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RV-4 Tire Advice

olyolson

olyolson

Well Known Member
Friend
Time for new tires for my -4 (currently 5.00 x 5, 6 ply). I'm looking at the Goodyear Flight Custom III (160 mph) or the Flight Special II (120 mph). Is the speed rating the max landing speed? The Flight Special IIs are a lot cheaper but are the Flight Custom IIIs that much better? Are there any other suggestions for tires? Any brands to stay away from?
 
olyolson said:
Time for new tires for my -4 (currently 5.00 x 5, 6 ply). I'm looking at the Goodyear Flight Custom III (160 mph) or the Flight Special II (120 mph). Is the speed rating the max landing speed? The Flight Special IIs are a lot cheaper but are the Flight Custom IIIs that much better? Are there any other suggestions for tires? Any brands to stay away from?
Click to expand...

Oly, rather than give you an opinion I suggest you use the forum search engine, try "tires". There is a tremendous amount of info about tires, tubes, rotations, etc in the archives. The RV-4 tire demands will be about the same as any of the two- place RVs.
 
Larger Tires Maybe?

Oly,

Do you land on grass or soft ground?? If so you could from Spruce buy a 380x150-5. It is 15" dia and 6" wide.

HPIM0427.jpg


The tire VANS provides is a 5.00* 5 and is 13.5" dia and 5" wide.

Steve Sampson has done this with good results and here is a link to his site where he shows the issues with the spats that need to be addressed:

Larger Tires

I don't know if you want to add weight to what maybe an already heavy RV-4 but the power you have available, I suspect that this may not be an issue. The larger footprint of the bigger tire will anyway help you if your 4 is heavy.

Smokeyray also uses the larger tires from his Swamp in FL. I have seen posts from him recommending the larger tires. I will be putting the larger tires on too but I want to se first if the tire fits ok with the very light Beringer wheels, available from France, I want to install on my 4.
 
I have the 380 tires on my rocket, and recommended a corporate pilot friend of mine to switch over on his RV-7. He did and loves them, says they make the airplane much easier to land, takes less throttle to taxi, and is easier to push around.
 
rocketbob said:
I have the 380 tires on my r...... much easier to land, takes less throttle to taxi, and is easier to push around.
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ditto. although I don't have a comparison, as I never had the smaller ones. But do know it rolls very easily even on grass.

Last night after landing, my neighbor(bonanza owner) walks over and says :you need help pushing that inside?" Nope, as I leased the tail spring and walked her back into the hangar. told him it's like walking the dog.
 
Feeling "tired" ?

Hi Oly,

There was a great discussion thread on this subject several years ago. Steve Sampson incorporated 380X150X5 tires on his phenomenal RV4 G-IKON. His blog is a great source for many RV4 improvements he incorporated and is at the bottom of his thread. As Anthony mentioned I installed the 380's on my HR2 in 2006 and current RVX and love them, highly recommended especially if you venture off-pavement.

Here is the thread link: http://www.vansairforce.com/community/showthread.php?t=27980&highlight=bushwheels+rocket

SeeYa!
Smokey
 
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After years of running retreads and less expensive tires, I installed a pair of Goodyear Flight Custom III on my Cessna 180. They are wearing out very rapidly. It seems unlikely that they'll last more than about 150 landings on pavement.

This is faster wear than any tire I've ever had on the plane.

Dave
 
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