SonexBuilders.net

Weight is the enemy! My latest Cheng Shin tire and tube weighed in at 3.16 lbs. My worn tire was 0.6+ lbs lighter.

Have the 5.00 x 5 tires on mine and never needed more than 25 PSI. Have just over 500 hours on the tach. Most of that landing on pavement and on the first set of tires. I would be wary of using over 30 PSI with those bigger tires. The larger sidewall area means more force pushing outward on the rims than with the smaller stock tires for a given air pressure.

David A.

Can anyone tell me what the weight of the 5.00x5 tire and tube is?

.

Bryan Cotton wrote:Can anyone tell me what the weight of the 5.00x5 tire and tube is?

The Goodyear specificaton document https://www.aps-aviation.com/wp-content ... e-data.pdf has all their weights (I presume without tubes). Naturally the weight varies across "model" & ply rating, for a given size (5.00-5)

I'll have to weigh one of my tubes. But the lightest 5.00x5 tyre I found in that chart was 4.9 lbs. I think by the time you add tubes that is a 5-6 lb weight increase. Hard pass for me!

Seems my Goodyear Flight Custom III, 5.00-5 are 6 ply, so according to the chart 50 psi.

I assume 50 psi is Max pressure - seems a tad high for a light aircraft, like the Sonex but will give 40 psi a try out. My tyres weight 3 kg /6.7 lb each.

AirTrac 5.00-5 4-ply tire is 4.5 lbs. I have a pair I haven't installed yet. I don't have a weight for the tube.

Bryan Cotton wrote:I'll have to weigh one of my tubes. But the lightest 5.00x5 tyre I found in that chart was 4.9 lbs. I think by the time you add tubes that is a 5-6 lb weight increase. Hard pass for me!

Bryan, I believe going to the larger 5.00x5 tires is probably the largest and most common mistake most builders make.. The weight penalty is severe, the cost penalty is outrageous, the braking action may even be reduced, and they're simply not needed on the Sonex. The smaller tires are perfectly adequate on the Sonex and if one keeps them inflated at 45-50 psi, they don't go flat.

Even Tony Spicer, who began flying his Sonex with the larger tires, eventually switched back to the smaller tires with success, and he was based on a grass field. Guess which tires I have on my Sonex.

Art,,,,,,,,,,,,,Sonex taildragger #95,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jabiru 3300 #261

builderflyer wrote:

Bryan Cotton wrote:I'll have to weigh one of my tubes. But the lightest 5.00x5 tyre I found in that chart was 4.9 lbs. I think by the time you add tubes that is a 5-6 lb weight increase. Hard pass for me!

Bryan, I believe going to the larger 5.00x5 tires is probably the largest and most common mistake most builders make.. The weight penalty is severe, the cost penalty is outrageous, the braking action may even be reduced, and they're simply not needed on the Sonex. The smaller tires are perfectly adequate on the Sonex and if one keeps them inflated at 45-50 psi, they don't go flat.

Even Tony Spicer, who began flying his Sonex with the larger tires, eventually switched back to the smaller tires with success, and he was based on a grass field. Guess which tires I have on my Sonex.

Art,,,,,,,,,,,,,Sonex taildragger #95,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,,Jabiru 3300 #261

Parts availability could be a concern. I blew my tire in North Tampa and needed to get home. Most A&Ps have 500x5 in stock, not so much 11x4x5. So I made the switch out of what was available and they work much better on my sand/turf field here in Florida, actually they roll sooooo much better. 90% of my operations are on turf.

In defense of the small tires, I will say I flew to a couple of 2100' grass strips this weekend. Of course to do it, had to pick the right conditions. Cold, windy down the runway, and solo. Took more power to taxi and takeoff roll longer than hardtop, but it was fine. I can't see going with big tires to optimize the airplane for a mission that it is not really suited for. It will never be a super cub.