Are these the wheels?

steveciha said:
Hi Jamie,
It took an email to Aircraft Spruce to find the Cleveland wheel. It wasn't listed in their catalog, but they had it in stock.
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Hi Steve - was this the wheel you got:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/lgpages/cleve_nosewheel.php

I have this wheel in my Skipper and it seems to work fine in that application. Stone simple, with tapered roller bearings and felt grease seals. No end play or bearing drag at all - just like their 600-6 main wheels
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/lgpages/600x6wheels.php

Do you think the 500-5 wheels could be adapted? Sure would be easy to get parts / tires / tubes.

Thanks for any info.. I'm not there yet but I plan to upgrade the brakes and maybe the nose wheel as well.
 
IowaRV9Dreamer said:
Hi Steve - was this the wheel you got:
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/lgpages/cleve_nosewheel.php

I have this wheel in my Skipper and it seems to work fine in that application. Stone simple, with tapered roller bearings and felt grease seals. No end play or bearing drag at all - just like their 600-6 main wheels
http://www.aircraftspruce.com/catalog/lgpages/600x6wheels.php

Do you think the 500-5 wheels could be adapted? Sure would be easy to get parts / tires / tubes.

Thanks for any info.. I'm not there yet but I plan to upgrade the brakes and maybe the nose wheel as well.
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Dave, I think that it is, but it looks like the price went up a little. The down side is that you still need to find an axle, I think? I took a look at the Grove set up at Oshkosh, and it looks like an excellent alternative, and a little less money as well.

Steve Ciha
 
does the Matco replacement axle do the same thing now?

I gather that to remove the drag in Van's stock nose wheel set-up, (identified by some as a possible factor in nose wheel accidents) one can buy a Matco nosewheel axle kit ($56), or switch to a Grove wheel assembly ($269, $299 in magnesium).
Do both kits achieve the result? Any reason to buy the Grove wheel assembly?
Bill Brooks
Ottawa, Canada
RV-6A finish kit
 
Bill,

I opted for the Matco axle kit. Picked it up from their OSH display tent.

My original 6A nosewheel had WAY too much drag on it. The axle bolt had to be tightened way down to stop the Van's spacers and the bearing seals from turning with the wheel.

I installed the Matco axle kit last week, and am much happier with the wheel drag. The bearing preload is now independent of the axle bolt torque.

The Grove wheel will accomplish the same thing......it just costs more to get there.
 
Bill,
I installed the Matco axle and found that it only marginally reduced the wheel drag. I then followed Matco's instructions and cut away one of the rubber lips from each seal and this reduced the wheel drag considerably. I am very happy with the Matco axle modification.

Fin
9A
 
gasman said:
IF VAN SWITCHED to a GROVE ASSY KIT FOR THE A'S, I AM SURE HE COULD GET THEM AT AN OEM PRICE FROM GROVE. IT MAY ADD $100.00 TO A KIT, BUT SO WHAT! GROVE IS A BETTER WHEEL KIT.

MAYBE IF PEOPLE STOP ORDERING THE NOSE WHEEL KIT WHEN THEY ORDER THEIR KIT, AND TELL THEM THAT THEY ARE GOING TO USE GROVE, VAN'S MAY GET THE HINT....................
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I just mailed off the final check for the finish kit. I requested that the Matco nosewheel be dropped from the kit. That saved ~$100. In exchange, Van's wanted me to sign a waiver form saying that I have a non-standard kit. I don't think it's a big problem, but it might be worth that $100 to not have the paper work on file. On the plus side, I won't have to sell a new Matco front wheel along with the Van's fuel valve!
 
chipf said:
I just mailed off the final check for the finish kit. I requested that the Matco nosewheel be dropped from the kit. That saved ~$100. In exchange, Van's wanted me to sign a waiver form saying that I have a non-standard kit. I don't think it's a big problem, but it might be worth that $100 to not have the paper work on file. On the plus side, I won't have to sell a new Matco front wheel along with the Van's fuel valve!
Click to expand...

Is Van's actually refusing to sell you the finish kit minus the nose wheel if you refuse to sign this waiver?

FWIW, I originally purchased the full finish kit with nose wheel and all. I later returned the nose wheel to Van's for a refund, per Van's standard return policy. No waivers involved.
 
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