Hi all,

Would be nice if all tire specs included the diameter, but many seem not to. Am I safe in assuming that the 15x600x6 tires have a roughly 15" diameter? And I've seen mention of a 21x800x6 tire as well (aero-classic), which I am assuming is a 21" diameter.

So do the majority of the 600X6 tires fall in that 15-16" diameter ballpark?

Anyone have any details no the typical diameter of a 700x6 tire?

Thanks in advance for any guidance on this.

CT_Pilot wrote:....Am I safe in assuming that the 15x600x6 tires have a roughly 15" diameter?
.....So do the majority of the 600X6 tires fall in that 15-16" diameter ballpark?

I believe that the 15-600x6 tires are smaller than the standard 600x6,
maybe meant to be installed on retractable gear aircraft?

May the following links answer all your questions

https://www.goodyearaviation.com/resour ... abook.html

and

https://www.goodyearaviation.com/resour ... ection.pdf

I have run down the rabbit hole of tire sizing many many times. I have spent a lot of time reading through the data book looking for a tire that would meet my needs size wise. My one take away regarding tire size is that it is confusing. On a standard two number tire designation eg. 600x6 or 500x5, the first number is a good estimate for sidewall height and the second number is wheel diameter. Hence a 600x6 is approximately 18" in diameter while a 500x5 is approximately 15" inches inflated diameter. In the three number tire designations, 15x6-6, the first number is inflated diameter, second number is section width and third number is wheel size. I don't understand why the three number system is not used for all tires, it would be much more descriptive. Lets not get started on single number tires like the 14.5SC those are just annoying!

Apologies, we totally ignored smaller tire specs in this guide: https://backcountrypilot.org/knowledge-base/aircraft/188-tire-guide#h2-8-00s-and-smaller

But if anyone wants to extend it with that data to help future readers, let me know.

I would add that, as tires get larger in diameter, two different manufacturers' tires MAY be significantly different in diameter, even though the same "size".....

I agree with Helio, this subject is far more confusing than it should be.

MTV

IF only all manufacturers and tires used the same wheel size.

My intention was to use a 29” Desser (10” wheel) as it had more options than my real first choice of the 27.5” Desser which had an 8” wheel. Let’s face it, the 8” wheel is very limiting to choices, the 10” WHEELS was slightly less limiting unless you I want 35’s which I don’t want or need.

So I made a 3rd choice compromise and went with a Goodyear 26x10.5x6 which is not really a 26 inch tire.

I just do not want a 3 or 4 ply tire that is all but useless for pavement landings. I can land on dirt at my home airport from late spring/early summer until the first snows fall then it is pavement all winter.

Desser has pretty much posted on this very forum they are in no hurry and possibly never will build a tire larger than 22” (850x6) for a 6” wheel.

OK rant over, but it was in fact a rant of frustration

Edit: bold and italics to correct my imperfect post

Thanks all, think I got the idea now.

I must have tossed the 600s but I had 700x6, 800x6 and 850x6. They measured 17”, 18”, 20” respectively. They are unmounted so size measurements are exact.

I took pictures but they suck; hangar to too dark and the perspective is bad.

Utah-Jay wrote:IF only all manufacturers and tires used the same wheel size.

My intention was to use a 29” Desser (10” wheel) as it had more options than my real first choice of the 27.5” Desser which had an 8” wheel. Let’s face it, the 8” wheel is very limiting to choices, the 10” tires was slightly less limiting unless you I want 35’s which I don’t want or need.

So I made a 3rd choice compromise and went with a Goodyear 26x10.5x6 which is not really a 26 inch tire.

I just do not want a 3 or 4 ply tire that is all but useless for pavement landings. I can land on dirt at my home airport from late spring/early summer until the first snows fall then it is pavement all winter.

Desser has pretty much posted on this very forum they are in no hurry and possibly never will build a wheel larger than 22” (850x6) for a 6” wheel.

OK rant over, but it was in fact a rant of frustration

That is one of the most confusing "discussions" I've seen in a while. There are "Tires", the (generally) rubber things, and then there are "Wheels", the (generally) middle things made from some brand of metal.

Aircraft wheels are available in 5 inch, 6 inch 8 inch and 10 inch diameter for general aviation use. Just to confuse things further, Airframes Alaska makes different widths of 10 inch diameter wheels for GA aircraft, depending on what tires you want to run on them.

Then, there are TIRES of various sizes, that fit on those wheels of the various diameters.

Even within tires of the same "official" size, diameters can vary significantly. In my experience, Goodyear 8.50 x 6 tires tend to be an inch or two larger in diameter than the various Desser branded 8.50 x 6 tires.

So, yes, it can be confusing. But, when you're discussing it helps to use the term wheel as the metal parts and tire as the rubber part.....unless, of course you're talking about a tube.....

Hope I confused this even further for ya.

MTV

mtv wrote:

Utah-Jay wrote:IF only all manufacturers and tires used the same wheel size.

My intention was to use a 29” Desser (10” wheel) as it had more options than my real first choice of the 27.5” Desser which had an 8” wheel. Let’s face it, the 8” wheel is very limiting to choices, the 10” tires was slightly less limiting unless you I want 35’s which I don’t want or need.

So I made a 3rd choice compromise and went with a Goodyear 26x10.5x6 which is not really a 26 inch tire.

I just do not want a 3 or 4 ply tire that is all but useless for pavement landings. I can land on dirt at my home airport from late spring/early summer until the first snows fall then it is pavement all winter.

Desser has pretty much posted on this very forum they are in no hurry and possibly never will build a wheel larger than 22” (850x6) for a 6” wheel.

OK rant over, but it was in fact a rant of frustration

That is one of the most confusing "discussions" I've seen in a while. There are "Tires", the (generally) rubber things, and then there are "Wheels", the (generally) middle things made from some brand of metal.

Aircraft wheels are available in 5 inch, 6 inch 8 inch and 10 inch diameter for general aviation use. Just to confuse things further, Airframes Alaska makes different widths of 10 inch diameter wheels for GA aircraft, depending on what tires you want to run on them.

Then, there are TIRES of various sizes, that fit on those wheels of the various diameters.

Even within tires of the same "official" size, diameters can vary significantly. In my experience, Goodyear 8.50 x 6 tires tend to be an inch or two larger in diameter than the various Desser branded 8.50 x 6 tires.

So, yes, it can be confusing. But, when you're discussing it helps to use the term wheel as the metal parts and tire as the rubber part.....unless, of course you're talking about a tube.....

Hope I confused this even further for ya.

MTV

Edited and corrected in bold italics