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Would you replace this nosewheel tire?

Paul Eastham

Well Known Member
Not sure how it happened, but I found this cut on my 9A nosewheel. It don't think it goes past the tread (i.e. if the tire were bald I think this cut would be worn away.)

What do you guys think? I guess I am leaning toward replacement, especially since I am going to be flying to some remote spots soon where repair will be difficult. Hard to be sure how deep the cut goes.

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Yep, I would replace it. The last thing you want is the tread delaminating during takeoff and ruining your wheelpant.
 
Being a cheapskate of the first order, before I bought a new tire, I would attempt to find out how deep the cut is. If it isn't as deep as the normal wear limits, I would fly it.

I might end up taking it to a local tire shop if necessary to see how deep the cut is.

If the cut is only in the "wearable" rubber, I don't see a problem.

Somebody's got to be the contrarian..............:rolleyes:
 
It's a good tire. I would put couple hundred landings more on it and recheck. It's cheapskate-to-cheapskate talk :)
 
Replace!

If you have never sat on a lonely hot runway with a blown tire with no support available, you will not enjoy the experience! Change it and buy the best tube available!
 
Do not risk it. At a minimum you can get stuck someplace, or tear up a wheel pant or something worse. I would not think of flying this aircraft again without a new tire and tube.

My 2 cents.
 
I know on most jet aircraft the rule is normally if the cut is not into cord then the tire is good. The fact however that the cut is all the way across that rib and the flying you plan to do would lead me to replace it.

George
 
Erring on the side of caution, as recommended by most posters, is prudent.
Here is the quote about cuts from the link:

Tread Cuts
Inspect tread for cuts and other foreign object damage and mark with crayon or chalk. Follow the removal criteria below:
1. Follow specific cut removal criteria from the aircraft manual, or tire cut limits on the tire sidewall when available.
2. When specific cut removal criteria are not available use the following Goodyear removal criteria: any cut into the casing plies on bias tires, any cut into the belt package on radial tires, any cut which extends across one or more rubber tread ribs to the fabric, rib undercutting at the base of any cut.
WARNING
DO NOT PROBE CRACKS, CUTS, OR EMBEDDED FOREIGN OBJECTS WHILE TIRE IS INFLATED. THIS COULD CAUSE THE OBJECT TO BECOME A PROJECTILE OR THE TIRE TO EXPLODE, WHICH CAN RESULT IN SERIOUS OR FATAL INJURY.

Here is a link to a Goodyear tire manual. I realize that our nose tires are not Goodyear, but there is a lot of info about tire maintenance in the book.

http://www.goodyearaviation.com/resources/tirecare.html
 
Acceptable data

I will regularly post replies that reference FARs, A/Cs, vendor manuals, etc to give the one who posted the original question the information to make their own educated decision. My post is not to either accept or reject, but to provided the proper material to make a sound judgement based on accepted data they can have a peace of mind on whatever decision they choose. With that said, experience from forum should also be weighed when making a decision whenever there is a question raised.

Just my 0.02
 
Thanks everyone for the replies. I am going to replace it even though it sounds like the Goodyear manual says it might be ok -- I just noticed that the replacement tire is only $31 from Van's, and I already have several tubes. For some reason I was remembering the cost was much more. (ACS is about double the price)
 
I almost always replace first, ask questions later. I would have a new one ordered before returning home from the discovery.
 
If in doubt

There is no doubt,... change it or fix it, my personal aircraft maintence philosiphy. Russ:)
 
cut tire

Paul,

This appears to be a lap joint failure of the tread. The uncured tread rubber is applied to the tire before vulcanization as a strip of rubber, not a belt. As it is wrapped around the tire, a lap joint is created when the two ends meet. In theory, the lap joint should fuse during vulcanization, but sometimes it does not completely cure, resulting in the appearance of a cut. Looking at the appearance of your "cut" it appears the lap joint is peeling back. The problem might go away if you simply reversed the rotation of the tire so the scuff on landing tends to go with the lap joint. . It is quite unlikely that the tread would separate if you reversed the rotation of the tire. However, I would save that tire for use around home plate, and go with a new one for remote flying
 
...the replacement tire is only $31 from Van's, and I already have several tubes.

That pretty much makes the decision a no-brainer. The time you'll spend changing it out is worth more than $31 but the peace of mind you'll have with a new tire will be worth much, much more. Considering that it's a made-in-China $31 Lamb go-cart tire, means that if it's damaged, it really belongs in the recyling bin.
 
Preventative maintenance.

If you have never sat on a lonely hot runway with a blown tire with no support available, you will not enjoy the experience! Change it and buy the best tube available!

I agree with Vern. Recently, an arriving Cherokee at our airport blew a main tire and sat for a while on the runway before FBO and fire department could assist in movement. Not a fun time. Could have been a bigger hassle at a rural unstaffed airport.

While on a cross-country trip, I got a flat nosewheel on landing, apparently due to a fold in the tube that had been there from the first tire installation. (I think I had about 150 hours, and unknown number of landings, at the time.) The good folks (FBO manager and a pilot friend of his) at KUBX, the Cuba, Missouri airport worked rapidly to help me dismount the tire, get to a tire shop for a tube repair, and back underway in about 3.5 hours. But, it could have been a show stopper had the nose tire not been reusable. The RV-sized nosewheel tire, particularly, is not a common FBO item.

I think of tires as a vulnerable single-point-of-failure, and I dont hesitate to repair one that looks like trouble. Unless you fly only locally, always carry a nose and main tire and tube, or can count on finding another RV owner during your travels, I recommend erring on the side of preventative replacement. Even with small odds of a blowout, the cost of an overnight stay, overnight shipping of a tire and/or tire, and losing time on an overnight trip, (not to mention possible wheelpant damage or worse), makes replacement the economically sound choice.
 
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