 4x4's tyres....thing is he's using a fecking carving knife!

One local tyre place alone has had 40 slashed ones come in over the last week

http://www.news-mail.com.au/news/tyre-s ... g/1926024/

Father-in-Law has just bought a set of Stauns, i'll have a play with them on our jaunt to Fraser in Oct, then decide what i'm going to buy myself

[shep]

I use a stick.

[zukenutter]

^^ I like that

I got a set of Stauns with a mag subscription years ago, once I set them properly they've been great, always accurate. I used to have them set to 15psi I then go down manually from there but ended up buying an ebay copy.
I now have the Stauns set to 10psi and the ebay copies to 15psi. Lately the ebay ones have been a bit hit and miss.

[Gwagensteve]

Before I was rocking high flow couplings on my rims* I used an ARB deflator. No complaints- fast and effective. I have two sets of Stauns, a "regular" set and a low pressure set. Such a fiddly, unreliable PITA. They've never been used since I started using the ARB deflator.

I ended up with the normal set at "minimum" (about 15psi) and the low pressure set I had two at about 8 psi and two at about 5 psi. I say "about" because I was never confident that they would be anywhere near that.

Bugger fitting stauns and then manually deflating from there - might as well use a deflator and get it right the first time, in about a quarter of the time.

*I'm going to pop this in here. It's been posted somewhere before (maybe my build thread?) but it seems relevant for this thread.

If you REALLY want to let you tyres down (or pump them up, assuming you have enough air) you need these:



These are Nitto Kohki SP Cupla type A fittings.

http://www.nitto-australia.com.au/produ ... c=products

This is the inflator/deflator I made out of a 30psi gauge, a tee and a ball valve



I can deflate four 35 13.5 Krawlers from 20 psi to 5 psi in 90 seconds. That's all inclusive for the whole process driver's seat to driver's seat - not just time spent with the valve open. With my ARB twin piston compressor and a 20L tank, airing pack up takes the same time - 90 seconds from 5 psi to 20 psi.

No, it's not legal to have these couplings on your rims. last time I checked, 8" beadlock rims weren't legal on a sierra anyway, neither are Krawlers, so it's a moot point.

I carry some flush plugs with me so I could replace a coupling if I broke one on a rock etc. The stock valvestem is still on the rim, so I have redundancy. Cost for the fittings was about $140 - cheaper then the commercially available high flow valve stems.

Steve.

[MacDaddy]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Before I was rocking high flow couplings on my rims* I used an ARB deflator. No complaints- fast and effective. I have two sets of Stauns, a "regular" set and a low pressure set. Such a fiddly, unreliable PITA. They've never been used since I started using the ARB deflator.

I ended up with the normal set at "minimum" (about 15psi) and the low pressure set I had two at about 8 psi and two at about 5 psi. I say "about" because I was never confident that they would be anywhere near that.

Bugger fitting stauns and then manually deflating from there - might as well use a deflator and get it right the first time, in about a quarter of the time.

*I'm going to pop this in here. It's been posted somewhere before (maybe my build thread?) but it seems relevant for this thread.

If you REALLY want to let you tyres down (or pump them up, assuming you have enough air) you need these:


These are Nitto Kohki SP Cupla type A fittings.

http://www.nitto-australia.com.au/produ ... c=products

This is the inflator/deflator I made out of a 30psi gauge, a tee and a ball valve


I can deflate four 35 13.5 Krawlers from 20 psi to 5 psi in 90 seconds. That's all inclusive for the whole process driver's seat to driver's seat - not just time spent with the valve open. With my ARB twin piston compressor and a 20L tank, airing pack up takes the same time - 90 seconds from 5 psi to 20 psi.

No, it's not legal to have these couplings on your rims. last time I checked, 8" beadlock rims weren't legal on a sierra anyway, neither are Krawlers, so it's a moot point.

I carry some flush plugs with me so I could replace a coupling if I broke one on a rock etc. The stock valvestem is still on the rim, so I have redundancy. Cost for the fittings was about $140 - cheaper then the commercially available high flow valve stems.

Steve.

Those fittings are interesting... couple of questions, did you have to make the valve hole bigger, and how did you get an airtight seal around the fitting ?

[atari4x4]

there is a bit more tech in this thread macdaddy viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35084&hilit=nitto

just had a quick skim read & i don't think it mentions anything about having to bore out the valve hole

[Gwagensteve]

It's a totally new hole Mac. The stock valve is still on the rim - 180˚ away.

The new hole is needs to be drilled to suit a 1/4 BSP thread - 10.8mm is the tapping drill size. It's a tapered BSP male/male fitting that's screwed into the rim. The Nitto male fittings only come as a female.

I used a little bit of thread tape. They don't leak.

Gregc runs them in steel rims, and they don't leak either, even though the steel rim is much thinner than my alloys.

[Gwagensteve]

Well dug Atari.

Steve.

[SierraDan]

Its a new hole. That was drilled and tapped.

Too slow.

[reeceh]

I use a cheaply deflator that was $30 from super cheap auto. It's similar to the ezi deflator except without valve removal. It's not quick but works. I too have the stauns. Used them once and they have states in the glovebox ever since.

[atari4x4]

Gwagensteve wrote:

Well dug Atari.

Steve.

cheers, the search works well here however i'm trying to find info on that green tubro vitara ute on outers & it's crap.

[tassie jeeper]

atari4x4 wrote:

there is a bit more tech in this thread macdaddy viewtopic.php?f=5&t=35084&hilit=nitto

just had a quick skim read & i don't think it mentions anything about having to bore out the valve hole

he drilled and tapped a secondary hole and used that so he still has his original valve stem also

[Gwagensteve]

Apparently I drilled an extra hole.

Steve