Thread: What's Your mainwheel tyre lifetime?

Hi,

I am curious how often the mainhweels need to be replaced on other CTSW's?

I had a blown tyre after 80 landings and yesterday after only 40 landings it occurred the second time. Luckily both were at relatively low speed but the hassle to pull the CTSW back to the hangar was like a workout.

I have the strong feeling that the landing gear is not properly alinged, but visual inspections by the importer showd no abnormality.

Here (in Europe) we use the SAVA tyres (made in Slovenia), maybe other brands would show more durability?

Thanks for info,

Markus

Markus,

I had the same problem as you last summer when I flew around Europe. I had 3 punctures during the month with SAVA tyres and it was a pain to get the aircraft back to some sort of level ground to make a repair.
I took the advice of the guys on this forum and imported tyres from DESSER in the USA and the difference in quality and durability is amazing, well worth it and i haven't had a problem since.
I bought 400-6 X 6 ply in order to keep them the same size as factory spec but the other guys are using 400-6 X 8 ply which are so stiff you could almost use them without air!
I met some CT flyers in Spain that use the DESSER 600-6 X 6 ply for off piste flying but that requires a little bit of wheel spat surgery.
The cost of buying them including all delivery charges ended up about Euro for Dollar prices.

http://www.desser.com/aerotires.shtml

MAC

Mac,

thanks for info. Which brand are Your tyres from Desser (I understand Desser is not manufacturing at all but is a wholesale dealer)? They sell Michelin, Aero, Goodyear and other brands.

My importer has reserved some Michelin tyres he has in stock, but he is not aware of excessive wear on other CTSW's...

Thanks,

Markus

I switched to Goodyear Flight Custom III's 2 years ago. Pricey but excellent. The original tires, which I got rid of when they were practically new, were very thin and had little substance compared to the Goodyears. So, definitely switch. There are several good choices out there. You just have to decide.

The factory CT tubes are wheelbarrow/garden tractor trash. Be sure to buy new, quality tubes and install them with a liberal coating of tire talc (available from Dresser).

I've always flown with Goodyear Flight Custom III's in my other planes. Once you put them on, you can forget about them for a long time. Do they make one in the size for a CTLS with standard tire sizes or does it have to be Tundra optioned?

John

There has been much written regarding tires and tire wear on the forum. Try looking at this thread and it might answer most of your questions. I just changed over to Matco axles, brakes and wheels and fitted Desser "monster" tires to my CTSW per info from this thread and from Roger Lee.
http://www.ctflyer.com/showthread.ph...GEAR-TIRE-WEAR

I would have to say that just about any subject one needs info on for a CTSW or CTLS has been discussed on this forum.

The 6-8 ply Aero Classic tires from Desser are fine with us.

Today I removed the wheelpants and checked the toe-in with a laserpointer and the result was stunning: Aprox. 3,5 degrees nose-in on the right main gear instead of a proper 0,5.

So, besides the poor quality of the SAVA tires this could be the very reason for the excessive tire wear on my CTSW.

Once the right main wheel shoe was changed and then I already noticed that the right alloy spring was not installed with high precision to say the least.

I wil contact FD on this, I want to have it corrected, the gear always felt "spongy" when taxiing a little faster.

Hi Maxmobil,

I had the same problem with my 07 SW. I wore out the factory tires in about 60 hour. I provide flight instruction in my CT so it gets lots of abuse, but once Roger Lee put the Matco brake/axle mod which fixed the toe in, and I put some decent tires on, I flew over 300 training hours last year and have not worn the tires out yet. I will switch to the Desser monster treads at the next tire change, they look almost bullet proof.

Eric Swisher
Copper City Aviation Services