Lancair Live!

So, I’ve owned my IV-PT for 4 years now and have had 3 flat tires, all on the Main Gear. Each time there was a small tear in the tube, (probably due to pinching, and yes I talc the tubes well).. I’ve been flying for a good while in many types of planes, and I’ve never seen this level of tube failure even though I would re-use tubes through several set of tires, (years), with good results. A 600X6 tube is listed as suitable for the 600X6-15 tire in Goodyear manuals.
A couple of questions for any IV owners.
1. Have you noticed an abnormally high rate of failure in the MLG tubes?
2. If you look hard you can find tubes listed as 600X6-15. Anybody ever bought one and is it indeed a distinct size? Do they perform better the straight 600X6 tubes?
3. Has anybody used the “GOOD”, (expensive), puncture resistant tubes? I assume they are a thicker stronger material, which I would think would contribute to any pinching issues. Am I wrong and are they worth the price?
Feed back welcomed.

Rock

Rock,

Michelin tubes seemed to fix that issue in IV-Ps I flew regularly. The Goodyear tubes were notoriously leaky.

Tire pressure is usually the culprit for our main wheel tire tubes. Matt Speare recommended https://www.amazon.com/gp/product/B07T ... UTF8&psc=1 and it works great for me. My tubes slowly leak out psi, especially if the plane sits for more than a few weeks.

I also use the GL-6020B Desser Tire 600-6 AERO CLASSIC BUTYL INNER TUBE TR-20 from Air Power, Inc. They work great.

Rock
I agree w Ryan. Pressure is important.
I use Goodyear Flt Custom III’s & tubes on my Lancair IV-P, inflated to 60 psi. I’ve had a flat nose tire, but no main wheel flats in 16 years/2600 hours.
Bob

Just a note, that I had a set of Tire Pressure Monitoring systems on my main gear, (sensor on the nose gear was way too close to the fork). It worked fine until I geeked out and chromed the hubcaps, after all who wouldn’t have hubcaps on a retractable?
No more TPMS.

Rock

Rock Barchfeld wrote: ↑Tue Oct 22, 2024 10:08 am Just a note, that I had a set of Tire Pressure Monitoring systems on my main gear, (sensor on the nose gear was way too close to the fork). It worked fine until I geeked out and chromed the hubcaps, after all who wouldn’t have hubcaps on a retractable?
No more TPMS.

Rock

That's a bummer. I'm still envious how easy the IV is to check and fill tires. It's a game of finger twister with the ES.

Rock,

I have had to replace two in the last 3 years. One was completely due to me being a bone-head. The other was a head-scratcher. When I finally got the tube out there was no immediate evidence of where it was leaking. Closely inspecting the tube there was a small area about 1 sq inch that looked abraded, like it had been rubbed with a wire brush. Ran my hand on the inside of the tire and found one small grain of sand inside the lining. I'm guessing it rubbed over time, causing the tube wall to wear thin in that spot. Otherwise, it was a defect in the tube. Previous owner replaced that tube in KAFW in 2020 and I'm not sure where he sourced it.