Do I need a tire change?

[Ed Cesnalis]

 

Looks unsafe to me

[FlyingMonkey]

Thanks CT. A friend of mine flies until he sees cords showing, that seems way too worn. I'm just trying to get a feel for what is "worn" vs "unsafe".

[Roger Lee]

Your tire is gone. Technically it would not pass an annual. Cords showing is way too long. That's just poor maint.

[sandpiper]

If that is the original tire, and I suspect it is, it had no substance even when it was new. No it's disaster. You'll see what I mean when you get it off.. How long until your new ones arrive? Can you expedite?

[FlyingMonkey]

I'm hoping to have them by the weekend. The one on the other side looks fine, plenty of tread and none of the obvious side wear the left one has. My plan is to change them both and keep the right one as an emergency spare.

[Doug G.]

I saw no indication of balancing on my CTLS?? A CFR note says something about aligning marks on the tube and tire, but I found no such marks on the new tires and tubes. Is balancing something commonly done? P.S. the MATCO bearings don't allow the free rotation the FD manual specifies because if the beating seals. I was used to tighten then back off a notch on the cotter pin. with MATCO it is tighten and advance a notch.

[FlyingMonkey]

So that I'm ready to go when the tires get here, what other parts might I need to have on hand? New cotter pins for wheel nuts? Anything else? I have grease if I need to re-pack bearings.

[sandpiper]

So that I'm ready to go when the tires get here, what other parts might I need to have on hand? New cotter pins for wheel nuts? Anything else? I have grease if I need to re-pack bearings.

 

Just a new set of Matco's

[FlyingMonkey]

Just a new set of Matco's

 

Gah, I wish. Between new tires, all the cleaning and maintenance products, a new travel cover, etc my airplane spending has been pretty high. Hoping once I get all the essentials put together I can start thinking about upgrades and updates.

[Jim Meade]

The bolts work fine and one does not pinch the tube and one can manipulate the tube if necessary.

[FlyingMonkey]

Which size cotter pins will I need?

[FastEddieB]

You need to buy a selection of cotter pins and then match up the size. Not very expensive from Wag Aero or the like and you're sure to be getting "aircraft quality", if that means anything for a cotter pin. Reusing one is not the end of the world, but a poor practice in general.

 

If you can wait to next week, and weather permitting, I'd be happy to fly down and help - and could bring my balancer and cotter pins and whatever else you might need. Or you could fly up.

 

I might fly on that tire in a pinch, but the "most conservative action" would be not to. Unexpectedly wet runway and hydro planing could be one scary moment away. To fly to the cord is insanely false economy, risking a flat or worse to eke out a few more hours from a tire that's already given good service. Does not make sense.

[Tip]

If one side is OK and the other side is shot, I would bet that the bad side is out of alignment. A friend's SW would get 50 hours out of a set of tires until he had FDUSA square it up.

[Roger Lee]

Some tires have red dots on them and I had always heard to line those up with the tube stem. I questioned Desser on that because some of their tires have them and some don't. They said it was only a factory mark and that it didn't matter where the stem was located. All tires will be out of balance and yes it makes a difference to balance them. the normal weight I have used on all tires large or small over the last 6 years has been as little as 1 oz. - 2 oz for most. I have seen a few go up to 3 oz. If I get one that is way out I try and rotate the tire 90 -180 degrees. If a tire is balanced a lot of times you can feel the difference. at lift off. You can not balance a tapered roller bearing on the axle. There is too much friction.

 

Andy,

 

I would highly recommend you review all post in the maint. pictures and videos. there are many how to videos and many pictures and comments that will answer many question.

[sandpiper]

Balancing made a huge difference with my nose wheel.

[FlyingMonkey]

So for balancing, do I need to pull them off and take them to a tire shop to have it done right? Is swapping these out going to be more than an afternoon project?

 

Thanks Roger, I will look for other threads on this topic.

[sandpiper]

Buy, or borrow, a motor cycle wheel balancer. About $100. Works for the prop, too.

[FastEddieB]

Did you see my photo?

 

Here's a video:

 

 

Doubt that an auto tire shop could even get a wheel that small on their balancer.

[Runtoeat]

Andy, the one advantage the Marc wheels have over the Matco is the Marc has a "V" cross section with generous radius' at the bottom where the rims come together and the Matco is a flat section with sharp edges at the split for the halves. The "V" section gives the tube a place to go before it gets pinched by the two halves of the rim. I still have the Marc front rim but changed over to Matco system for my mains. All three rims are 6" - I have Tundra option. Changing the tire/tube on the front Marc is a piece of cake. Changing the tire/tube on the Matco mains requires three hands, 3 or four clamps and a mouthguard to prevent one from biting their tongue while wrestling the assembly back together without pinching the tube. I have not tried Jim's suggestion to use longer temporary bolts but this may be a big help on the Matco's.

 

The suggestion to balance the wheel/tire assemblies is correct, they do need this. Personally, I bought a motorcycle wheel balancer from Harbor Freight and it works well. As you can see, others have come up with other good methods.

 

Eddie, I have never seen a balancer that plays Fender guitar licks like yours!! How'd you do that??!!

[FlyingMonkey]

I like the motorcycle wheel balancer. Where does one get tire weights, just at a tire or automotive store? For the small weight involved, can we just use the weighted lead tape I have seen around?

[Roger Lee]

http://ctflier.com/index.php?/topic/722-wheel-and-static-prop-balancer/

 

I can give you all the info on how to and where to buy in 5 min. Verses 6 pages.

Give me a call.

[josjonkers]

 

Looks unsafe to me

I would not fly like this.

[Jim Meade]

I would not say I am a tire expert, but the casing should be good to the cord. It is legal to the cord. I would change the tire at the earliest practicable time, but am not saying I wouldn't fly it for a couple of flights. I agree with what others have said about the quality of these tires. I went to Dresser Monster retreads on my CTSW and left the fairings off and like them a lot. Why do you need wheel fairings, anyway? now I can step on the tire to aid in entry.

[Doug G.]

I asked this elsewhere, but it seems to fit better here. Can someone point me to the Accepted Practice, or FD method for wheel balancing, or even an instruction to do so? It strikes me that a stick on weight could be dangerous. Most tires and tubes evidently come marked at the heavy spot - not on these tires and leak guard tubes.

[Roger Lee]

Many aircraft tires are not marked with a heavy spot. I always thought they were, but was informed they weren't by the MFG. FD has no such document as don't any other LSA Mfg's. Maybe they figured it wasn't that important, but many have vibrations from out of balance tires. I the last 9 years I haven't seen one tire in balance without weights. I have not had a weight come off that I know of. They sit on a flat area inside the wheel so force isn't quite the issue as if they were on the outside edges. When done right there does not seem to be any issue. The big thing is to clean the wheel with some lacquer thinner and do it 3 times. Then apply the weights and smash them down well to make sure the adhesive seats well and all air pockets under the adhesive are gone.