Tire Choice

[Fdxflier]

I have a kit on order and am debating about the tires. Most of my flying will probably be on paved strips but my goal is to do a significant amount of flying from grass/dirt strips. As it stands I have ordered the 850 x 6 6 ply treaded tires with tubes. My decision is based on 1) I like the looks of the bigger tires 2) I think the larger tires will be better on grass/dirt and 3) I suspect the treaded tires will perform and wear better on paved strips. Since I have no experience with tail draggers and back country flying and only a few hundred hours flying light airplanes I am looking for advice/recommendations on my choice.

[Hockeystud87]

I just did a lot of research on this topic and am going to purchased the 22" 850x6 desser tires. From what I understand these are about as small as most the kit fox guys run who do any type of off airport flying. What I have noticed is that most people start with the 22" 850 (A few with the 21/800 desser) and they quickly go up to a 26"+ tire. The Desser 27.5 on the 8" wheel is very popular and will most likely be the set I go with.

I also plan on running the 850's tubeless which I have spoken to many people saying they have all done this with little issue even tho they say tubed type.

If you stick with the e series matco wheel they claim you can just buy new wheels ranging from 6", 8", 10", 12" and they bolt right on your axle and brake setup.

Below is what I plan on doing.

Matco 6" wheel e series with single caliper brakes
1.25" matco axle
tubeless kit
22" 850 desser - tubeless

I also fly a model 4 1200

[aviator79]

Full disclosure up front: I haven't actually *flown* on my tires yet.

I have the Desser 22" 850 x 6" smooth tires. They are popular, and seem like a good compromise for a multi-mission airplane. Not too draggy, but still give some cushion on rough surfaces. They do well off pavement, but don't wear too quickly when on pavement. They don't cost $1500 a piece.

I've landed on bigger tires, which makes it feel like you're landing on a giant marshmallow. It's really nice. Will the big tire bug bite after I have some experience on the 22s? Time will tell.

[jiott]

I have been using the Desser 800x6 tires for 5 years and plan to replace them soon with the 850x6 smoothies. Tire choice is supposedly all about performance in off airport landings, but I suspect that the majority of folks that buy the 26" and up bushwheels do so for the cool macho look factor. I will readily admit that I would do the same if I could afford it. However, I am quite sure that if I had 29's on my plane I would not go anywhere that my 21"/22" would not be just fine. Some may disagree, but in my opinion anything designated as an airport/airstrip turf or dirt backcountry or not can be handled adequately by the Desser 22"/850x6 tires. The same goes for many of the off-airport river gravel bars.

I sincerely am not throwing stones or making fun of the big tire guys because as I said before I really like the look and "extra cushion" it gives you for bad landings. Also no question the hard core Trent Palmer/Cowboys guys really need them. This is meant as a tickler for discussion and I would be very interested to hear from those that disagree, and those that have honestly found the 22" tires to be inadequate for the type of backcountry flying they do. Has anyone actually sustained damage by using the 22" where they feel larger bushwheels would have prevented it? Has anyone actually changed their choices of rough landing areas by switching from 22" to larger bushwheels?

[airlina]

Bill, Like you, when I ordered and built my Series 5 ,15 years ago,I went with the 8.50 treaded tires for the same reasons you specified, however that turned out to be a bad idea. With those tires, landing on pavement was always a bout with mr.toads wild ride. Reason was that those tires weigh a bunch and required a lot of force to spin up on initial touchdown sending you on the forementioned wild ride. Next tire was a treaded 8.00 size tire with a much reduced weight and the problem went away. I fell prey last summer to big tire envy like a bunch of other guys and went with the Desser 8.50 smoothies and absolutely love em. Same weight as the 8.00 treaded that I replaced (for sale by the way) and no surprises on touchdown on pavement. I do 75% grass ,25% hard surfaces and though I only have 50 hours on them , no wear is evident plus they look cool ,and my cruise only went doen a couple MPH. hope this helps Bruce N199CL

[Hockeystud87]

airlina did you go tubed or tubeless? I just got those tires for the KF 4 and i'm going tubeless.

[airlina]

Hey Al, been following your thread about going tubeless, and being raised a good Christian I couldn't bring myself to be going around tubeless so I am a devout tuber. I run my tires on cleveland wheels with pressures at 14 PSI and have a silver sharpie witness mark on my tires and wheels that I check on preflight to make sure That there is no misalignment of tire and tube. No problems to date. Bruce N199CL

[ken nougaret]

Bruce, how much are you asking for the 800's?

[Slyfox]

I personally feel that the 21 inch tire on a kitfox is just fine. I flew most the life between me and my kitfox 14years on 21's. but the introduction of the nanco tires were not so pleasing to me, I needed something better. than come the 27.5 tire from desser that took me a long period of time to finally get. these are much better priced than the Alaska brand tire. 500dollars each. I thought they were a bit pricy still. I finally took the plunge and yes I am very happy with them. I could have gotten away with a 21 inch tire no problem with my flying but I wanted a better tire that didn't bounce around from out of round. I truly love the tires and the wear is very good on pavement. grass is such a joy. I had a emergency landing in a field and it was doubly nice to have the big tires. so the 22's should work out real nice without blowing your budget.

[PapuaPilot]

I am using the Desser 850x6 (22") smoothie tires for the reasons stated by airlina and jiott. I don't think there is anywhere I would go that these tires wouldn't be sufficient. They hold up very well with landing on pavement which is over 50% of my landings.

I run them from 11-14 psi and have experienced a little slippage. I put slippage marks on tire and have gotten 1/4 to 3/8" movement in the course of a year (I fix it at the annual inspection). Like others have said . . . watch the valve stem.

BTW I got rid of the normal 8.50x6 tires that came with my plane (I bought mine as an unfinished project). Again, this was at the recommendation of others on this forum. They were very heavy and stiff.

[Fdxflier]

Thanks for all the input. I think I will change my order and get the smoothies.

[Floog]

I've had Desser 21" smoothies for almost 1,400 hours now. I'm hoping to get another 1,000 hours after rotating them last year. If and when the time comes, I will buy another set. Incidentally, I run with tubes and Slime. Only one leak due to landing on cat heads before the Slime and no slippage. Great tires! Nice compromise for a cheap ass.

[jrthomas]

You asked for opinions so here's mine. I've been running the 22" Dessers with tubes for about 2 and a half years. I couldn't be any more pleased. For my type flying they're perfect. I fly out of a 6000' paved airport without an official grass runway but I do land on the grass a lot. I fly in and out of grass strips pretty often. I don't do sand bars or mountain tops. The Desser is a good compromise for pavement and grass. They wear very well on pavement and with the Grove gear the bumps are not very noticeable. They're a big improvement over the old hard 6.50's and I didn't notice any speed loss. I run around 15 pounds of air so I've never known them to move on the rim. They've been absolutely trouble free.

[ken nougaret]

Bruce, got your pm and i replied. I dont think my pm's are going out. Got pics? Here's my eeeemail. nougaret at verizon dot net

[jiott]

Thanks for your comments Floog. Your experience is the main reason I plan to switch to the Desser 22" smoothies. I know you go anywhere Scott goes with his 26" airstreak bushwheels-Mile Hi, all over Idaho and Oregon, river bars, etc.

If finances allowed I would choose the bushwheels, but only for the cool factor, and more margin for bad or poorly chosen landing areas. They also would be easier on the landing gear/airframe in cases of rougher than anticipated landings. Maybe the Desser 22" tires make you a little better pilot in carefully evaluating your landing areas.