Tire pressure question

[Silverstreak]

JohnnieB.....you answered someone else's question about tire pressure (and it was a good answer!). But I have a few different questions. I have larger tires on a TXT series lifted cart.
I've noticed that when I put the amount of air in them that it says on the tire sidewall, that the outermost tread is totally off the ground. Is that okay?
99.9% of my driving is done very slowly through woods and fields. Does the combo of whichever tire pressure I choose and the slow driving affect my controller?
I'm pretty ignorant of things, so please excuse my potentially silly question.
Thanks everyone!

[Volt_Ampere]

The psi on the sidewall is not what you want to inflate to. It's the maximum.

[Swan]

mine says 25 psi for bead setting , then i run around 12 psi so the whole tread touches the ground .

[JohnnieB]

We are all here to learn, so there are no silly questions and the only dumb questions are the ones that aren't asked.

Having taller than stock tires is hard on the controller and motor, and driving slow tends to generate more heat in the controller and motor, but the air pressure in the tires probably doesn't make too much difference in the longevity of either, unless carried to an extreme.

Over-inflation to the point where only the central portion of the tread touches, reduces rolling resistance on hard surfaces and increases speed slightly because the tire height actually grows, but that reduces torque, so more amps are needed to turn the tires. I'm guessing, but I suspect the net result as far as wear and tear on the motor and controller is about the same.

Under-inflation will only shrink the tire height until the central portion of the tread ceases to touch ground, which will be about the same height as a properly inflated tire, so the outer edges of the tread determine the tire height and there is no torque gain. Under-inflating until the sidewalls bulge considerably, increases rolling resistance and might be a bit rougher on the motor and controller.

High air pressure give you a hard ride and low pressure is a softer ride.
Smaller diameter tires have a bumpier ride than taller tires.

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The reason I said driving slow tends to generate more heat in motor and controller is because it is human nature to push down further on the pedal when the cart starts slowing down on an incline. Basically, you are telling the controller to allow the motor to draw more amps to produce more torque to keep the cart from slowing down, and that is why they heat up more. If you held your foot steady on the pedal and let the cart slow more, there would be less heat generated.

Another trick is to increase speed slightly before getting to the hill, and let the increase momentum do some of the work.
(Old truck drive trick, as is the chalk line across the tread width.)

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Bottom line is that tire pressure, like most everything else about carts, is a compromise.

Inflating the tires so the chalk line wears off evenly from side to side will give you the best traction and longest tread life, and my guess is that it would also be the least challenging for the motor and controller.

[Silverstreak]

Thanks everyone!
Lots of great info JohnnieB......as usual!
I'll let some of the air out.....but I'll also do the chalk test.
Maybe the fact that I had them hyper-inflated can explain why we would get thrown out of the cart going over little bumps.

[Ray and Lori's g14]

That's what I was trying to get at lol good info