Sorry, I know there's been a ton of other threads on this basic topic. I actually have waded through most or all of them.

I'm hoping to hear from folks who have run both the 26" Goodyears and the 26" ABWs on their 170s or early, stripped-down 180s. Those of you that have, is the airspeed penalty greater with ABWs? Did either one seem to cause more gear oscillation? Any other observations welcome also.

Thanks,

-DP

Different aircraft, but this is exactly the dichotomy I've been grappling with too.

And now the Desser offering later in the year makes life even more complicated!

Ran both on a '53 180. The 26" ABW is quite a bit larger and is a little slower but not much. They do wobble around more too. The ABW were pre-radial and they didn't last at all. Of course lots of pavement ops so that's what happens.

Get the 29's. Perfect for Cessna. You have so much more power now that you'll never notice them in cruise.

I get a small amount of gear wobble in flight with my 26" bushwheels on my 170. It's not noticeable most of the time unless the air is perfectly smooth. I have the soft early gear on my 170 though. With your 180 gear I would think there would be less movement, although you will be cruising a lot faster now so who knows. If I lived in AK I'd let you borrow the bushwheels to see how you like them and decide if you want those or 29s.

DP,

My 170B came with the 26" GY and I replaced them with 29" ABW within a year or so. I can't remember the average cruise speed with the 26" but with the 29" ABW I do about 115MPH.

The performance difference is day and night. There are places I did not return after the first time on the 26" GY because the gear tried to rattle out of the fusalage. Returning with the 29" ABW it was smooth (relatively speaking).

The 26" ABW probably would have been just fine for the flying I do but I got convinced by the salesman that bigger is better. The extra margin doesn't hurt on the rough or soft stuff.

I have 180 gear but the tires do still wobble a bit while flying. That is a bit annoying at times but nothing serious.

Ignoring the price difference I would go for the ABW for the performance.

Thanks for the replies. I guess I am now open to 29s too, as well as a BBW.

Thanks,

-DP

OK, you guys are officially a bunch of bad influences and enablers! My order for 29s and BBW is placed!

Good job DP!!

Right on DP, you are going to have yourself one bad ass 170!