I have been running a 600 and the nose and 700's on the mains on a 182B. I have a grass stip here and did notice a little beter TO performance when I put the 700's on the mains. I asume that higher preasure would be better for grass. What would you say the max presure should be.

Tim

Why stop there---I'm thinking 5.00 x 6.00 and about 120 psi oughta do it.....

MTV

I agree with Jr. Personal pref. I have 8.50's on my 140 and run 15lbs in them. 29" ABW's I run 10lbs in.
All depends if you want to take off quick, or stop quick. Like Jr. said, low pressure = drag on T.O. so the drag = a faster stop. I doubt if my 140 has ever seen pavement?? Not while I've been it caretaker. My AWB's have only seen pavement twice. If I was flying more pavement than grass/dirt, I would tend to air them up a bit more. Not quite as squirrley on the landing roll if you touch down a tad out of wack.

I came up with the perfect solution for my 172 a few years ago. I bought a very small manual bike pump and a pencil type tire pressure gauge and put them in my glove box. Just before leaving civilization, I let the tires down to 20 psi. Then, I land in the boonies. Before takeoff, I pump them back up! I'm a certifiable genius!

Ok, I did it once. The capacity of the pump is way too small for the tire, and it took forever. I swore I would never do it again by choice. I just keep the pump in the glove box now for emergencies.

kevbert wrote:I came up with the perfect solution for my 172 a few years ago. I bought a very small manual bike pump and a pencil type tire pressure gauge and put them in my glove box. Just before leaving civilization, I let the tires down to 20 psi. Then, I land in the boonies. Before takeoff, I pump them back up! I'm a certifiable genius!

Ok, I did it once. The capacity of the pump is way too small for the tire, and it took forever. I swore I would never do it again by choice. I just keep the pump in the glove box now for emergencies.

You'll want to make sure you have the right pump! There are small pumps for road bikes that deliver high pressure but low volume (not so good). Then there are pumps intended for mountain bikes that deliver higher volume and lower pressure (still up to 90 psi or so). Next you'll need to decide if you can live with a pump that connects directly to the valve stem (not so good for airplane tires) or one that includes a hose (more better).

A good one is made by Lezyne, though not cheap at about $35 - - you'll like this one and also some of their even smaller models.

search for <Lezyne MTB Specific Micro Floor Drive Pump> on Amazon

bumper wrote:
You'll want to make sure you have the right pump! There are small pumps for road bikes that deliver high pressure but low volume (not so good). Then there are pumps intended for mountain bikes that deliver higher volume and lower pressure (still up to 90 psi or so). Next you'll need to decide if you can live with a pump that connects directly to the valve stem (not so good for airplane tires) or one that includes a hose (more better).

A good one is made by Lezyne, though not cheap at about $35 - - you'll like this one and also some of their even smaller models.

search for <Lezyne MTB Specific Micro Floor Drive Pump> on Amazon

I was aware of the road / mtn bike pressures and volumes, and got a mtn bike model, but I suspect it's too small to even do a good job on a mtn bike tire. My choice was limited by my self-imposed constraints that it had to be well under 1 lb, and it had to fit in my glove box. My downfall was that I never imagined that a floor pump design might fit those parameters. Holy cow, only 8 ounces, and it has a hose! As you noted, the problem with mine is that the cylinder attaches directly to the valve stem, which makes it remarkably difficult to use for more than a few strokes. I think I paid around $25 for mine, so $35 for one that has a chance of working sounds like a bargain. Thanks, Bumper!

What about a CO2 inflator that the cyclists use....little CO2 cartridges

n2485q wrote:What about a CO2 inflator that the cyclists use....little CO2 cartridges

And if you get bored you can toss them in the fire.

Tim

kevbert wrote:I came up with the perfect solution for my 172 a few years ago. I bought a very small manual bike pump and a pencil type tire pressure gauge and put them in my glove box. Just before leaving civilization, I let the tires down to 20 psi. Then, I land in the boonies. Before takeoff, I pump them back up! I'm a certifiable genius!

Ok, I did it once. The capacity of the pump is way too small for the tire, and it took forever. I swore I would never do it again by choice. I just keep the pump in the glove box now for emergencies.

I carry one of those little battery powered tire inflation that will go up to 100+ psi. Landing on too low a air pressure is damaging and could be fatal mistake. Most mains (6x6) will still be ok down to 20 psi- I wouldn't go any lower. Mid to high 30's is about right. I run my 700's around 35 psi and they work well.
The soft field (Alaska Bush wheel) tires are mid teens I think.

182 STOL driver wrote:I carry one of those little battery powered tire inflation that will go up to 100+ psi. Landing on too low a air pressure is damaging and could be fatal mistake. Most mains (6x6) will still be ok down to 20 psi- I wouldn't go any lower. Mid to high 30's is about right. I run my 700's around 35 psi and they work well.
The soft field (Alaska Bush wheel) tires are mid teens I think.

I tried two different 12V tire inflators, each of them self destructed after a couple of uses. The problem I see with them is that the smallest ones all seem to be cheap pieces of crap, and if you get a good one, it weighs a ton. I gravitated towards the manual bike pump because I perceived it to be very reliable and very lightweight. I hate the concept of the CO2 cartridges because I know I'll push it cockeyed onto the valve stem, discharge it with most of it going into the atmosphere, and then have to kick the dog a couple of times before stomping back to civilization.

The POH for my '59 172 (2200 lbs. gw) states 26 psi in the mains, 23 psi in the nose. I'm guessing that due to the prevalence of grass strips in the fifties they picked those numbers as a good all-around pressure. When I'm running on pavement, I like to keep them around 30. When I have them down to 20, I'm at 1900 lbs.

bumper wrote:....A good one is made by Lezyne, though not cheap at about $35 - - you'll like this one and also some of their even smaller models.....

I got mine at Wally World-- a cheap foot-operated model but works well enough for the limited amount I use it, and small/light enough to fit in my tool bag. Well under $25 (I think about $8)-- high end is nice if you want or need it, but cheap usually works for me for things like this.

I got some recapped 700s that are so dang stuff that you could probably run them with no pressure They are so heavy I could use them as tie-down anchors too.

This will do you absolutely no good but on the Lusc I run 18 psi in the 600s. the IA I used to go to always filled them to 35. They sure roll better when that tight but you can feel every pebble on the runway.

Well I aired them up to 30psi. Will test them out on Wednesday and give report

Tim

Like MTV tried to tell you, but you self-employed guys on Prozac never listen...

Blow those friggin' 7.00's up till they look like 31 inch Bushwheels. Then you and Coyote Ugly can go play together. He'll bring his video camera so we all can enjoy the show.

Gump

My airplane is pretty light at 1760 gross, but I run my 800x6's at around 13#. Ditto for the 850's when thry're on there. Softer than most folks like I guess, but no problems so far. On the other hand, I run the tailwheel at around 40 pounds which is lots more than some folks I've talked to.

Eric

I'm running 32 psi in my 3.50 X 19's. Good on grass and no problem with gopher holes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suOMiQUMd7w

Greg

As I said before, I aired the tires up from 22 psi to 30 psi. Take off role on grass is much shorter. probably 15%, and not too bouncy. That is because I have really smooth field.

Tim

gcardinal wrote:I'm running 32 psi in my 3.50 X 19's. Good on grass and no problem with gopher holes.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=suOMiQUMd7w

Greg

I have to say, that's a pretty cool video. I didn't expect to see a bicycle tire out there.

ok what's a good tail wheel pressure. I've been told anywhere from 40 to 50 lbs...I keep my mains(800x6) at 26 on pavement and about 22 when I go to Idaho or dirt....but I never mess with the tail wheel which I have at 45...where's Wup when we need him....

hotrod150 wrote: On the other hand, I run the tailwheel at around 40 pounds which is lots more than some folks I've talked to.

Per the C170 Owner's Manual, I run mine at 35 psi. What's the advantage of more pressure in the tailwheel? Get 'er too hard and there's a lot of force on everything else in the tailwheel spring/tailcone, right?