Have a 182 with 29" air hawks on it currently with 8.50x6 up front. Contemplating dropping down to 8.50x10 on the mains for two reasons.

1. The 29's are overkill for what I'll be doing anytime soon, but still want to retain some off airport capability.
2. Speed penalty.

So the question is, will I gain some of my cruise speed back going down a size? Also anyone's opinions on running 8.50x10's on mains with an 8.50x6 up front.

I don’t have a 182 so I wasn’t going to respond since this is posted in the 182 specific forum. But since no one else has responded…

I have 29x10s on my Bearhawk. I went up from 850x10s. On my airplane I lost a measurable amount of speed, 5-6 mph.

whee wrote:I don’t have a 182 so I wasn’t going to respond since this is posted in the 182 specific forum. But since no one else has responded…

I have 29x10s on my Bearhawk. I went up from 850x10s. On my airplane I lost a measurable amount of speed, 5-6 mph.

Bearhawk looks cool. Thanks for the reply. 5-6mph probably not worth the trouble in the end. As is most things chasing speed eh.

What kind of off airport capabilities are you looking to retain? I run 8.50X6s on my 206 and land pretty near anywhere I want. With an 8.00 on the nose and 8.50x6 mains that'll give you some speed back for sure, but I'm not sure how much. What's your current speed with the setup you have?

Will likely save quite a bit of weight as well.

The other issues you probably should consider:

1. Those 29s are heavy, certainly several pounds heavier than 8.50 x 10s, and that weight is aft of CG.....on a 182

2. Do you already have six inch wheels if you were to go down to 8.50 x 6 mains and 8 .00 x 6.00 nose?

I'm with A-1 Skinner, operated 206s on 8.50 x 6 mains and 8.00 nose tires in AK and never really wished for more. I did occasionally fly a 206 set up like your 182, and felt it was overkill. Not sure the speed difference would translate to a 182.....I just pushed more power....

But, the 8.50 x 10 tires on my 175 are really nice. They offer decent cushioning in rougher stuff.

MTV

Thanks for the replies guys. I'm mainly just going to be grass strips and hopefully a short field at my house eventually (1000-1200ft). Def don't need the 29's for anywhere I'll ever go but they are cushy on grass. I do have the original 6" wheels. Might look into going the 8.50x6's with 8.00x6 up front eventually. Feel like lighter tires would help with the short field capability eventually as well.

I'm cruising around 125 currently and can maybe push it to 130kts if I let her rip.

850 on the nose with 26 inch wheels on the mains is a very nice compromise. 29s are overkill 850 by 10 are about 26 inches as well.

800 on the nose with 850s on the mains is the same balanced set up but on soft ground I prefer the extra footprint.

We run 800 nose and 850 by 6 mains in winter and 850 on the nose with 26es on the mains all summer.

I run 850x6's on my 180 and they work well for my flying--
which is similar to what you describe for yourself.
I know some guys who run 29x10's and they are heavy & draggy--
if I ran 10" wheels, I would much rather have the 850x10s.
Another benefit is that they are much less expensive--
about $450 each (6 ply) vs over $800 for the buffed 29x10 4 ply from Alaska Gear Company.
If your 29's are in good shape, you might be able to sell them to recoup some of the cost for the 850-10's.

Thanks for the feedback again fellas. I appreciate it.

Found this guy running 6.50x10's with an 8.50x6 on the nose....looks like an option as well. Anyone know of any drawbacks of 6.50x10's? Looks a hair bigger than 8.50x6's and would save a ton a weight on each wheel compared to the 29's.

Sure looks fun playing in the snow!

MDHF15 wrote:.....Found this guy running 6.50x10's with an 8.50x6 on the nose...

You sure those are 650-10's?

hotrod180 wrote:

MDHF15 wrote:.....Found this guy running 6.50x10's with an 8.50x6 on the nose...

You sure those are 650-10's?

Yeah I was wondering same at first. He answered someone in comments and said he was running 6.50/10's on main and 8.50x6's on front.

So I dug around on aircraft spruce and sure enough 6.50's are 21 inches (same as the 8.50x6 up front). Says the 6.50's are 16 lbs where the 8.5010's are 22-25lbs. This is just one of them things you hem and haw on for a while and finally make a decision.

Man, those tires looks a lot bigger than the nose wheel. They sure look like 8.60x10s to me.

A few months ago I looked up 650x10s in the GoodYear spec manual. They are real close to the same size as 850x6s. They’d be a great option if you only had 10” wheels but wanted smaller tires.

whee wrote:Man, those tires looks a lot bigger than the nose wheel. They sure look like 8.60x10s to me.

A few months ago I looked up 650x10s in the GoodYear spec manual. They are real close to the same size as 850x6s. They’d be a great option if you only had 10” wheels but wanted smaller tires.

Yeah they seem really close to same size when I looked em up too. The ones in the video look bigger than the nose wheel for sure.

I would bet they are 8.50x10s on the mains in that video. There is no STC for 6.50x10s, and in Canada most mechanics are pretty sticky about sticking to the rules... For grass landings like you say you are doing, you really don't need anything bigger then 8.50x6s. I'm actually considering going back down to 8.00x6 on the mains and 6.00x6 on the nose to pick up a bit more speed and just have cheaper and more available tires.