Parts Bin: Up Down Air On-Board Up 4 Air Compressor Systems

Up Down Air Up 4 Air Systems let your quickly inflate/deflate your tires to a consistent PSI. (Image/Up Down Air)

When heading off-road, common practice is to release some air from each tire to lower your tire pressure.

Known as “airing-down,” this process increases the tire’s contact patch with the ground, providing more traction on rough terrain.

When it’s time to go home, you “air-up” and return your tires to their proper on-road working pressure.

Problem is, this can be a cumbersome and time-consuming process.

Running the correct tire pressure is really, really important. Not only is it a critical safety measure, it can also prevent premature tire wear. That’s a big deal for folks running expensive off-road rubber. 

That’s why Up Down Air‘s on-board Up 4 Air Tire Air Delivery Systems are so slick—they speed up the air-down/air-up process and provide greater air pressure accuracy at the same time.

You simply dial-in what air pressure you want to run, and the Up Down Air system will automatically inflate/deflate your tires to that desired PSI.

Here’s How Up Down Air Systems Work:

You mount the air compressor wherever you’ve got the room (like against a frame rail or under the hood), then you run the kit’s permanent air lines to each wheel well.

Each permanent line ends in a quick-change air chuck socket.

When it’s time to air-down, you simply attach four smaller flexible whips from the permanent lines to each tire’s valve stem.

Then, activate the compressor and the wheels will begin to deflate simultaneously.

When it reaches your pre-set PSI level, the compressor stops deflating the tires. You just unhook each whip, cap your valve stems, and hit the trail.

Once you’re ready to head home, simply re-attach each whip, re-set your desired street PSI, and the system will automatically start inflating your tires to the correct pressure.

Not only does this speed things up, it ensures that each wheel gets to the same pressure.

Here, you can see a better view of the smaller whip (in green) connecting the tire’s valve stem to the permanently-mounted air lines of the Up Down Air system. (Image/Up Down Air)

Up Down Air System Options

Up Down Air’s kits are sold for vehicle-specific applications, like the Jeep Wrangler and Ford Raptor.

The complete kits come with either an ARB or VIAIR compressor, and the control panel “brain” of the system (with regulator and gauges), plus all the lines, whips, brackets, and fittings you’ll need to finish the install.

If you’ve already got an on-board air compressor, you can use it instead—Up Down Air has kits that include everything but the compressor.

Up Down Air also makes a lot of its Up 4 Air system components available separately for custom builds and part replacement.