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Tire wear

R

RGaines

Well Known Member
I remember a thread about tire wear but can't find it. Doing a condition inspection and tires are worn on the outside. Is this normal or is the tire tracking wrong?
 
Tire (and brake) wear...

At 112 hours my main tires are showing considerable wear on the outside and I think this is normal from what others have posted. At the next annual in May, I plan to reverse the tires.
Also showing considerable wear are the brake pads which are getting close to the limit of the wear notch. I ordered the Matco "Swiftline Kit" which is new pads installed on new shoes. I don't have a riveting tool for those kind of rivets. After you install the new brakes, you can then send your old shoes to Matco and they will reline them for no installation charge and with a discount on new pads. So you only pay the pad riveting charge one time. Seems like a lot better idea than trying to rivet the pads on yourself, especially if you don't have the tools or know-how. I know, I know, you guys out in Iowa probably do this on tractors and stuff all the time ;).

Tony
 
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This is normal for spring-type gear like the RV-12.

What's happening is that the unloaded tire contacts the ground on landing closer to the outside of the tread. Then as the landing gear picks up load, it deflects and the middle of the tread, or more inboard, tends to have contact.

Dave
...who's about to go rotate the tires on my Cessna 180.
 
Tire replacement?

Hey John,
Have you decided on a replacement brand/model of tires? I see Desser has an LSA tire, 6 ply, at a good price. I wonder if the 6 ply has a serious downside compared to the 4 ply we have now - perhaps just weight and maybe feel?

I'm at 100 hours and my tires are fine still.
 
Iowa

I know, you guys out in Iowa probably do this on tractors all the time.

I love it! And when they're not on the tractor, they're cleaning out the little pig houses...lol
 
Tires - -

Looking into some now. Since we don't have a history on this model, don't know if the re-treads will be 'some' better, or much better on this plane. Still looking and asking questions. Of the 352 hours on my meter, I'd guess less than 10 hours are on the ground turning, so that makes these tires life VERY short. My new/rough concrete is an issue I'm sure. I am going to re-check the toe-in when I am changing the tires. May order a shim kit just to have to try.

John Bender
 
How long should they really last.

Lets hear from some other RVers, doesnt matter what type on how long their tires have lasted. I think 352 hours on a set of tires is great. ;)
 
Mel beat me to it! It is all about "cycles," not hours, when it comes to things like tires and brakes.

John Clark ATP, CFI
FAAST Team Representative
EAA Flight Advisor
RV8 N18U "Sunshine"
KSBA
 
We've got 220 hours on the RV-8 now with more landings than I can count. Both main tires still have plenty of tread left, but curiously the most visible wear is on the inside of the left main. The right main is wearing evenly.
 
More comments - -

I do not do many T & G's. In my case, I'd guess the new concrete has lots to do with my tire life. Had to replace the brakes a while back also, and I do not have to brake to stop on my runway until turn off, so they do not last too long either. Just the way it is I guess. Having to steer with the brakes likely uses the brakes up as much as anything. Are the re-treads as good as anything for long life ? ?

John Bender
 
Monster Re-Treads From Desser

John,

I used Monster retreads from Desser on my C-150. They lasted 8 years and about 700 landings. They would have gone a couple more years, but since I was selling the airplane I thought new tires would be a good idea. Left the same nose tire on though, it still looked new.

I just bought another set to put on our Glastar. I expect to get at least 5 years out of those.
 
ArlingtonRV said:
John,

I used Monster retreads from Desser on my C-150. They lasted 8 years and about 700 landings. They would have gone a couple more years, but since I was selling the airplane I thought new tires would be a good idea. Left the same nose tire on though, it still looked new.

I just bought another set to put on our Glastar. I expect to get at least 5 years out of those.
Click to expand...

Aviation Consumer did a test a few years back and concluded that retreads offer considerably longer life with no apparent downside. We've used them on our Cherokee for a while.

Jerre
 
My (former) RV6A required reversing mains every 100 hrs. I reversed the RV12 tires at 85 hrs, but admittedly I did the work a tad early as I was in the condition inspection so thought I would go ahead and do it. I suspect the 100 hrs will apply to the 12 as well. Clearly the hrs vary from pilot to pilot as the wear is largely a function of the type of flying we do. ie; number of landings, and runway types.
Dick Seiders
 
Thanks to all who responded to my comments - -

I have seen good things written about the re-treads. This plane is light, and doesn't stress the overall tire too much I'm sure, but my near new concrete is like tearing them up more than others might experience. Thanks again,

John Bender
354.4 hours today
 
AeroDog said:
Aviation Consumer did a test a few years back and concluded that retreads offer considerably longer life with no apparent downside.
Jerre
Click to expand...
There is a down side. The tires are bigger and not always consistent in size. Some people have to modify their wheel pants. And some people like me end up with a hole on their wheel pant because the reduced clearance between the tire and the top of the wheel pant. The previous set of tires was purchased from the same place, it was the same tire and I had no issues. The current set did not work out so well.
 
Neal@F14 said:
We've got 220 hours on the RV-8 now with more landings than I can count. Both main tires still have plenty of tread left, but curiously the most visible wear is on the inside of the left main. The right main is wearing evenly.
Click to expand...

Does the wheel camber look correct? Normally the tires will wear on the outside a bit more than the inside. The reason I ask is that during a recent condition inspection on an 8A I noticed the tires were cambered in like the aircraft had a hard landing. Turns out the gear was from a 9A that was installed on an 8A due to a shipping error from vans (about 10 years ago). Van's advised everyone involved but apparently this builder never got the note!
 
Reply to Axel - post #19 above - -

I spoke to Desser about size. They told me, to keep the same basic size, order the "standard" size, not Monster etc. I did, and the size is very closely the same. Did not have to change the wheel pants any. The width was within I'd say 1/16". Will see how they wear. I'd say ask about size if that is an issue for you.

John Bender
362.3 hours.
 
Thanks for the information, will try that next time. However, the hole on my wheel pant should have not occurred if I ordered the same part number, from the same manufacture and the first set of tires had no issues. I was talking to my A&P about this and he told me that aircraft with retractable gear have to be careful with retreads because the reduce clearance. Sometimes the wheels come up and not down.
 
Retread tire size

I'm in the process of replacing my OEM tires from Vans. They were Aero
Classics. With about 280 hours since new (250 - 300 landings, never added them up),
I bought Desser Elite retreads. They are 3/4" larger in circumference
than the wore out Classics. Unlike Axel's -4 ;), I had 1"+ clearance between
the top of the tire and the wheelpant when installing the pants during the build.
I did however have to increase the front and rear opennings on the pants to handle the
increased size of the Desser retreads. YMMV

r0ozld.jpg
 
400 hours more then 600 landings

That's how my tires look. Phase one and some aggressive environments included. Recently I flipped them on the rims and thinking of putting couple hundred landings more before changing.


DSC_0005.jpg




DSC_0004-1.jpg
 
Did you grease the bearings while you had the wheels off? Run into any issues while taking the wheels off? BUYER!!
 
tkatc said:
Did you grease the bearings while you had the wheels off? Run into any issues while taking the wheels off? BUYER!!
Click to expand...

Thanks for cotter pins and grease. I did the heavy lifting. What issues? You mean I forgot to unscrew brake pads and asked you to pull harder? :D I was testing your sharpness after "condition inspection".
 
Hey Chino - -

I asked Desser about size, and they told me what I needed. They were the same size as the originals. You do need to mention that.

John Bender
 
As Mel said,

Count landings not hours. I used Aero Classics for years on two of my RV6's and really liked them. I changed to Michelins one time and they worked well except for the price. My present set is Monster retreads from Desser and so far, so good. Outside wear is perfectly normal on RV's. I found one tip that helps keep more of the wear to the center of the tire. That is to run with max tire pressures. (40-45 lbs). On some planes this will cause gear leg ocsilliation, which will seem like a vibration, at some taxi speeds. Then it will be time to order some gearleg stiffeners.
 
Worn tires

We got about 40 hours on our first set. The issue was not the tires and both myself and plane partner are experienced CFIs so we do not land fast or land with side loads, or ride brakes. The problem was excessive toe-in. On the nose staggers you have no adjustment for the axle except the hole in the weldment and gear strut. These are both predrilled and the builder only reams them to the final diameter. We did extensive tests to measure our toe-in and it was 3.5 degrees. The correct range is 0 to 0.5. Did not want to take the weldments out as this would be HUGE. Contacted Van's and they arranged to have the gear leg plugged and re-drilled The problem was an issue with the weldment. About five years or so ago some weldments may have been misdrilled and since they are not serialized there was no way to tell. Have about 20 landings on the new set and they look brand new.

Look at your toe-in, I can help with how to make accurate measurements.

Phelps
 
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