I may need to deflate my tires a little tomorrow. There is a winter storm forcasted for tonight, and we don't deal well with ice here in Atlanta. Anyway I'm running stock 20's and was wanting some extra grip for a slow commute tomorow morning at six. What is the minimun pressure that I can run without damaging the tires? Thanks!

 

From the looks of your truck I take it it is 2WD?

I wouldn't go lower than 15 PSI. You should probably stay at 20 or above just to be safe. Just make sure you air your tires up afterwards. It's not good to be driving with that low of a tire pressure.

 

Thanks, yes it's 2wd. My last truck was 4wd and I rarely needed it. So I just couldn't justify the extra expense.

If I can make it to work tomorrow, I'll be able to re-inflate with the shop compressor.

 

Running any less than 20% below the required inflation pressure will damage your tire.
Now the only challenge is finding what that recommended COLD inflation pressure is. This site has links to a few manufacturers except Goodrich. But maybe you could find a similar tire in Goodyear’s table. By the way, this is lower than what Dodge stamps on their door jamb, but you have to know the weight of your truck to look up the pressure.

By the way, why would you lower your tire pressure for snow? At the recommended pressure you’re guaranteed that the maximum amount of rubber is contacting the road. If you under inflate you’ll actually bow the tread upwards in the center and only the edges will have weight on the road.

 

The idea behind partial deflation for added traction is that the rubber blocks in the tread will undergo additional flex causing somewhat stronger gripping action by the treadblock edges. (And in Off-Road situations, better ride as sidewall flexure conforms to sharp rock edges - but not much on the 20"-ers thin skinny sidewalls.)
Now for the original stock GY's there isn't all that great a block structure to the tread to produce added traction, but airing-down might gain you what benefit there is to get.
From my experiences driving mine through fresh and packed and iced roads in Northern AZ and the mountains of Colorado, you'll have to be extra careful about Braking. The grip under breaking is even somewhat less than acceleration, and the ABS rather aggressive about interrupting the brake pedal when any slippage is detected. I've had the damn ABS nullify my brake pedal efforts such that I couldn't stop from under 10MPH in less than 100ft when at an iced-up intersection.

 

I thought lowering tire pressure is for off roading on mud and dirt. For snow and ice, thin tires with normal inflation is the way to go. Also weight over the rear axle helps in snow.

 

Thanks for all of the helpful info. The city is just about closed down. I ended up staying at home so I haven't messed with the tires yet. The forecast isn't looking good either and I maybe stuck here a few days! Thank the maker for Netflix, Video Games, good ol' television, and internet! Now I wish I had some beer. Looks like a tequila sunrise in my forecast, minus the oj and vodka. Any of you 4wd 4th gens make beer runs for us 2wd schmucks? I should call my step-bro. He and his dad have been Ford guys for their whole lives. That was until he drove my pick-up. Next time I saw him he had an all Black 250 SkyJacked Big Horn!

 

Watching the weather tonight I was thinking I should come down there just to use my sleds. We haven't gotten anything usable up here in NH. Good luck down there and just stay home sounds like you guys could use 4 wheel drive and plows now days.

 

X2 - I air down when driving on sand but not for snow.

 

WOW...come to PA (Pittsburgh or a little north), you'll get alot of practice.