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Tire to Nose Fork Assembly Clearance

flytopg

flytopg

Member
I used to have a Goodyear Flight Custom III 5.00-5 6ply tire for my nose wheel. After Wilkerson assured me that their retreads would meet the same specs I bought a retreaded Condor 5.00-5 6ply from them. Since I still have my nose wheel pants off (different topic) I quickly noticed rubber coming off the tire. I assume thats during the landing due to the tire bulging horizontally!?

It looks like closest spot (~3/16") is between the edge of the Belleville washers and the tire. The space between the fork itself and the tire is a little larger at ~1/4".
I'm running the tire at ~45psi.

What clearance do other folks have?
 

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I would drop the pressure to 35 and see how much clearance you pick up. Seems apparent that the washer is rubbing on the tire when bulging
 
lr172 said:
I would drop the pressure to 35 and see how much clearance you pick up. Seems apparent that the washer is rubbing on the tire when bulging
Click to expand...
I measured the clearance for both 45 and 35 and there doesn't seem to be a difference.
 
Last edited:
RV-9erA said:
Other than the RV-10 and RV-12, isn't the standard nose wheel tire size an 11-inch 4.00 x 5. Even though the rim size is the same (5-inch), the tire is smaller (11-inch in diameter and 4-inch in width).

store.vansaircraft.com

11 x 4.00-5 8-Ply Aero Classic New 2 Groove Rib TTxTL

Replace Those Worn Treads
store.vansaircraft.com store.vansaircraft.com

store.vansaircraft.com

11 x 4.00-5 Aero Classic Inner Tube TR-87

'Lamb' type tube fits nosewheel of RV-6A/7A/8A/9A only.
store.vansaircraft.com store.vansaircraft.com
Click to expand...
Good catch. That sure looks like 5.00X5 retread tire, but tough to say.
 
flytopg said:
Sorry I'm confused, I have an RV10 and this is a 5.00x5 retread tire. What is the catch?
Click to expand...
Sorry, no catch. I didn't pay that close of attention to your original post and foolishly followed the other posters lead about tire size, not realizing you had a 10.
 
lr172 said:
Sorry, no catch. I didn't pay that close of attention to your original post and foolishly followed the other posters lead about tire size, not realizing you had a 10.
Click to expand...
However, if that is a retread, it is possibly the source of your issue. Have honestly not payed that close of attention to how tight the clearance is on my 10; Though I do not have your issue. I know that dresser's retreads are larger in diameter, by a decent margin, than stock tires; Especially the "monster" variety. Very possible Vans did not leave enough clearance to accomodate that much larger of a tire. I believe I used the dresser classic retread (smaller diameter than monster version) on my nosewheel, but not certain.

What tire is that exactly?
 
lr172 said:
However, if that is a retread, it is possibly the source of your issue. Have honestly not payed that close of attention to how tight the clearance is on my 10; Though I do not have your issue. I know that dresser's retreads are larger in diameter, by a decent margin, than stock tires; Especially the "monster" variety. Very possible Vans did not leave enough clearance to accomodate that much larger of a tire. I believe I used the dresser classic retread (smaller diameter than monster version) on my nosewheel, but not certain.

What tire is that exactly?
Click to expand...
It's a condor. I talked to Wilkerson and they are sending me a Flight Custom III retread. According to them the FCIII has a steel belt around the center of the tire.
 
flytopg said:
I used to have a Goodyear Flight Custom III 5.00-5 6ply tire for my nose wheel. After Wilkerson assured me that their retreads would meet the same specs I bought a retreaded Condor 5.00-5 6ply from them. Since I still have my nose wheel pants off (different topic) I quickly noticed rubber coming off the tire. I assume thats during the landing due to the tire bulging horizontally!?

It looks like closest spot (~3/16") is between the edge of the Belleville washers and the tire. The space between the fork itself and the tire is a little larger at ~1/4".
I'm running the tire at ~45psi.

What clearance do other folks have?
Click to expand...
Any chance you are taking off at a higher ground speed than desired? I've seen this before and root cause seemed to be higher take-off speeds.
 
Note the plan view. The bellevilles should be in direct alignment with the fork body in the round area. It looks like the bellevilles are sticking out further (1/8-3/16”) than the plans. Put a straight edge on there and check. As others have mentioned, your bellevilles are not the same as the rest of the fleet. I feel they are wider than what vans uses and creating clearance shrinkage.
 
lr172 said:
Note the plan view. The bellevilles should be in direct alignment with the fork body in the round area. It looks like the bellevilles are sticking out further (1/8-3/16”) than the plans. Put a straight edge on there and check. As others have mentioned, your bellevilles are not the same as the rest of the fleet. I feel they are wider than what vans uses and creating clearance shrinkage.
Click to expand...
I stole the drawing from another thread and used them here to illustrate the issue. It might not be for an RV10.

The OD on the Bellevilles (K2750-O-219) is 2.75" and the OD on the steel washer (5710-243-060) below is 2.82". Those are the parts from Vans. When you say "rest of the fleet" I assume you mean non-10 RVs?
 
flytopg said:
I stole the drawing from another thread and used them here to illustrate the issue. It might not be for an RV10.

The OD on the Bellevilles (K2750-O-219) is 2.75" and the OD on the steel washer (5710-243-060) below is 2.82". Those are the parts from Vans. When you say "rest of the fleet" I assume you mean non-10 RVs?
Click to expand...
I thought the washers on my 10 were the same as my 6 and therefore assumed the whol fleet was using the same. I had guessed that possibly a builder picked an alternate washer that was larger, in your case. I am sure if it was from vans it was the same diameter as the others. Maybe thay went to a new supplier or upgraded to stiffer washers.
 
flytopg said:
It's a condor. I talked to Wilkerson and they are sending me a Flight Custom III retread. According to them the FCIII has a steel belt around the center of the tire.
Click to expand...
I installed the Flight Custom III retread from Wilkerson and measured the clearance to be 9/32, up from 6/32 that the condor had. I haven't experienced any rubbing in the last 20 flight hours.
 
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