Tire reccomendation

[m@Robertson]

I make sure my cars are always aligned after getting new tires or hitting something-which my kids tend to do often!

Yup. Part of the cost of a new set of tires is a 4-wheel alignment right after the tire install.

My alignment was done, and the car was fine before I set my pressure with two "hot" tires.

When I check tire pressure, I do it first thing in the morning, at the coldest part of the day and before the sun crests over the house. So my tires have had all evening and night to equalize. Otherwise I get a psi or two off on the side that gets the sun. Even the 'cold' winter sun.

I would think you would have to really screw up to get the car to pull to one side though. sun should only add 1-3 psi, tops even in a roasting hot place like Fresno CA where I lived for awhile (er... about 40 years). When I was doing track driving and running Hoosier racing slicks, a few psi mismatch in either direction would be more about the difference in tire patch size than anything else, as the more-inflated tire would have less rubber on the road. You'd feel it in hard (hard!) cornering.

 

[Taylor57]

Yup. Part of the cost of a new set of tires is a 4-wheel alignment right after the tire install.


When I check tire pressure, I do it first thing in the morning, at the coldest part of the day and before the sun crests over the house. So my tires have had all evening and night to equalize. Otherwise I get a psi or two off on the side that gets the sun. Even the 'cold' winter sun.

I would think you would have to really screw up to get the car to pull to one side though. sun should only add 1-3 psi, tops even in a roasting hot place like Fresno CA where I lived for awhile (er... about 40 years). When I was doing track driving and running Hoosier racing slicks, a few psi mismatch in either direction would be more about the difference in tire patch size than anything else, as the more-inflated tire would have less rubber on the road. You'd feel it in hard (hard!) cornering.

I wish my tire place could do the alignment. I always have to go to another separate alignment shop for that piece...

 

[PCeBiker]

When I check tire pressure, I do it first thing in the morning, at the coldest part of the day and before the sun crests over the house.

I didn't leave the house until around noon but my "truck" had been sitting all night.

It was my '94 4WD Pontiac Sunrunner,..

I put light truck tires on it so I could park it in a crevasse and take pictures.

The "truck" only weighs 3200 pounds so my tires were properly inflated at 23 psi.


It was a sunny winter day with no wind, the sun was low in the sky and the drivers side was facing south.
I filled all four tires to 23 psi.

It wasn't until my trip back home and 150 miles later that I finally checked my tires again and the two tires were off about 5-8 psi.

I think the fact that the sun was beaming almost directly at the Huge Tires with lots of volume and low air pressure (23 psi) skewed the results from 1-3 psi to 5-8 psi.

I remember having my "truck" in the air and checked the rear end.
The wheels had Almost Two INCHES Of Sideways Wobble !!

Then I learned that the only thing holding the rear wheel on is the wheel bearing.
Its a single race bearing with ~¾" ball bearings. If the balls fall out of the races, the whole wheel along with the half axle falls off.
So I figured that I should replace the rear wheel bearings.

No point in getting an alignment.
I'd pound that outta spec the first day.

 

[m@Robertson]

I wish my tire place could do the alignment. I always have to go to another separate alignment shop for that piece...

Yeah with my last couple of cars I am in the same boat.

 

[m@Robertson]

I put light truck tires on it so I could park it in a crevasse and take pictures.

I had a Mercedes GLK 250 diesel that I did the same thing with. The taller truck tires, not the crevasse I loved that little truck. tons of torque, plus it was right in its power band at highways speeds so I could floor it and blow the doors off of anyone who was pissing me off. With the taller tires on, full time awd and the kind of traction control software the Benz had, it seemed like I could get thru anything, including mud right up to my axles.

Unfortunately, being a diesel, its particulate filter started acting up, and being a Benz, fixing that filter once it finally went (I was able to bake it clean by doing a manual regen cycle) was a colossal expense (drive a Mercedes in-warranty and its a cheap car to own. Out of warranty... you need to be a millionaire). The filter started going bad when I had 50 miles of warranty left so I fixed the filter, smogged the car and traded it in.

Thats it on the right, at a competition I was in back in 2017. See if you can guess what I was doing based on what you can see .

 

[PCeBiker]

The taller truck tires, not the crevasse I loved that little truck.

I drove the living snot out of my Tracker and got stuck over 100 times.
I kept a come-along in the vehicle for self rescue.
I'd tie off to a tree to pull myself out and I had a metal spike to pound in the ground to tie off to if there was nothing to tie off to.

tons of torque, plus it was right in its power band at highways speeds

My Tracker was gutless with a 1.6 liter 90 horse engine.
It actually got better MPG city driving than on the highway.

so I could floor it and blow the doors off of anyone who was pissing me off.

Not much would happen when I'd floor it and I'd have to hold on when a truck would pass me or I'd get blown off the road.
The predecessor to the Tracker was the Suzuki Samaria, and that vehicle invented the roll over.
The Tracker had a little longer and wider wheelbase.

With the taller tires on, full time awd and the kind of traction control software the Benz had, it seemed like I could get thru anything, including mud right up to my axles.

I didn't want any software or sensors.
Too much crap to break or fail.
I had to get out to lock my front hubs.
It was fully manually operated except for power steering which was helpful.
I could spin the steering wheel with one hand and shift gears with the other.

,.. its particulate filter started acting up,
The filter started going bad when I had 50 miles of warranty left so I fixed the filter, smogged the car and traded it in.

I kept bottoming out and breaking my exhaust just before the catalytic converter then it would get pushed forward and plug up with mud.
Then the mud got baked like pottery into the cat and plugged it, so I just poked a few holes through it with a big screwdriver so it could breathe.
I had forgotten about doing that and failed my next smog test, so I just swapped out the exhaust from the catalytic back from my parts "truck"

Thats it on the right, at a competition I was in back in 2017. See if you can guess what I was doing based on what you can see .

View attachment 182139

I'm guessing some kind of off-road racing?

I usually rode alone because I did a lot of trespassing.
I could fit through the gates at snowmobile trails and community trails.
I would give my Parking Brake one click and that would turn off my daytime running lights so I could be all incognito.

I'd put it in 4-Low 4WD and do donuts in reverse to spray mud up and over my hood and windshield and onto the roof.
I had TONS Of Fun in that "truck"

It may have used by 18 year old girls to drive to the beach, but I drove it how it how it was built to be used.

I remember being in the toy section at Walmart and found a foot long white plastic toy Tracker.
It came complete with a Barbie doll behind the wheel.
Too funny.
I should have bought it, it was only twenty bucks.

 

[PCeBiker]

,.. Also FYI wire bead vs. folding bead just means you can stuff a tire more easily inside your kit and carry it with you. Means nothing with regard to fitment.

I just assumed that a wire bead tire was more durable and flat resistant.
Is there any truth to that?

I don't care about weight and suppleness if I have to worry more about getting a flat.

 

[Meghan Saunders]

Ebikes are all with Kenda knobby tires. Because it's cheaper? Street tires have less rolling resistance. Most bike shops obviously don't touch ebikes, so time to get hands dirty

 

[PCeBiker]

Ebikes are all with Kenda knobby tires.

Yeah, my Voltbike came with Kenda knobby tires.
I rode it once then installed the Moto-X tires.

 

[m@Robertson]

My Tracker was gutless with a 1.6 liter 90 horse engine.
It actually got better MPG city driving than on the highway.

The GLK250 had the turbocharged 4 cylinder Benz diesel that they use in their meat-and-potatoes delivery vans. LOADS of torque, 45 mpg pon the highway and easily good for 300,000 miles. Except in California where the diesel particulate filter is a $7000 replacement (6k for the filter and 1k for new sensors). I was very skeptical of having to put in the cow piss to clean the exhaust, but it was never any trouble and you could just buy a huge jug of the stuff cheap at Auto Zone rather than the stuff Mercedes-branded cows made.

I didn't want any software or sensors.
Too much crap to break or fail.

Depends on who is making the car. Mercedes has this stuff down pat. Even my very first C class 2wd sedan could get thru mud that made me pray to Jesus before trying to cross.

I'm guessing some kind of off-road racing?

Nope. Highpower rifle. Thats a wind flag you see and I took the pic to show how awful the conditions were that day. Here's the view looking down the range. The targets at the end are about 5 feet wide. This was an 800 yd match.

 

[m@Robertson]

I just assumed that a wire bead tire was more durable and flat resistant.
Is there any truth to that?

No. there is no relation to the bead vs. flat protection.

I don't care about weight and suppleness if I have to worry more about getting a flat.

Same here but remember that bicycle weight is critical if you are the only motor. I spent decades on a road bike that weighed less than 20 lbs and every ounce saved mattered.

Ebikes are all with Kenda knobby tires. Because it's cheaper?

Exactly for that reason. Kenda tires are good enough quality to not create liability issues, and inexpensive. I have a Kenda Slant 6 on the front of one of my cargo bikes and it is entirely unremarkable, but it gave me the combination of light knobs and tire volume I needed. I'm putting up with fast wear though.

 

[Nvreloader]

OK Guys
Question time:
Does the tpi have anything to do with the puncture resistance of the tire, ie meaning, the more tpi = a better/stronger tire?
I have seen everything from 30 tpi to 120tpi for 26" tires.
Tia,

 

[m@Robertson]

Does the tpi have anything to do with the puncture resistance of the tire, ie meaning, the more tpi = a better/stronger tire?
I have seen everything from 30 tpi to 120tpi for 26" tires.

I stole this from the Maxxis site. Said better, faster than I could:

Threads Per Inch (TPI)
The number of threads that cross through one square inch of a single ply of the tire's casing. Lower TPI gives better puncture, cut and abrasion resistance but is heavier. Higher TPI conforms better to the terrain, offering a smoother, more comfortable ride while reducing the weight of the tire.

Something like a 120 tpi tire would be ideal for a road bike. 700x20c tires and 100 psi for instance. I lived for those things back in the day. Literally. Take a hard corner on a 100 psi tire and you really want it to be sticking precisely to the ground. Pic isn't me but is a well-known cyclist.