Tire Recommendations for Vixen?

[SWeidemann]

I'm looking for advice on new tires on my tricycle gear Vixen, operating out of a hard surface most of the time.

It currently has 6x6.00 mains and 5x5.00 nose gear, with lots of tread left however I am the third owner and I suspect they could be 13 years old, plus they do not hold their air as long as I am comfortable with.

The mains are Cleveland (PMA'd wheels) and the nose is whatever it came with (aluminum spoked), so I would like to get a GOOD quality set of Michelin Air tires and am wondering what PLY I should go with. I suspect the 4 ply is all I need, but in case I go into some back country rough strips, is a 6 ply better? The reason I like Michelin is that on the recommendation of my Luscombe expert, I put 6 ply Michelin Air (with Leak Guard inner tubes) on my Luscombe and they are wearing great and don't show any signs of being "out of round" (like when I used cheaper tires on my Cessnas). I also suspect a 6 ply would be heavier. If there is not much weight difference, I would opt for the 6 ply.

Any facts or opinions will gladly be entertained.

Thanks much,

Skot

Vixen N24V

[PapuaPilot]

If your tires aren't holding air then it is the tubes that are leaking. The tires could be OK, but you need to look for weather checking, cracking or any sign of cords.

If you get new tires 4 ply is more than sufficient for the weight of a kitfox. I can't think of any good reason to go with more plies, it only adds weight and makes the wheels stiffer.

[jrevens]

What Phil said... I agree.

[Dave S]

Agreed.......FWIW - I replaced the tires on our S7 this past year......about the same age as yours since I received them with my kit. Never wore them down....apparently a kitfox lands slow enough that it dosn't scrub off much rubber...my old ones ended up getting cracks in the grooves


oh yeah...replaced the tubes with the tires.

[SWeidemann]

Thanks guys for the ideas. I looked at my tires yesterday for a condition assessment. They are 6 ply actually in pretty good shape (with no cracking I can see), so the idea of the day is to order a set of Leakguard inner tubes, which I tried to do by phone from Desser however I couldn't tell the man on the phone what kind of stems I have, so I guess I'll have to pull the tubes out first for identification before I order.

One of my goals is to avoid a flat tire while on a flight. I had a complete flat on landing in another aircraft a few years back (ruined my afternoon). A friend had a flat on his Luscombe while taxiing just before takeoff last year (he was lucky it wasn't flat on landing).

Skot