Tire Recommendations

[Andy95W]

My M20C has the same AirHawks that it had when I bought it 10 years ago (and they were a few years old when I bought it).

So about 12-14 years old and probably 450-500 landings, and they still have tread.  And I have to get on my brakes pretty hard on landing, since I've got about 1200' of runway that is not displaced and not rough as snot.

Needless to say, I'll be replacing them with AirHawks next year or the year after.

[Raptor05121]

On 3/17/2021 at 5:28 PM, 201er said:

Things is, the Goodyears don't last as much longer as they are more expensive. Let's say the Airhawk lasts you 2 years/300 landings. That's an $88 tire. The Goodyear Flight Custom III is $234. That's 2.7x more. It won't last double, I can say for sure. From my experience, if the Airhawk lasts 2 years/300 landings, the Goodyear might last 5 years/500 landings. You do save on labor changing the tire, but you still win with the Airhawk. And you don't feel as bad when you flatspot it.

On 3x tires, that's $264 vs $702 worth of rubber (not accounting for nosewheel price difference). Goodyear is a better tire. Airhawk is a better value. You change them more often but you still end up spending less.

My Goodyears are twice as old as my Airhawks and still have half the tread remaining. I have at least 300 landings on them. Because of their current price point, and their political ideologies I won't be ordering another set but my next set will be Desser retreads. You get the thickness of the GY's without the price. Aviation Consumer did a apples-to-apples test on tires and GY FC3's got the most landings of any new tire. The only thing that got more were the Desser Monsters. The Dessers got the most compared to the price point (cost per landing). I can't recall which month/issue it came out in, but I remember vividly that it cemented my decision.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Raptor05121

[Raptor05121]

On 3/17/2021 at 3:27 PM, RobertGary1 said:

What does "flimsy" mean?

 

-Robert

Compared to the GY's they were thin and able to be manipulated/flexed easily. If you stand on them, they will fold and crumple over. The GYs, you can stand on one straight up and it will hold its shape. Not scientific by any means, but I was impressed.

Edited March 19, 2021 by Raptor05121

[MisfitSELF]

Some follow up:  I just ordered two Air Hawks and the Michelin leak stop tubes to go with them.

Yesterday at some point either due to pilot technique (likely) and the nasty crosswinds I put a  spot on my left (the good tire as my luck would have it) through a couple of layers of cord.

Now I have to replace two tires...at least I'll hopefully get that pesky slow leak fixed in my right tire.

If I have the mind for it, I'll give you folks a review as I put landings on them.

Edited April 24, 2021 by MisfitSELF