randylervold
moderator
I have 41 hours on my RV-3B now and have reduced the initial gear leg shimmy by reducing tire pressures. 20-22 reduced it to where it will only shimmy on about one in six landings now. It's the typical shimmy, at 10-15 mph something excites it and nothing will stop it other than slowing down as fast as possible. Still, it's annoying and can't be good for all the parts down there.
I balanced my wheel pants when building them so that variable is eliminated, but I'm now wondering whether changing tires would have an effect -- different rubber compounds have different hysterisis characteristics (how 'bouncy' they are). Is this wishful thinking, or has anyone notice the elimination of shimmy by changing to a higher-end tire, say a Michelin or a Goodyear?
I balanced my wheel pants when building them so that variable is eliminated, but I'm now wondering whether changing tires would have an effect -- different rubber compounds have different hysterisis characteristics (how 'bouncy' they are). Is this wishful thinking, or has anyone notice the elimination of shimmy by changing to a higher-end tire, say a Michelin or a Goodyear?