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AntiSplat nose wheel shimmy fix

billnaz

Well Known Member
I replaced all three tires last December at annual. The Nose was the factory tire from Vans. Since, I've experienced a couple of episodes of severe shimmy on landing. The last one caused enough excursion to create contact with the fairing, damaging it slightly. After disassembly and inspection, I also found that the bearings were a little corroded, I blame this on a few days of soaking rain on the grass at OSH a few years ago. I also put the wheel on a high tech Harbor freight wheel balancer which showed that the tire/wheel was severely out of balance. Frankly not trusting the HF balancer, and needing new bearings anyway, I sent the wheel to Alan at AntiSplat. Now with new sealed bearings, and 1.75 oz. of balance weight on the wheel, I have a nice smooth taxi and roll out. Alan called me directly in response to my Email inquiry about my situation. It's nice to know that great customer service still exists these days. Their quick turnaround had my wheel back before I was done with the fairing repair. I was surprised by the amount of weight required to balance the wheel.
 
Anti Splat nose wheel

I just test flew my 6A with the wheel bearing mod from Anti Splat, Wow! This is a new airplane. The wheel was returned with a significant amount of balance weights. It really surprises me how an expensive aircraft part can be so crappy.
The Anti Splat mod is a game changer. I spent the afternoon shooting landings. That's something I have been avoiding because of the random shimmy.
 
I too was thrilled about the results of this mod but now I am having to replace my tires and am wondering if there is a good way to rebalance the assembly after the new tire is installed?

Edit: Has anyone tried a motorcycle wheel balancer?
 
Last edited:
Yes, If...

If you consider the Harbor Freight Motorcycle Wheel Balancer as an acceptable device. I have one and have balanced all three of my wheels.
Yes, 1+ ounce of weight per wheel to get them properly balanced.
Results: Main tires inflated to 45 PSI vs 35 before installation of the Monster Tires and Michelin Tubes. Nose inflated to 50 PSI vs 35 remains a stock tire / tube assembly. No shimmy whatsoever. I did try inflating the mains up to 50 PSI but the shimmy started so back down to 45 and I'm good to go.
 
Along with the wheel bearing, be sure to check the front gear attach bolt at the firewall. I suggest twice a year.
 
Harbor freight MC balancer

Prior to sending off my front wheel to AntiSplat I got one of those and put my wheel on it. It was working, and I was finding the imbalance correctly (verified by the balance completed by Antisplat), but I stopped the process with an ounce of weight added, thinking I was doing something wrong because there was no change in the apparent imbalance. I just didn't continue adding enough weight. Final weight added was 1.75 oz. The balancing process using the typically "HF cheep" balancer is tedious and not accurate, but I think it does do the job. I'm planning on balancing my mains next annual myself. When those bearings finally go I will definitely send them off to AntiSplat for replacement. I can second the comment on the smoothness of the new AntiSplat sealed bearings.
 
I finally got a chance to fly with the modded nosewheel.

Significant difference. With the breakout force set at 25 pounds, and the new wheel, my shimmy is gone. The airplane also feels smoother and more positive in steering.

Really nice work from the ASA team. They also were more than accommodating when I ordered the wrong NoseJob kit, and swapped out the parts I didn't need for the ones I did.

Terrific experience and great product.
 
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