Frustrating - Tires again...

[nookie201]

Ok, so Tonight I had a 2nd blowout in 4 months on the nose with a Mcgreary tire.

1st time failed while rolling out. tonight was right on touchdown & tire pretty much again
came off the rim. stuck on the RWY for a while and had to sort out out to move the beast, flat tires can be a major headache!.

Tires were maintained at 46 PSI as per POH,

Tires are recommended for PA-31P according to Mcgreary, anyone else had problems
with these tires ??

-G

[PanEuropean]

How old were the tires, Nookie?

You imply that it only had 4 months in-service (time since the last nose gear blowout), but what was the manufacturing date of the tire?

[nookie201]

Don't know manufacturing date, good point. Both tires failed ironiclly after approx 8 landings.

No no, my landings ain't THAT bad... surely I should get more out of these tires!.

One came from Leavens and one came from Aircraft Spruce.

-G

[Bullet Remington]

Nookie:

If you're running into and outa gravel strips, you may want to look at the tire ply. Could be the tires are " too light " for the usage??

Then again, I'm assuming the tire wasn't falt on landing? Or did it go flat on landing??

Crushed rocks on gravel strips can be a real bugger on 5 ply tires!!

[_dwj_]

Just double check your POH for the recommended pressures. Tire coming off the rim sounds like it could be underinflated. Are you sure the mains shouldn't be higher than 47psi?

[nookie201]

POH calls for 46PSI on Nose Tire (6x6- 8ply) , which is was, Mains call for 76PSI which they are at. Nose blew right on touchdown, I tell ya - no fun.

Just from visually seeing these Mccreary tires I'm guessing the sidewalls are weak as they always looked "low" but pressure was correct.

Have not done gravel yet, only paved landings so-far.

Some Piper Mojave's call for a 10ply- I may try that and go Flight Custom II , which I think has much higher max weight loading.

-Thanks for replies.

[Hedley]

It's not the frigging tires, it's the tubes that are the problem!

Sounds like the same old tube problem we've been talking
about here for the last 6 months or so.

Two of the 172's at my tiny airport have had flats in the last
month or so.

Both of the tubes had the well-known problem of cuts.

Inspect the tubes carefully before you put them on!

[nookie201]

Quite possible that the tubes are the source of problem.
Tubes were also Mccreary, and 1st one did indeed have a split on the seem
One from last night -- will be hard to tell as it's destroyed to the max.

A simple thing like a flat can become a major safety and frustration issue.

-G

[nookie201]

Well. not sure what to make of it, Mccreary's answer;

"Ignore POH pressure, run this size at 55PSI, all tire manufacturers including Mccreary recommend this , we assume
piper chose a lower pressure for a softer ride on the ground".

[really green]

I would suggest spending the $$$ and go for a Michelin 6x6 tube. We were having nose weel failures on our PA31's and were using some lesser name brand tubes. Swapped to these(Michelin) and Goodyear tires. And we run ours @ 42psi. No more blow outs.
I'm not really familiar with the brand you're using, this is just our experience.

And last time I checked, AMM/POH is the final authority.

[ybp]

We use Michelin's on our Navajo's at 42 psi on the nose. In the 5+ years that I have been here, I have never had a blow out or flat on the nose. We just replace them when they get cut too deep or the tread is worn off, and they are always on gravel/shale.

I would recommend changing brands. Also, if you put some baby powder inside the tire before you install the tube, it enables any wrinkles that are in the tube to be worked out, and prevents rubbing.

[rockerboss]

We had the same problem. We were able to track it down to one taxi way the pilots were using. They were making to tight of a turn which would fold the tire over and pinch the tube and/or snap off the valve stem. We havn't used the taxiway since March and haven't had a flat since!

[gonfly'n]

I agree with Hedley. We changed countless tires on taxi ways and runways recently. Tires usually look okay but the tube will have a hole in it.