I run mine at 45--50 psi.

Thanks guys. I'm running the Matco wheel/brake assembly that came with the RV-7 kit and I've run into the clearance issue with the caliper. I've measured the clearance from 20 through to 65psi and plotted it. At 20 psi I have 0.032" at this worst case location, at 65psi I have 4 thou, and based on the shape of the curve I estimate contact at around 90 psi. I see some earlier posts regarding shimming things to improve the clearance, however it's not exactly clear what to shim. If I am to bother shimming say a 0.063" further out , in my mind that would require a 4.5" diameter disc to be fabricated between the brake rotor and the inner rim half, an 0.063" thicker shim that is currently in place against the inboard bearing, and a 0.063" thinner shim between the outer bearing and the axle nut. This would mean that I would not have to drill a new axle position, which I really do not want to do.
Or, I could just leave it at the current clearance and see how things go?
How are others achieving the desired clearance, and what should that target clearance be?

Great thread guys!
In a mid life crisis I've started my RV8 build. Lucky enough to have time, so empennage finished in 5 weeks.. fuselage kit will be here in 4 weeks time. I'm currently operating a 180hp Husky from a 570' strip with a wall at each end, so probably won't be taking the RV there (but I'll no doubt give it a go later!). Dropping from 26" wheels to standard Vans wheels was too much of a culture shock, so Ive ordered Grove one-piece gear, 6 inch wheels and plan on putting 600x6 tyres on, with James wheel pants for the RV10. My Husky guru, Tom Dietrich uses the same pants with 700 x 6 wheels on his Allison powered (450shp) hot rod, Pocket Rocket... take a look on youtube, they look great!. I'll let you know how I get on with them in a short while...

Big Un's...
 

Good call Bruce!
I am certain you will be glad you made the swap. I have found after 10 years of "use and abuse" that the 380's way outperform the 500X5's on my (former) Rocket and my (current) RVX.
Steve Sampson introduced me to them while he was building his RV4 masterpiece "G-IKON" and I haven't even considered going back to the 500's since.*


V/R
Smokey

*Side note: Landings on soft turf, mud and gravel are vastly improved by the 380's however, handling on pavement is also superior. BTW, I have found 30 PSI to work well on most surfaces.

you can get 6" wheels for a 1 1/4 axle from Grove... same as supercub version, then fit RV10 wheel pants.

In one of these big tires thread around here someone mentioned the Sam James 5x500 wheel pants, but I cant find it anymore.

So anyone using James pants with the 380s? Looking for any lessons learned and maybe some pics.....I'm at the pants buying stage.

Thanks for any help.

Sam's Club
 

Mani,
My HR2 had Sam James Pants on it when I bought it. When I converted to Rocket to the 380's, I attempted to retrofit and modify the SJ pants but they were too narrow, shallow and would have looked goofy jacked up above the bigger tires and defeat the purpose of drag reduction.
Additionally, the SJ pants are longer with no up-slope aft of the tire which reduces ground clearance on rough turf, gravel or mud, especially with the HR's high AOA when parked.

After much measuring, cutting and staring at Steve Sampson's blog, I purchased and installed the Van's Pressure Recovery pants.
They work well, are easily cut and fair around the tires nicely (see pic).

Post script: I didn't lose one knot of speed with the bigger tires and Van's pants :)
V/R
Smokey

screen shots
Van's PR Pants have plenty of room.


My HR2 with the 380's installed

PS:If you operate off rough turf or gravel, fabricate Thin chrome molysteel wheel pant brackets using the aluminum examples as a guide, much stronger.

I put 380?s on my HRII with the Sam James pants, but itwas too tight of a fit. In the end I used Desser retreads which are the same diameter as the 380s, but narrower.

Tough Mudder
 

Vern, glad the RT's and your James pants worked, but my whole reason (and anyone else) for installing 380's is the wider footprint on soft ground. Reason is, they work. They also improve handling on hard surfaces...
On my soft, sandy turf strip (especially after a good rain) the difference in taxiing (or sinking) and landing (and not flipping over) my RV's from 500's to the 380's was very noticeable. However, on the heavier HR2, critical.

If you venture off road in an RV or Rocket, these are the tires of choice IMHO, AK Bushwheels notwithstanding. :)
Something to consider on yours...
V/R
Smokey

That was my original purpose with the 380s as well. Unfortunately, the James pants are just too tight of a fit. Everything was fine until I reversed the tires on the rims, then they interfered.

FYI, I found that it's the wheel pants, not the tires, that are the limitation on soft fields. I have come to the conclusion that the Rocket is not a bush plane, go figure.