Islandic punctures

Wesel · Jun 10, 2018

Since 2 weeks on the Icelandic roads, and already 2 punctures.
Every time at the beginning of the weekend and therefore have to wait until Monday to find a repairer (rare and expensive)
A lot of the roads are gravel roads and my tires do not seem to like that.
What is surprising is that I had my 2 leaks in the same tires and in the same area of the tire.
First time a very small hole with slow deflation, second time a large gravel inserted in the tread. View the photo.
My tires are the original Turenza, not very worn and inflated to the recommended pressure of 3 bar (45 psi).
Are these tires unsuitable for gravel roads? Is it just bad luck?

Do those of you who use these roads have an experience to share?

bvddobb · Jun 10, 2018

For one thing, your tyre pressure of 3 bar may be too high. What is your pressure on normal (tarmac) roads? You should go at least 15-20% lower than that when on gravel, lower on mud and lower on sand, still.

That way your drive on rough roads is more smooth, and your tyres are more prone to simply roll over sharp stones, rather than be punctured by them.

Are your tyres real AT tyres? Usually AT tyres are a stronger compound. We had Michelin Latitude Cross AT's in Iceland, we crossed the Highland 3 times completely on a series of F-roads and never had any punctures.

Wesel · Jun 10, 2018

bvddobb said:
For one thing, your tyre pressure of 3 bar may be too high. What is your pressure on normal (tarmac) roads? You should go at least 15-20% lower than that when on gravel, lower on mud and lower on sand, still.

That way your drive on rough roads is more smooth, and your tyres are more prone to simply roll over sharp stones, rather than be punctured by them.

Are your tyres real AT tyres? Usually AT tyres are a stronger compound. We had Michelin Latitude Cross AT's in Iceland, we crossed the Highland 3 times completely on a series of F-roads and never had any punctures.

Thanks for your advices.
My tires are unfortunately not AT. These are the original Bridgestones Turenza. I had thought of installing Michelin Latitude Cross but I did not do it because the F roads are not yet open.
Error: "normal" roads are often also very bad. The main difference is that there are no fords to pass.
I will follow your advice and decrease the pressure of my tires.
How are Latitude Cross for use on highways?