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Tire choice.... Need Advice

A

arsobo

Registered User
Hello all,

Newer super cub owner here. Just getting used to landing it... lots of pattern laps. I am spending more time on pavement than I really care to, but that's all my home airport offers.

Currently I am on a set of 8.50x6 tires that are showing a bit of wear. When I bought the Cub it also came with a set of 26" ABW on Cleveland wheels. I'd love to move onto the bigger wheels when the time comes, but I am concerned that my pavement usage will ruin the ABWs.

Should I be concerned with the pavement wear on the 26" ABWs? Should I buy a new set of 8.50x6 to continue my practice? Or perhaps would a set of 26" Goodyear tires be an appropriate compromise?

Thanks in advance for your thoughts.
 
As of right now, probably pavement. I try to seek out grass/gravel where I can. My goal by end of the year is to incorporate some back country.

90% pavement.
 
I'm a new pilot as well but I would not use the ABW unless I needed them. They are not cheap to replace and asphalt will eat them up.
 
My situation is similar to yours with regards to pavement. I have the 26” Goodyears, and they wear very well, and would be great for giving you at least a similar feel to the 850’s or perhaps better. If I needed new tires I would replace with the same. I don’t get a ton of super rough strips though!
 
If you are getting familiar with the plane, more time on smaller tires is good. Big tires mask bad landings, you can't hide from the truth when you are working smaller tires.

If you are truly going to be spending most of your time on asphalt, why would you want to install big tires anyway? Although, I must confess, I always think a cub with little tires looks sad and wrong! But that doesn't mean it is really necessary.
 
Agree with the above comments on staying with the smaller tires until you get much more proficient in the plane. Unless you have lots of money to burn, I'd keep with the 8.50's. When you spend $3-5K on a set of tires that weren't really made for pavement, you're going to wear them out fast. Another thing you will notice with the softer rubber of the Bushwheels, they grab much more than the other tires on pavement. If you aren't perfectly aligned on landing, you will notice it!
 
I appreciate the comments gents. For what it's worth, 8.50's are the smallest tires I can run.

I'm about 50 landings in over the course of 10 hours of flying. I think my current 8.50's are probably going to last through the summer if I had to guess, I'll approximate another 100 landings on them before they're showing cord. I guess if they're shot before I feel 100% proficient, then I'll order another set of 8.50s.

That being said, would it be worth considering the Goodyear 26's as a replacement for the 8.50's IF I feel proficient? I guess what I'm trying to do here is have a good all-rounder tire. I've heard the GY 26 are durable on pavement and better than the 8.50's in soft terrain, but worse than ABW's off field.

My home airport is asphalt and in Colorado there's a plethora of pavement, but I do aspire to get into the back country (with training) grass/gravel fields. I take a trip to a grass field once per flight, but I am always touching pavement at some point. The alternative option would be just swapping tires as the mission changes (8.50's for normal use, my ABW for backcountry trips), but this seems tedious.
 
I’ve been running the same Goodyear 26” tires for 5 years, both on and off asphalt, gravel roads etc. still have plenty of life left. 150 hrs a year, multiple landings per day.

8.50’s do handle icy dirt two-track roads better.
 
The 26"ers wear better than most. We took them off and installed 8:00x6. Much better choice for tailwheel training on pavement.

But - a lot of folks use big tires as a "statement." If that is what you want, and you are aware of the performance hit, go for it.
 
26 in Goodyear tires would be a excellent choice for what you describe. I had them on my pacer and went to a lot of sandbars, two track hilltop, and dirt runways in Alaska with my Pacer. The do great on tar strips also. I ran mine down to 12 psi with no problems. I would save the bushwheels for that one or two trips a year if you thing you will need them. I change tires/skis two-five times a year. If the tires are mounted on rims it is a 30 min job once you get it down. If you do have to land bushwheels on tar, land on the wide painted lines and they won't scuff. Don't do locked wheel turns and you will get a lot less wear. Run what you have out and get 26 in Goodyears it will help your AOA also.
DENNY
 
I would like to weigh in with another point of view here. Everyone talks about percentages. It only takes one time to wreck an airplane.

You need to run the tire that will handle the roughest strip you plan to use. Even if you only go there once a year, or one percent of your landings. The rest of the time you will either be “overtired’ or changing your tires a lot, but you cannot afford to land somewhere and do damage.

John
 
26" Good Years are the "all singing - all dancing" approved solution. A bit taller than the 8.50 for increased AOA, no pebble grabbing grooves that result in propeller rear face damage, and they wear like iron.

TR
 
Have you looked into the Aero Classic line of tires? They're a great tire for what you described. The 8.50's are a little softer than other brands of the same size, and a little bigger diameter. The 27.5 version is a great tire as well, but not certified, and requires 8" wheels. They're what I call a 'lower 48 bush tire' or a bush-lite tire. They wear fairly good on pavement, as well.
 
I replaced the 850x6 tires on my C180 recently with retreads from Desser / VSE.
New Airtracs are about $360 each nowadays, GY's or Condors even more,
but these retreads (on first-run GY cores) list for $200 each.
My plane had a set of these on when I bought it, and they lasted a long time.


retreads.webp
 
I second the Aero Classic 8.50x6 smooth tires. Sounds like a good tire for your mission. Taller than a normal 8.5x6, smooth tread, lightweight, and relatively inexpensive. My Dad has had them on his Cub for the last few years. I have really liked flying it with those tires. Smooths out the bumps on grass strips and works fine on pavement.
 
It's really pretty tough to beat a good set of 8.50 x 6.00 tires, though I'm not a fan of the Aero Classic "smoothies"....theyre kinda light duty, but probably okay on a Cub.

There was a very active brown bear guide who hunted the distal end of the Alaska Peninsula and Unimak Island years ago. His Cub wore 8.50s, and I asked him if he'd ever wished for bigger. Simple answer was "Nope".
 
IMG_5621.webp
IMG_5623.webp
I've got a set of McCreary 8.5s and Gar Aero adapters that have been sitting on my hangar floor for several years. I wouldn't mind finding a home for them.
 
hotrod180 said:
While the cost of everything is going up, seems like the 26" GY's have gone up more than other tires.
They were around $750 about 5 years ago, Spruce lists them now at about $1200 each.
The 850 tubes that fit them have gone way up also.

www.aircraftspruce.com

Goodyear Smooth Tubeless Type Tire 26X10.5-6 6 Ply | Aircraft Spruce

Goodyear Smooth Tubeless Type Tire 26X10.5-6 6 Ply GOODYEAR SMOOTH TUBELESS TYPE TIRE - 26X10.5-6 6 PLY
www.aircraftspruce.com www.aircraftspruce.com
Click to expand...

Just as an FYI, a number of years ago, Goodyear Tire and Rubber announced that they were ending production of the 26 inch tires. This came across several of the aviation feeds. I was in Sun N Fun the next week, so I dropped by the Goodyear booth, and asked them why Goodyear was terminating the only tire approved for their blimps..... The guys at the booth both busted out laughing.....they were happy to meet someone who knew more about those tires than Goodyear's bean counters. They ONLY reason they put those tires on the market was to ease the cost per tire for their blimp program.....I never thought to ask those guys how long it takes a blimp to wear out a set of those tires......
 
The 26 inch Good year is a fine all around tire that usually outlasts the airplane.
You will buy 3 sets of 850 Air tracks for one set of Good Year 26“ ones.
We run them (26“ Good years) on Cessna 206 Aircraft under a LSTC in Canada and they are tough as iron.
The Michelin is a much superior 850 by 6 tire and the tallest of all 850s the Good year 850 is ok but a bit stiffer than Michelin and Air track.
Air track has the worst balance to the tire and will crack long before any of the other 850s.
The 26 is a put it on and forget about it for the next 10 Years and yes they got stupid expensive.
 
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