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  #21  
Old 12-03-2008, 03:59 PM
Mike S's Avatar
Mike S Mike S is offline
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Location: Dayton Airpark, NV A34
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Pete, would a -10 wheel work for you??
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Rv-10, N210LM.

Flying as of 12/4/2010

Phase 1 done, 2/4/2011

Sold after 240+ wonderful hours of flight.

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  #22  
Old 12-03-2008, 04:13 PM
mrreddick mrreddick is offline
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Default Matco Wheel

Quote:
Originally Posted by petehowell View Post
Anyone one looking to get rid of their old matco nose wheel? I have use for one.
Pete, check your PM's.
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  #23  
Old 12-03-2008, 11:05 PM
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Very impressed with the Mag one I installed for a customer. Rolls smoother, fore/aft oscillation tendencies are all but gone. And weight was not really a factor.
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  #24  
Old 12-04-2008, 05:41 AM
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I installed the magnesium grove nosewheel a while back and have about 70 hours or so on it now. It's working great. People have told me that I have no forward-aft movement in the NLG.

I'm happy with it, even though it was expensive. I really wish Van would consider making this the OEM wheel.
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  #25  
Old 12-04-2008, 08:18 PM
eurof2 eurof2 is offline
 
Join Date: Dec 2008
Location: Colorado
Posts: 33
Default Wow, that thing is spendy

I am a little surprised how much that wheel assembly is! Isn't the Van's part about half that much?!?

Has anybody tried to 'fix' their existing Matco wheel? It looks like all they do is add a spacer in the middle of the "mushrooms".

I imagine the it would have to be a pretty careful fit, but any competent machinist should be able to do it.

I am not trying to bash the Grove part, but I was just hoping somebody might have already figured out how to fix their old wheel without having to shell out another $300+

Eurof2
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  #26  
Old 12-05-2008, 12:53 AM
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Default Grove Nose Wheel

Eurof2
I have fitted the Grove nose wheel to my RV6A and can assure you it is an excellent piece of workmanship. The magnesium wheel and assembly is nearly 1.5 lbs lighter than the Vans/Cleavland wheel assembly (I had the solid axle system which was prior to the later mushroom spacer system).

However you are correct that anyone with a lathe could either make a similar axle assembly perhaps by modifying the Vans mushroom axle and making a tube spacer. I think many of us who went with the Grove system were prepared to pay the price for a no hassle plug and play solution.

Barry RV6A F-PRVM
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  #27  
Old 12-05-2008, 05:24 AM
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The perceived problem with the Matco wheel isn't just the axle, but also the rubber dust seal that puts drag on the wheel. The Grove wheel has a felt seal. Some people have cut back the rubber seal on the Matco wheel to reduce drag.
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Jamie | RV-7A First Flight: 7/27/2007 (Sold)
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  #28  
Old 12-05-2008, 01:50 PM
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OK, I'm in. I am still building but getting close to the point I need it before putting weight on the nosewheel, so I may as well as do it. I did talk to the nice sales lady and she had just gotten off the phone with someone who was ordering one, and they have sold a bunch in the last few days so she was wondering what the heck was up! I just said there was new thread on VAF and everyone was saying good things.
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  #29  
Old 12-05-2008, 04:32 PM
allbee allbee is offline
 
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Hay, if you really want to spend the money, buy all your brakes stuff from Grove. Nice stuff.
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  #30  
Old 01-03-2009, 06:11 PM
tacaruth tacaruth is offline
 
Join Date: Jun 2005
Posts: 121
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I upgraded to the Grove nosewheel today. The installation was straight forward as others have said. I did have one interesting note, however. The Matco wheel was 3.875" thick where the bead attaches. The Grove wheel was 4.25" at the same point. This was no problem attaching/assembling the wheel/tire. My problem arrived after mounting the new assemble with the wheel pants. The new wheel would not spin and seemed to be dragging. It took a little time to figure it out as I had a torpedo heater running and could not hear clearly. What caused the problem were the large allen screws that hold onto the front of the wheel pants. They extended through the fork enough to rub on the wider tire. After shutting off the heater (brrrrrrr!), it was obvious and easily corrected with a couple extra washers under the allen screws. Please be sure to check for this effect of the thicker assembly and reduced clearance.

Good Luck,
Tom, RV-7A, N175TJ Flying
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