Bad Tire - Name That Tune!

SoCal 182 Driver

SoCal 182 Driver

Cleared for Takeoff
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Sep 11, 2019
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SoCal 182 Driver
In recent months, I've developed what felt like a tire that was out of balance. On take-off, it would vibrate so badly that I had to tap the brakes once airborne to get it to stop. So today I had an A&P come out to the plane with plan being to take the wheel off and balance the tire. Once he got the plane jacked-up, he spun the tire and showed me that the tread appeared to be wobbling. This is a Desser (now VSE) Monster retread. He said it wasn't a balance issue, and instead thought the tire had gone bad.

The tire has maybe 100-150 landings on it. Installed in May 2023. It was fine in the beginning, and the problem only occurred relatively recently. Like anyone, I occasionally clank a landing or misjudge a crosswind and land with some side-load, but overall the tires have not been abused. The tire on the left side is fine.

So, boys and girls, after viewing the video, what do you think has gone wrong with the tire? Name that tune!

View attachment 25-0825 tire wobble - shortened.mp4
 
That’s what my wheel did when the outer wheel bearing race became loose in the wheel.
I could hear my brakes rubbing as it got worse.
I have 3 years on a set of monster retreads, they have been great and 2000+ landings on them. They run true and smooth.
I also touch my brakes on takeoff, that’s a lot of tire to spin down.
A used wheel half was bought on E bay and fixed my problem.
 
Gary Ward said:
That’s what my wheel did when the outer wheel bearing race became loose in the wheel.
I could hear my brakes rubbing as it got worse.
I have 3 years on a set of monster retreads, they have been great and 2000+ landings on them. They run true and smooth.
I also touch my brakes on takeoff,that’s a lot of tire to spin downA used wheel half was bought on E bay and fixed my problem.
Click to expand...
I asked the mechanic if he thought it was a wheel bearing issue, and he didn't think so. Also, there's no 3-9 or 12-6 play in the wheel
 
Retreads (talking about car tires) and even new tires can have sections of the tread come loose from the belts. They don’t detach from the casing (they will eventually) so it doesn’t look bad when still but can cause pretty extreme vibration. It looks very much like your video.
 
jsstevens said:
Retreads (talking about car tires) and even new tires can have sections of the tread come loose from the belts. They don’t detach from the casing (they will eventually) so it doesn’t look bad when still but can cause pretty extreme vibration. It looks very much like your video.
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That's what I'm thinking -- that something came loose. The tire has been fine for the first two years, but something changed.
 
Let us know what you find out.
I just ordered an another set of monsters and tubes seconds ago. I liked mine, I do thousands of landings on them.
 
Gary Ward said:
Let us know what you find out.
I just ordered an another set of monsters and tubes seconds ago. I liked mine, I do thousands of landings on them.
Click to expand...
I've had bad luck with them and I am 100% done with retreads. I've sent the video to VSE quality control and am awaiting a response. If/when I hear something, I'll post it.
 
The last monsters I got, the tread wasn't true when spun. But the balance was fine.

Screw VSE. They keep hitting me up for tax info after I bought a single tire from desser 4 years ago.

Call up Wilkerson. Fantastic to deal with. And still family owned. A bit old school without online ordering. But talking to someone non the phone isn't that scary.

Wilkerson Aircraft Tires

Aircraft Tire retreading Dunlop Goodyear
www.wilkersonaircrafttires.com www.wilkersonaircrafttires.com
 
Racerx said:
The last monsters I got, the tread wasn't true when spun. But the balance was fine.

Screw VSE. They keep hitting me up for tax info after I bought a single tire from desser 4 years ago.

Call up Wilkerson. Fantastic to deal with. And still family owned. A bit old school without online ordering. But talking to someone non the phone isn't that scary.

Wilkerson Aircraft Tires

Aircraft Tire retreading Dunlop Goodyear
www.wilkersonaircrafttires.com www.wilkersonaircrafttires.com
Click to expand...
If VSE will give me a credit for the bad tire, I'll buy a couple of new tires from them. Otherwise, Wilkerson will be getting my business. I've already exchanged emails with them.
 
Some engineer want to calculate the number of rotations those tires complete in 1000 ft, the number of rpm @ 70 knots, and centrifugal force. Might have you rethinking retreads.
 
Clip4 said:
Some engineer want to calculate the number of rotations those tires complete in 1000 ft, the number of rpm @ 70 knots, and centrifugal force. Might have you rethinking retreads.
Click to expand...
I'm done with retreads!
 
I would like to see a similar video at an angle showing the rim, to see if it is running true.
 
Clip4 said:
Some engineer want to calculate the number of rotations those tires complete in 1000 ft, the number of rpm @ 70 knots, and centrifugal force. Might have you rethinking retreads.
Click to expand...
They work well for the airlines and military
 
I have been running retreads on tanker trucks for 40 years. I can't remember the last retread failure.
I wore out a set of monster retreads in 3 years on my 172. Before that is was air hawk tires that I wore out in the same amount of time.
The heavy monsters always were smoother running than the air hawks.
 
I used Desser retreads when we had the RV-9a; we were very happy with them.
To confirm it is a tire issue and not rim related, repeat your tire spin with a stationary object held in place immediately lateral to the outside edge of your rim. This will check for runout of the rim / wheel assembly.
 
Following up on this -- Desser/VSE took a look at the video I sent them, and quickly determined that there was an "abnormality" with the tire. The agreed to give me full credit for it, because the video showed "minimal wear." They said it would take 24 hours to get the credit into the system, so I'll call them on Monday and order a set of tires and tubes.

Yes, this was a PITA to deal with, but I have to give VSE credit for their customer service.
 
FORANE said:
I used Desser retreads when we had the RV-9a; we were very happy with them.
To confirm it is a tire issue and not rim related, repeat your tire spin with a stationary object held in place immediately lateral to the outside edge of your rim. This will check for runout of the rim / wheel assembly.
Click to expand...
I was with my A&P on Friday for some other work, so we spent some time looking at the tire and wheel. He put a square up against the tire, and we could see that it was wobbling, while the wheel and brake disc were not. He said it was clearly a bad tire, and VSE (Desser) agreed.
 
Closing the loop on this...

I ordered two new tubes from VSE (Desser). That used up the credit they gave me, and then some.

I ordered two new tires from Wilkerson Aircraft Tires in Virginia. I could not be happier with them. They were professional, courteous, helpful and all-around very pleasant. It's sometimes nice to deal with a family-owned business rather than a corporate mega-store.

The tires are not retreads. I'm done with retreads!
 
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