Tire Pressure

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Tire Pressure

Postby T41pilot » Mon Jun 13, 2022 7:43 am

I've installed 5.00 x 5 4 ply tires that have been used by several people and recommend by Jeff since I'll be flying off grass. Charts show a tire pressure of 30 lbs and several comments on here seem to support that or even a little lower. I've got these inflated to 30 lbs and to my eye they appear soft and there is some rolling resistance as well when I move the airplane around the hangar. My empty weight is 724 lbs so do I need a little more pressure to support the weight or is this normal? I run my ultralight tires a touch soft for more control on the ground and a little cushion on landing but the plane only weighs 250 lbs and 12 lbs of pressure does the job for that. Also, I'm concerned about spinning the tires on the rim if too soft. These are Airhawk tires.
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Re: Tire Pressure

Postby GraemeSmith » Mon Jun 13, 2022 8:05 am

NOTWITHSTANDING the limit marked on the wheels - I run my Airhawk 5.00 x 5 4 ply at 40-45psi. 40 when I want a softer contact patch for ice.
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Re: Tire Pressure

Postby DCASonex » Mon Jun 13, 2022 12:49 pm

Keep my 5.00 x 5 ties at about 22- 23 PSI mostly on paved runways. Tail dragger, empty weight about 735 pounds. Replaced after about 400 -500 landings.

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Re: Tire Pressure

Postby mike.smith » Mon Jun 13, 2022 5:43 pm

45-50 lbs, for the last 8 years. Low pressure tires have, in the past, spun on the rims and torn off the stem.
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Re: Tire Pressure

Postby WaiexN143NM » Mon Jun 13, 2022 8:34 pm

hi all,
ditto what mike smith just said.
8 yrs now….


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Re: Tire Pressure

Postby jaflint » Mon Jun 13, 2022 9:37 pm

Over 1000 landings on my current set of 5.00 x 5 Goodyears. 28 psi. Pavement (mostly) and grass. Seems there’s more than one way to skin this cat.
Jason Flint
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2500+ landings!
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Re: Tire Pressure

Postby GraemeSmith » Tue Jun 14, 2022 7:15 am

DCASonex wrote:Replaced after about 400 -500 landings.

David A.

Ha! That prompted me to go look in the logbook. 444 landings on the Airhawks with about 200 or so left on them by the look of them. Tailwheel.
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