How Low Can You Go? or Where is Your Red Zone?

I am generally a tight aggressive player and I don't have a significant MTT record yet since I only started playing them regularly about a month ago. I have had great success recently, however, finishing with deals at two final tables in low buy in Pokerstars tourneys after having been short stacked on the bubble. I state these results fully realizing that my sample size is very small, but because I'm on a good streak, I don't intend to change my strategy much in the near future. If I'm card dead, my strategy is to generally play tight until I hit 8-10 BBs at which point I go into all-in or fold mode. With an average stack, I rarely make big bluffs (although I have) and tend to wait for a proper starting hand in the "correct" situation. After observing a well-known player bust out of the $200 buy in PS MTT last Sunday on a complete bluff, I have recently begun wondering whether making moves a little earlier, say with about 20 big blinds, might be a good idea rather than folding down into the red zone if I don't pick up any cards. It seems to me that the play is so loose and so aggressive, and more importantly reckless, in the low buy in tourneys that you're better off waiting for better cards (fold equity is too low to bluff the calling stations absent a good read that someone is playing tight) and folding down into the red zone if you don't catch cards. Perhaps you're better off attempting to maintain a somewhat larger chip stack with a few bluffs in the higher buy in tourneys where the players with average stacks are not as likely to call off their whole stack with weak holdings and your fold equity is much better.

Do you generally prefer to wait for a good hand and blind down to the red zone if you're card dead or do you start making moves before you get short stacked and what factors influence your decision? How low is your own personal red zone?

Holdemphile