TxAgfisher
MEMBER
East Texas
What's the consensus here? On a 180, heavy tread is a no brainer. On a lighter airplane like a Cub with an already forward CG does the extra $400 and 16lbs make sense to do?
31" ABW std vs heavy tread on a Cub
- Thread starter TxAgfisher
- Start date
daedgerton
PATRON
Arlington, VA
Curious about this as well.. I'm looking at 29's with heavy tread. 80% grass / other... 20% pavement...
I just put a set on a new to me PA-18 when I picked it up so I cant tell you what the difference is, but I do love them. They are $200 more per tire and weigh 4 pounds more per tire. I'm interested to hear what others think that have run both. At my home airport KIUA, I taxy on pavement but take off and land on grass. I opted for the heavy tread hoping they will last longer. I started out running them at 10.5psi and am now down to 8.5psi trying to find the sweet spot for everyday use. Any advice on the best tire pressure?
TxAgfisher
MEMBER
East Texas
The 29 was really designed for a heavier airplane - you won't get all the sidewall benefit out of a bushwheel on a light airplane like a Cub. I did fly a set of 29's on a Bearhawk Patrol but it was a mild environment.
TxAgfisher
MEMBER
East Texas
I misread the fine print, you are right at 4lbs/tire so it's only 8lbs, not 16.
thats ok, thats the way all my fishing stories are.:lol:
I think ideal tire pressure depends on how much off-airport work you’re doing. I run mine at 6psi, but do quite a bit of off airport flying/landing. If I know that I’ll be landing on particularly rough sites, I might go lower than that.
No downside to the heavy tread Bush wheel unless you really think you are good enough to notice/need the performance difference of 1 1/2 gal of gas!!! If they extend tire life by 4 or more years!! You will save a lot of money. IF you really need to own a cub under 1,000 lbs get standard tread. I have and fly both pressure is mission dependent not tire.
Denny
Denny
corvus-migrans
PATRON
I wonder: About 30 years ago there used to be an outfit in AK they resurfaced the ballonies with rubberbandages. My 26"ers started showing material. So I send them to that outfit. They very nicely glued rubberpieces arround the surface. I ran them until I bought my 31"ers. The abrasion in that time was less than 1/2". It was very good. I do not know why you cannot find such thing annymore
