Big tires on 182--Issues?

jhoyt

Pre-Flight
Joined
Jun 29, 2014
Messages
46
Location
Yakima
Display Name

Display name:
Jim
Looking at a nice 182. Panel/interior/engine fulfill Christmas list. Plane has larger tires on main and nose, and heavy duty 206 strut for nose wheel. What are issues to consider? How many knots airspeed lost? More trauma to firewall? I'm in NW so STOL and tires could be nice for many fields, but most flying would be asphalt runways. Photo (hopefully attached)
 

Attachments

  • Screen Shot 2014-12-14 at 7.42.40 AM.jpg
    Screen Shot 2014-12-14 at 7.42.40 AM.jpg
    10.9 KB · Views: 126
I suspect the stock nosewheel tire size will be the limiting factor in soft field operations.
 
Buy it, I will fly my plane to your mechanic and pay for him to swap my standard sized gear with yours, free of charge to you.
 
I suspect the stock nosewheel tire size will be the limiting factor in soft field operations.


And the firewall wrinkles. ;)

The bigger tires will just keep the prop out of the rocks.

Still have to be nice to the nose gear in a 182, no matter how much "STOL" gear you hang from it.
 
You lose more speed from removing the pants than when you oversize the tires. Between both factors it's about 5 kts from what I have seen.
 
And the firewall wrinkles. ;)

The bigger tires will just keep the prop out of the rocks.

Still have to be nice to the nose gear in a 182, no matter how much "STOL" gear you hang from it.

But if anything, it looks like the nose is pointing downward, at least when it's stationary.
 
206 nose fork? So that tire is an 800? Or is that an Airglas fork with an 850?What's on the mains? They look like 26"? Speed will suffer a little. There's no reason to worry about the firewall unless it's been abused. The stance on the gear will help prevent nose-first landings and firewall damage. The one thing I'd look at would be the approval for the tires. An Airglas nose fork allows big mains but the Cessna HD fork would require a field approval.
 
Last edited:
Looking at a nice 182. Panel/interior/engine fulfill Christmas list. Plane has larger tires on main and nose, and heavy duty 206 strut for nose wheel. What are issues to consider?
The Tires and nose fork should have 337s installing a STC that will be on the CD from OKC

How many knots airspeed lost?

When you build to land off airport you don't care.:)

More trauma to firewall? I'm in NW so STOL and tires could be nice for many fields, but most flying would be asphalt runways. Photo (hopefully attached)

Actually the nose wheel will roll over rough stuff better and give the fire wall less damage.
 
Tall tires roll better over obstructions. Wide tires roll better on soft surfaces. If you operate on rough or soft ground the appropriate tires will ease rolling resistance and that's what saves the prop.
 
Tall tires roll better over obstructions. Wide tires roll better on soft surfaces. If you operate on rough or soft ground the appropriate tires will ease rolling resistance and that's what saves the prop.

And the firewall like Tom said....:yes::yes:
 
Proper technique will do more to save the firewall than tires can.
 
Big nose tired assure you'll hit more stuff, too, and there's more lateral load and torque when you do. And a bigger footprint throws more rocks. Big tires have their faults. I use big tires and always have but if I didn't need to? I'd use the smallest tires that served my mission.
 
Big nose tired assure you'll hit more stuff, too, and there's more lateral load and torque when you do. And a bigger footprint throws more rocks. Big tires have their faults. I use big tires and always have but if I didn't need to? I'd use the smallest tires that served my mission.


I guess that's why Bushwheel is doing so well.
 
Would you all quit trying to convince him of the value of the bigger tires.

I am trying to orchestrate a trade.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk
 
...and heavy duty 206 strut for nose wheel...

Weak point of the 182 is the fact that the strut is mounted to the firewall like a 172, the 206 is completely different. Simply bolting the heavier strut onto a 182 isn't going to get you anything.
 
Weak point of the 182 is the fact that the strut is mounted to the firewall like a 172, the 206 is completely different. Simply bolting the heavier strut onto a 182 isn't going to get you anything.

I strut swapped, prop swapped, and ferried back to LGB a few 182s at Avalon after they went across the speed bump while standing on the brakes. All of them had broke the strut, firewall damage I saw would have been considerably less if at all had the strut not collapsed. So while yes you will not achieve the full 206 strength, I'm not sure that no benefit will be gained.
 
One of the tricks we used to use in order to get longer props approved on nose draggers was to use a couple of inches of automotive heater hose on our nose struts to prevent them from compressing. But that was a prop tip clearance issue, not a firewall protector. The longer the lever arm, whether from big fork, big tire, or extended strut? The bigger the load on the attach point. And then there's ski ops, including wheel skis. The key to preserving a nose-dragger's firewall is to keep the yoke pulled back.
 
Back
Top