Desser Smooth Tundra Tire

[av8rps]

I just had a conversation with one of my Highlander friends that lives in Canada, and he now has about 75 hours on his new Desser 27 inch bush tires on the 8 inch wheels, and he absolutely loves them.*He had Matco 21's on originally, then spent the big bucks and put on a set of 29 inch ABW's, which he also really liked. But he said he lost a lot of cruise speed with those, and hated knowing what it was costing him whenever he had to operate on pavement.

He said it was strange, but the Desser 27's are only about 3 mph slower than his old 21's in cruise, whereas the 29 ABW's were more than double that (I personally think that is because not only is the ABW 29 much taller, but more of a factor is that it is much wider than the Desser 27). Interestingly, he said the Desser feels nearly as soft as the ABW, but wears more like a standard tire on pavement. And of course, they are a lot less $$.

Hopefully this info might help your decision if you decide you still want to use a larger tire. just posted this in another thread, but thought it should be included here as well.

Here's a link to the forum where the Highlander guys are talking about their results with the Desser's. http://wingsforum.com/viewtopic.php?f=218&t=23668

[kmach]

Hi,
I am looking at getting the Dresser 850-6 Aero Classic Smooth Tundra , has anyone had issues with brake assemblies and the tire sidewall clearance, the brakes rubbing on the sidewalls ?

I currently have 6.00-6 tires , Cleveland 40-281 wheels and 30-224 brake assembly . Anyone running the Dressers with this wheel and brake setup ?

What I would like to have is , another set of wheels and put the dressers on them and have a "quick" swap setup so just the axle nut , cotter pin and brake caliper bolts need to be worked with , still using the existing brake assembly.

Talking with my AME he said it might not be that simple and brought up the brake assembly sidewall clearance issue.

I would need to put the 6.00-6 tire wheel setup back on to use with my wheel skis that are built for that size of tire. ( I require this about 6 + months of the year usually)

What wheels and brake assemblies are you guys using with the 850-6 Dressers ?

[bogmonster]

I'm running the grove rims and brakes. If my air pressure gets a little low, I'll see some slight rubbing.

[Timberwolf]

The Desser smoothies are a great tire. Hopefully you weren't talking to your AME (aero medical examiner) about tires as I'm not sure what light he could shine on that subject. However, I have a setup that you have described with mine setup on a set of 40-59 rims. I swap back and forth between these and 31" bushwheels. No rubbing issues when I was running them with 30-59 calipers. I have since switched to 30-52N double puck calipers which utilize a super thick rotor and have no issues with those rubbing the tire. Even if you just have 1 set of rims, it doesnt take long to swap tires if you have to do it 2 times a year.

[kmach]

In Canada , AME stands for Aircraft Maintenance Engineer.

[Timberwolf]

Ha. Tracking...couldn't resist it though. If you get the tires, post pics! these tires are great for the price. Keeps some wear off the $3600 31" BW's

[kmach]

Timberwolf , your 40-59 wheels are for a 1 1/2" axle right ? Or can you put a 1 1/4" axle bearing in 40-59 wheels ?

[Timberwolf]

Indeed they are. However mine are not on a kitfox, they are on a Murphy Rebel. I'd imagine you could find bearings that would work outside of PMA'd parts. Not sure what's required on your end in canada and the legalities for you.

[kmach]

What is everyone using for pressure on these Desser 850-6 tundras ?

I have seen past posts of anywhere from 18 to 6 psi ?

First flight today I tried 18 , that seems like too much.

I do have only about 1/4" from sidewall of the tire to my brake calliper for clearance, what are you guys seeing for clearance ?

My model5 has Cleveland 40-281 wheels using 30-224 brakes , 1 1/4" grove axle and gear.

[Timberwolf]

My gross is 1650 and I run 10-12 lbs. I abuse my brakes for some short fields. I lock up the tires on dry grass and have seen zero slippage at these pressures. 1/4" is plenty. You aren't going to be flexing them out to where they hit the calipers. Alos, standing by on the obligatory Pics