change one tire at a time?

[rbridges]

I noticed my pilot's side main tire is pretty worn, but the passenger side main looks pretty good.  Never bought tires before, any reason I can't do one at a time?  Also any recommendations on brand?

[Mooneymite]

I noticed my pilot's side main tire is pretty worn, but the passenger side main looks pretty good.  Never bought tires before, any reason I can't do one at a time?  Also any recommendations on brand?

 

I've always replaced tires "on condition".  No problems noted.

 

However, what do I know about tires?  I operate off of grass.  My tires dry rot before they wear out!

 

Do not go cheap on the tube!  Some tubes leak down, others don't.

[201er]

Yeah, tire at a time as needed. They don't wear evenly anyhow.

[OR75]

one at a time is the way to go.

for what it worth, while you change your tire, you should also re grease the bearings and may need to change them if they are worn or corroded.

at a minimum, you will need:

tire

tube

cleaning solvent

grease

and maybe a new bearing

[Piloto]

When putting a new tube always verify there is no foreign debris inside the tire. Small debri can puncture a tube when landing or when you least expect. Also apply talc powder to the inside before installing the tube. Verify the red index mark on the tire line up with the valve hole on the wheel. This insure proper balance. Over pressurizing the tire will make the plane bouncy on landing and taxing. Under pressure will make the plane harder to tow and taxi, specially at gross weights. Avoid hard braking on landing, better to skip that taxiway exit than replacing a tire

 

José 

[Dave Marten]

What Jose said...

Aircraft Spruce for Goodyear flight custom 3. I don't skimp on tires. Get quality tubes also. I do change myself. Use care torquing everything and safety wiring. Leave cheap tires for flight schools who burn through them. You should be concerned with quality and longevity.

In my case I chose to replace both mains. One was due and the other had about 25 percent left. Heck, it was my Christmas present from my wife last year. Two fresh Goodyears under the tree-literally.

[fantom]

Use Goodyear Flight Custom II for the nose gear. The III will rub, sooner or later. I've had best luck with Michelin Air Stop tubes. The procedure Jose posted is right on. After putting the NEW tubes in the tires I over inflate then to eliminate any folds or kinks, then slowly bleed them down.

[rbridges]

flight custom 3 for mains, flight custom 2 for nose.  gotcha.

 

 

thanks guys.

[Hank]

I put Custom Flight II on my mains last year. The main difference I could tell with the III is lower speed rating and much lower price. My plane won't land near max speed for II, which is 100+; I think FC III is good to 170 mph. But Air Stop tubes are wonderful, and cost as much as the tires. They don't leak any more, though.

[rbridges]

thanks hank.  I may look into the custom flight II's

[MB65E]

On condition- the left tire will always ware more and it not due to the landings, but the takeoff. (loaded up left side from the torque of the engine applied on take off). A few years back Goodyear had major Service Difficulity issues with there tubes. Brand new tubes would serperate at the seams with little hours. For that reason I switched to the high dollar Michilan air stop tubes (Nitral rubber). I'm pretty sure Goodyear fixed their tubes but I still use the other tubes each time I change. If its an old tube +7 years, it would be good to change. If its been replaced since then and your not adding air every 2 weeks, leave it alone. Nothing says you need to change it, just most due just because of age. A far as tires go, our airplanes land so slow, you will get years out of even a cheap set. I'd replace it with a matching tire that's already on the other side. The Goodyear 3's are an Awesome tire but their heavy and nearly 2x as much $$ as the cheaper ones. Kinda like P-zeros on a Corolla. Little overkill for the low speeds that our airplanes land, but a quality tire none the less. And they look good...

-Matt.

[1964-M20E]

^{Use Shell #5 grease on the bearings, never seize on the shafts of the bolts and there is a special type of never seize used between the rim halves but I cannot recall what it is very thick and black.  Also there is some never seize used on the brake caliper bolt shafts as well.}

[rbridges]

do you guys have your own jacks?  I was planning on helping my mechanic do it.

[rbridges]

thanks, Jim.  I'll look into that.

[Immelman]

I've been pretty happy with Condors. They aren't wearing any faster than the good years with a lower price.

 

FWIW I suggest changing the tube with a new tire, and don't skimp on the tube. Michelin Airstop.. you'll thank me later..

[jetdriven]

Desser retreads on Goodyear FC-III cores on the mains, Goodyear FC-II nose tire and aeroclassic leakguard tubes all around. Those tubes are the same as a tire, but don't leak down. We tried to reuse a nose tube once, it failed after 5 landings and left the airplane on the runway, and ruined a brand new tire. They expand in use and when you reinstall it, they get a wrinkle which chafes a hole in the tube.

Whatever you buy don't get aero trainer tires. They are so soft that we actually hit a gear door on the ground and bent it from a bounced landing.

[PTK]

Desser monster retreads with leakguard tubes is my vote. Half the cost of custom III's with much thicker tread that wears like steel.

Replace tires on condition and aways keep tires over inflated a couple pounds too.

[Shadrach]

I like retreads and have had very good service life from them.  Desser has a warehouse in Memphis and Wilkerson is located in Crew, VA. I have used retreads from both companies on both the mains and the nose and never had a problem.

 

I certainly replace tires on condition. However, I am more comfortable jacking the aircraft completely and doing a gear swing after a tire change just to make sure that everything operates smoothly. I would hate to find out that I had a tire hanging up in the gear well on approach.  That being said, I've never had a clearence issue...so maybe I'm being overly cautious. All in all, I see no down side to retreads; they wear as well or better than any new tire I've used at 30-50% of the price, depending on brand. All I ask of my tires is to have reasonable service life and to provide high performance braking when I need it. I could not care less about all of the marketing talk about sidewalls and shoulder shape, every Mooney I've ridden in rides just slightly better than a buckboard during ground ops regardless of tire choice...

[fantom]

....I've never had a clearence issue...so maybe I'm being overly cautious. All in all, I see no down side to retreads; they wear as well or better...... I've ridden in rides just slightly better than a buckboard during ground ops regardless of tire choice...

Tires, brakes and batteries are three items not to cheap out on. Doing a retraction test after a tire change should be mandatory, especially using retreads. While the stories of them coming apart are well behind us, there is always a chance they may hang up, a good reason not to over-inflate them. You're right about them wearing better, and about the not so smooth taxi characteristic of the Mooney, something new donuts will only exacerbate.

[rbridges]

Desser monster retreads with leakguard tubes is my vote. Half the cost of custom III's with much thicker tread that wears like steel.

Replace tires on condition and aways keep tires over inflated a couple pounds too.

 

funny you say that.  I was just reading on beechtalk about desser retreads.  I was worried about clearance issues, but it seems you guys aren't having problems.

[chrisk]

 Doing a retraction test after a tire change should be mandatory, especially using retreads.

I just had the mechanic replace my right tire (yes with a cheap Air Hawk).  I could have replaced the tire myself, but I feel more comfortable with being able to swing the gear after.   --something I can't yet do myself (when on the ground)

[Shadrach]

Well, I have never used retreads, Desser or otherwise, but a well known wood wing flyer over on the MAPA List did have a Monster retread jam up in his wheel wells a few years ago.  I know that his wheel wells and ours are not the same, but still.  FWIW, he did do a static (if you will) retraction test and there was clearance.  But apparently the clearance went away when the wheels were spinning.  It resulted a gear collapse, if I recall correctly.

 

Just spreading rumors here, as none of this is my personal experience, but I think that I am reporting his facts accurately.

 

Jim 

 

Here's the likely scenario on your second hand story (which I have no reason to doubt happened). The offending gear well was likely the nose gear well, which is pretty much identical on all M20s (for all intents and purposes). If you look at the nose gear doors on most M20s, the area that forms the seam between the 2 doors has a pressed bead where the doors meet or overlap (see 1st attachment). This bead adds strength and rigidity to the gear door. It also results in a thin, curved lip on the inside of gear door that runs parallel to the grooves in the tire. If the interference is timed just right between the gear and the gear doors, the lip on the door can lock in a tire groove (see 2nd attachment), and the gear will not come down. Now, imagine a static gear swing with no slip stream pushing against the gear door. Further imagine loose low tolerance heim joints creating a lot of slop in the gear doors. The doors hang in the static test but are pushed upward by the slipstream in the air. Theclearence that was present during a static test is now negated by the slip stream pushing up on the gear. If you did not know any of this, you could get all the way to your first flight before realizing that you're going to "screw the pooch". Be safe out there and check you noose gear doors for clearance, and tolerance!

[Shadrach]

I only mentioned it because it happened to me when trying to take all of the slop out of my gear doors. I was quite surprised that there was nothing I could do to get the gear down. Thankfully I was up on jack in the hangar. I was surprised at how beautifully the tire and door interlocked, almost like it was intentional. The angles of the grooves and lip were ideal. It was disconcerting.

[rbridges]

thanks for the responses.  I ended up going with the flight custom III and a new Michelin tube.  Since it takes the most wear and tear, I decided to go with the best tire.