Tires

[sdogg0]

Just wondering what are the best tires for GA aircraft out there right now. And also where do all the shops purchase there tires, directly from the companies eg. Michelin, Goodyear or from a wholesaler?

[Hedley]

Don't know what you mean by "best". Best price? Longest lasting?

Personally I only use Goodyear Flight Custom III which you can get from Spruce in Brantford, so no customs hassle.

There are many, many cheaper brands. Condor, etc.

[sdogg0]

So the only real place to get tires is from Spruce or other online sources. I was just kind of curious where the small maintenence shops in Canada obtain there tires. Just curious

[Hedley]

If you don't mind customs brokerage fees:

http://www.desser.com/contactus.php

[Heliian]

Leggat aviation and Aviall are 2 places that come to mind. Usually even a small AMO will have an account with them and will get better deals than just someone off the street. Buy local if you can and stay away from Condor tires, they're cheaper but don't even come close to the goodyears.

[twotter]

There are lots of places to buy your tires and like was mentioned before, even your local shop may have some in stock.

IMHO your best bang for your buck right now is the Condor tire, it's a middle of the road tire that will probably end up being changed for weather checking rather than lack of tread on an average private airplane.

[corroded_camshaft]

I've been looking at replacing my tires. If I may, I'd like to add a few questions:

1) is there a difference in performance/usage of tube vs tubeless tires?
1b) can tubeless tires be used in place of tube tires?
2) is there an "age" limit on tires? Or is the only real limit wear and cords? What about weather cracking?

Mine are (AFAIK) 17 years old or so, and although they look in good condition (says the pilot and the AME), I've been wanting to replace them.

[Posthumane]

1b) can tubeless tires be used in place of tube tires?

Not usually. Tubeless tires have to seal against the wheel rim in order to hold air, and the valve stem is also set into the rim. Rims made for tube type tires may not have provisions for seating the beads on tubeless tires, and may not be compatible with tubeless tire valve stems. You can sometimes go the other way though and use tube tires on tubeless rims, though there are exceptions where the valve stem hole is set at a funny angle and won't work with a tube.

2) is there an "age" limit on tires? Or is the only real limit wear and cords? What about weather cracking?

Mine are (AFAIK) 17 years old or so, and although they look in good condition (says the pilot and the AME), I've been wanting to replace them.

Tire rubber does break down with time so even though the tread may still be good you should periodically replace them. There is no hard number of years that they are good for AFAIK, but 17 years is definitely getting up there in age. Weather cracking is the most obvious sign of aging tires, but it might not always be visible. GA tires are not that expensive, so if I were you I'd go ahead and replace them. It is even an elementary maintenance item, so you could get an AME to teach you to do it yourself if you were so inclined.

[WileyCoyote]

I also had a few questions about tires,
I'm going be ordering a nose wheel tire for the privately owned 172 I fly, and was wondering if there's any special paperwork I need for the tires? Do I need 8130 forms or anything? I looked in the CARS, but I find the regs pretty hard to decipher on the maintenance end. Also, I worked in a tire shop in high school, and moonlight as a tire buster during snow tire season to help out a buddy, can a person mount the tires on the wheels under elementary maintenance as well? Or is it only remove and replace from the aircraft?

Thanks!

[cgzro]

Yes, you can change tires - see standard 625 Appendix A - which says:

Elementary Work Task Listings
...
(2) removal and replacement of tires, wheels, landing skids or skid shoes, not requiring separation of any hydraulic lines, on small privately operated aircraft;
(amended 2004/03/01; previous version)

Its probably a good idea to have somebody show you how to do it first time, or at least have a good read of the pertinant literature. The split rim setups are dead trivial because the rim is bolted together around the tire so no stretching of the tire is required. The hardest part is jacking the plane up properly so it won't drop and of course without using an incorrect jacking point that could damage the plane.

Obvious things like letting the air out of the tire before unbolting the two halves and correct placement of the inner tube and valve etc. are kind of obvious. I inflate the inner tube just to fill it out a bit so that I can get the folds etc. sorted out. Anyway if you've done car tires you'll find it a piece of cake. You will have to undo the brake calipers and re-assemble/lock wire them so thats a new little trick to learn if you've not done it. Just don't disassemble the hydraulic lines on the brakes or you are no longer elementary.

Cleaning/gapping spark plugs doing compression checks and oil changes/filters/screens are other things you can do as elementary maintenance and frankly are waaaaay easier than working on a car although you have to respect the proper torque values and use proper anti seize etc. compounds.

Well worth doing this stuff with somebody watching over you the first time because you can save a lot of money and you will learn a lot about your plane and also spot problems early on. Its also quite enjoyable.

[Hedley]

have somebody show you how to do it first time

+1