#nailedit

 

tires heat on on pavement... it is a much bigger issue being aired down on pavement than dirt.

If you are driving with low pressure on pavement, and especially at speed, you are taking a risk of tire failure. I would not want a tire to roll off the rim (in a corner), slip on the bead during braking to avoid an accident (lack of stopping power with this scenario wheel stopped tire not or faulty ABS activation), or have the sidewalls fail on me while at speed.

It only takes a couple minutes to air up or air down. Worth the time to be safe to me.

 

It doesn't matter how many people drive aired down with no problems. It still does damage to the sidewalls.
Even wheeling on aired down tires is not good for them.

 

Something else to keep in mind, if you get into an accident with all tires intentionally under inflated you're leaving yourself wide open for a charge of negligence.

 

I think that may be an over-simplication of the relevant factors. First, while air volume and temperature are directly related, it isn't the tire internal air that is suffering damage. It is the sidewall. And the constant flexing of a low pressure tire will heat it up. How fast that heat transfers between the rubber of the tire to the internal air could (**could**) explain why you didn't see much of a pressure increase. Just curious, did you do a back of the envelope calculation of the actual temperature change (ignoring the effects of the presumed volume change)? Ideal gas law, or such, wasn't it? I should ask my daughter (PhD student at Rice in applied physics--she'd LOL me).

Second, there are the mechanical aspects of rolling an underinflated tire. Some damage may be caused by temperature change, and mechanical action will generate heat, but just going by temperature alone (or pressure change as a proxy for temperature change) may not be fully revealing of the mechanical damage that is occurring. How much heat does flexing and breaking a tire cord create? How about separating a tread from the bands?

Bottom line: Won't say I've never done it, but driving on pavement on air-downed tires is poor practice. Limit speed and distance--no more than street speeds, not highway, and a couple miles max. And, yes, response in an emergency will really suck. Be extra careful, giving plenty of room for all the idiots and maniacs out there (hats off to George Carlin for that great line).

 

This!