Just as a comparison, I have the 21" Aero Classic, treaded (21x800-6), tires. I've been running them several hundred hours now and can see no wear on them at all. I operate off a paved airport, but into lots of grass destinations. They have been plenty big enough for me and I plan on the same tires on my Mangy Fox project.
If you are into gravel bars and serious bush flying they may be a little small, but for me they are perfect.
AND at $110 each they are better than perfect!
Attachment 7909These are the same compound as our 21 x 800-6 and 850 x 6 Aero Classic's.
People have commented that the wear is extremely good on the above sizes.
Here's a better picture of the tire mounted on a Matco 8 inch tubeless wheel.
Man, I'm liking them more and more...
But the million dollar question is still unanswered:
Why make these tires for an 8" wheel instead of the more marketable 6"?
You got a lot of questions....who are you working for?
The saying "there's more than one way to skin a cat" is appropriate here.
The largest 6" tire we can get made at this time from current available tooling is the 850-6 which is 22 inches. Not optimum but we made the best of it and came out with the ultra lightweight 850-6 4 Ply.
To get to the next level of large in 6" would cost upwards of 350K in tooling and changes in their manufacturing process. Not a big enough market for them to change their process.
We determined the next level of large that could be made in existing equipment would be 27 diameter x 10 wide on an 8" wheel. We did some homework with Matco and Grove for the 8" wheel.
We determined that for LSA, if a person has Matco setup and all you will have to pay is $75 a wheel to upgrade to a light, tubeless, $395 Tundra Tire we would get a thank you.
If you need to fork over $640 now for new wheels and brakes to be able to use our $395 Tundra Tire, we will probably get a grunt now, but my math shows me that $1430 for a complete setup is cheaper than the least expensive option out there for a tundra type tire.
The ABW tire is the best option for a lot of operators. It's a proven, well made product.
We are just exploring a different side of the market from a different angle.
and that's all I got to say about that
I know my opinion on here is worth less than what you pay for it but I think you guys made a very good business decision and they way it was thought out with the end product saving the end user a bunch of money... SMART!! I'm going to guess you will end up with a very marketable product. Might even want to get a bulk buy on some Grove or Matco 8" wheels and sell them as a set with the tires. Someone there deserves a big bonus. Better yet, just send me a free pair for saying nice things.
I second that .just the fact that they wear like the 21" classics that I have on now is worth the price of a wheel. 200 hours and there still new .what size tubes will we need?
I might not mind having an extra set of wheels to ease swapping out between tires. Does anyone know if the 8" wheels work with my cleaveland brakes?
Maxwell Duke
Kitfox S6 IO-240 Built it (Flying since 2003)
Maule M7-235C Sold it (liked it though)
RV-10 IO-540 Bought it
Zenith CH-750 Built with 7 friends (DAR Vic Syracuse)
Pardon me if this has already been answered. Can you use the 8" Douglas wheels? How low of an air pressure can you run these at?
Nick W
IV 1200
912Ul
Warp Taper Tip