I finally got approval to put the 26’s on my 180. My question is what are your experiences with “trying” to balance them and do they need to be perfectly balanced?
I had a very hard time getting even close to balanced and one high speed taxi proved they weren’t balanced enough! I should mention that these are used tires. Not sure that should make a difference, they aren’t excessively worn.
Any tips and or personal experiences would be great.
Thanks,
Brent

Do they need balancing or have they sat for a while? Those tires take a set if parked for a while, and it takes a while for them to stop “thumping”. They thump a lot after sitting and in cold.

MTV

I found the same as MTV, cold temps and low pressure and they take a set. During the winter I set the pressure at max. It helps a bit.

Thanks guys.
I just installed them this week in a heated hangar so shouldn’t be too lumpy from sitting around in the cold.
I’ve asked about the air pressure in a previous post and got anywhere from 16 to 22 psi on a 180.
What do you think would be max psi cold?

Wilson wrote:Thanks guys.
I just installed them this week in a heated hangar so shouldn’t be too lumpy from sitting around in the cold.
I’ve asked about the air pressure in a previous post and got anywhere from 16 to 22 psi on a 180.
What do you think would be max psi cold?

Depends on your definition of “cold”.

First, understand that when you set pressures in a warm hangar, then push the plane out into “cold” temperatures, those tires will cool off to a lower pressure.

How much? Depends on all the variables.

I’m running 8.50 x 10 tires. In summer, I run them at ~ 18 psi. In winter, I increase that to about 22. So far so good.

MTV

FWIW when mounting MLG tires I like to air them up to like 40 or 50 psi,
then back the pressure down to normal operating pressures.
I think that helps seat the bead good & tight to prevent slippage.

Thanks guys I will take all of this into account.