ANOTHER REAR TIRE BITES IT

[irvin48]

cleaning tires and wheels sat and glanced at the rear center. whoa!
there goes my high mileage tire story. did just get to 10,000 . not trying
for more. the altimax goes on wed. gonna start at 20 #. 2 up we are about 380#.
from what i read ,should be a good starting point? on the other hand[end],
the fronts are doing fine.i have a set of fomozas waiting too. thanks for all
the info posted by everyone. --irv toms002.JPG001.jpg

[Buckeye Bleau]

Good for you, getting 10K out of those, you did well.

Joe

[Ron2andia]

[MikeT]

cleaning tires and wheels sat and glanced at the rear center. whoa!
there goes my high mileage tire story. did just get to 10,000 . not trying
for more. the altimax goes on wed. gonna start at 20 #. 2 up we are about 380#.
from what i read ,should be a good starting point? on the other hand[end],
the fronts are doing fine.i have a set of fomozas waiting too. thanks for all
the info posted by everyone. --irv toms002.JPG001.jpg

I'm sure that spyder riders with many more miles under their belt will chime in. My first question is did you measure your tread depth away from the bars?????? Those look like the anti-hydroplane blocks(that's what I've been told). I'll bet you've got 5-6/32nds tread left on the tire. According to most tire places, the ABSOLUTE tire change point is 2/32nds. Discount tire feels that the tire could be changed between 4/32nds and 2/32nds depending on how it's hydroplaning. Like you, I have a new rear tire "in waiting" . We have 3 months left in the riding season and my rear tire has 8500 miles on it. I will be close to 10K miles by the time I put my Spyder into hibernation. Since I ride 2-up 95% of the time, I plan to change it at the beginning of next season. You can lookup the load data/PSI for any tire based on it load rating. 20 PSI is where I'm starting. Wouldn't be surprised if I get to 22 PSI. I wonder if there is a recommended minimum tire pressure inflation for a given tire?????
Mike

[BoilerAnimal]

Our rear tire didn't look quite as good as yours on one side but if you spun it 180°, it was as smooth as a baby's butt! Totally devoid of any tread!

It was like the tread was not concentric with the tire bead. It was not a result of a flat spot from the wheel being locked up and skidded. There was no abrupt change in tread depth, just a gradual increase and decrease as you spun the tire. I've never seen anything like it.

On a side note, we just bought my wife a new bicycle yesterday. It has Kenda tires! I'll be keeping an eye on them for wear. What size and brand car tires should I replace them with? Should I replace them right away or just wait until they wear out?

[Chupaca]

if those are pictures of your current tire you have another 10,000 left on it...the wear bars are the lowest ones....

20160504_090715.jpg that triangle is in line with the wear bars...
20160324_085157.jpg This is what your tire looks like when you are on the wear bars....

[jaherbst]

if those are pictures of your current tire you have another 10,000 left on it...the wear bars are the lowest ones....

20160504_090715.jpg that triangle is in line with the wear bars...
20160324_085157.jpg This is what your tire looks like when you are on the wear bars....

Thanks for this Gene. Too many people are totally un aware of the true wear bars and trash a perfectly good tire at about half wear.

Jack

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

if those are pictures of your current tire you have another 10,000 left on it...the wear bars are the lowest ones....

20160504_090715.jpg that triangle is in line with the wear bars...
20160324_085157.jpg This is what your tire looks like when you are on the wear bars....

....... If that was my tire I wouldn't change it ( and I'm Anal about tire safety ) ...UNLESS you ride in the RAIN ....MOST of the time ..... otherwise just slow down a bit ..... the Nanny is damn good at preventing sliding .......jmho ...... Mike .....However I think maybe 5,000 mi. more ...tires usually wear faster at the end of their life .....

[cognaccruiser]

I have to agree with Chupaca, jaherbst and Mike. Measure your tread depth at the triangles shown by Chupaca and find out what the correct depth is. Those in your picture are not the wear bars.

Gary

[irvin48]

maybe i should have shown some other areas.boiler animal hit the nail on the head.
that pic was a high spot and im 2lazy to hook my camera up to the computer.

wasnt there someone who posted about new tire breakin?
had never heard it b4. shouldnt matter with a spyder. you dont lean.

[ARtraveler]

The "bad" tire also looks like there are at least 5K miles left to me.

I consistently get 15K on the rear OEM tires. I do ride conservatively--as in no burn outs or quick stopping.

[WackyDan]

I'm sure that spyder riders with many more miles under their belt will chime in. My first question is did you measure your tread depth away from the bars?????? Those look like the anti-hydroplane blocks(that's what I've been told). I'll bet you've got 5-6/32nds tread left on the tire. According to most tire places, the ABSOLUTE tire change point is 2/32nds. Discount tire feels that the tire could be changed between 4/32nds and 2/32nds depending on how it's hydroplaning. Like you, I have a new rear tire "in waiting" . We have 3 months left in the riding season and my rear tire has 8500 miles on it. I will be close to 10K miles by the time I put my Spyder into hibernation. Since I ride 2-up 95% of the time, I plan to change it at the beginning of next season. You can lookup the load data/PSI for any tire based on it load rating. 20 PSI is where I'm starting. Wouldn't be surprised if I get to 22 PSI. I wonder if there is a recommended minimum tire pressure inflation for a given tire?????
Mike

You will probably not find load data by PSI for the car tire you are about to put on the Spyder. If you do, please post the link here. It should be a matrix showing the PSI and the max supported weight at each PSI in their scale. Kumho for example doesn't post any and only refers to inflating to the vehicle manufactures recommendation.

There is a lot of advice found here for tire inflation. Take it at your own risk.

[Pirate looks at --]

Your tire looks pretty good to me. In fact it looks better than mine did when I left for Valcourt (6800 miles). Finally got a new rear after very close to 18000 miles. I would ryde that one about a bit more. As Mike said, the Nanny will keep you under controL

[BoilerAnimal]

You guys are missing what Irvin is saying. Read his post #10. It's in reference to my post #5. In post #5 I told about my experience with my rear tire. If you looked at it on the "good side" , it appeared to have 4000-5000 miles left before replacing. However, if you rotated the tire 180°, my tire was TOTALLY DEVOID of ANY tread. It was perfectly smooth.

It was not from a flat spot due to skidding the tire but rather a gradual increase and decrease in the tread, from fairly good to nothing! The tread surface was not concentric to the tire bead. I have never seen anything like it before.

The scary part was the fact that I was riding on a bad tire and was unaware of it because I only looked at the visible portion at the back when it was parked. One of those deals like flipping a coin and getting heads five or six times in a row. That was when I had a Yokohama put on.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

You will probably not find load data by PSI for the car tire you are about to put on the Spyder. If you do, please post the link here. It should be a matrix showing the PSI and the max supported weight at each PSI in their scale. Kumho for example doesn't post any and only refers to inflating to the vehicle manufactures recommendation.

There is a lot of advice found here for tire inflation. Take it at your own risk.

Dear Wacky ... as far as your concern goes , you need to put it in the context of the weight of the Spyder. Which is WAY under the capabilities of ANY Car tire I have ever heard about ( even the ones on the Smart car ). The information seek is available from the Tire Manufacturer if you really think something useful can be gained .... I'm a safety nut about Tires ..... andas far as the PSI per lb. of inflation goes .... Clark Gable said it perfectly -Frankly Dear I don't give a Damn .....

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

You guys are missing what Irvin is saying. Read his post #10. It's in reference to my post #5. In post #5 I told about my experience with my rear tire. If you looked at it on the "good side" , it appeared to have 4000-5000 miles left before replacing. However, if you rotated the tire 180°, my tire was TOTALLY DEVOID of ANY tread. It was perfectly smooth.

It was not from a flat spot due to skidding the tire but rather a gradual increase and decrease in the tread, from fairly good to nothing! The tread surface was not concentric to the tire bead. I have never seen anything like it before.

The scary part was the fact that I was riding on a bad tire and was unaware of it because I only looked at the visible portion at the back when it was parked. One of those deals like flipping a coin and getting heads five or six times in a row. That was when I had a Yokohama put on.

.I can't figure out how this could even occur on the REAR wheel of a Spyder .....Totally bizarre .... jmho ... Mike

[MikeT]

You will probably not find load data by PSI for the car tire you are about to put on the Spyder. If you do, please post the link here. It should be a matrix showing the PSI and the max supported weight at each PSI in their scale. Kumho for example doesn't post any and only refers to inflating to the vehicle manufactures recommendation.

There is a lot of advice found here for tire inflation. Take it at your own risk.

The information you are looking for is available by load rating for a given tire size; not by tire brand. For example:

225/50R15
PSI/Load Index 91SL
22 PSI-904 lbs
23 PSI-948 lbs
24 PSI-975 lbs
25 PSI- 992 lbs
26 PSI-1047 lbs
27 PSI-1072 lbs
28 PSI-1091 lbs
29 PSI-1135 lbs
30 PSI-1179 lbs
31 PSI-1197 lbs
32 PSI-1224 lbs
33 PSI-1268 lbs
34 PSI-1289 lbs
35 PSI-1312 lbs
36 PSI-1356 lbs
From Guidelines for the Application of Load and Inflation Tables
Hope this is what you are looking for
Mike

[WackyDan]

Dear Wacky ... as far as your concern goes , you need to put it in the context of the weight of the Spyder. Which is WAY under the capabilities of ANY Car tire I have ever heard about ( even the ones on the Smart car ). The information seek is available from the Tire Manufacturer if you really think something useful can be gained .... I'm a safety nut about Tires ..... andas far as the PSI per lb. of inflation goes .... Clark Gable said it perfectly -Frankly Dear I don't give a Damn .....

Hey man... I have yet to see a matrix of PSI and weight by table for car tires posted here. Pretty much every Car tire manufacturer doesn't list that other than to point you to the vehicle specified PSI. True story!

I'd be more interested to see a minimum safe PSI from a tire maker as there are a lot of assumptions made here on SL about PSI and some of those are pretty low.

[WackyDan]

The information you are looking for is available by load rating for a given tire size; not by tire brand. For example:

225/50R15
PSI/Load Index 91SL
22 PSI-904 lbs
23 PSI-948 lbs
24 PSI-975 lbs
25 PSI- 992 lbs
26 PSI-1047 lbs
27 PSI-1072 lbs
28 PSI-1091 lbs
29 PSI-1135 lbs
30 PSI-1179 lbs
31 PSI-1197 lbs
32 PSI-1224 lbs
33 PSI-1268 lbs
34 PSI-1289 lbs
35 PSI-1312 lbs
36 PSI-1356 lbs
From Guidelines for the Application of Load and Inflation Tables
Hope this is what you are looking for
Mike

Thank you... That is better. I'm used to seeing manufacturer specific specs on things like light truck tires, large truck tires and trailer tires... Having searched car tires by make/brand I wasn't finding those.

[BLUEKNIGHT911]

Hey man... I have yet to see a matrix of PSI and weight by table for car tires posted here. Pretty much every Car tire manufacturer doesn't list that other than to point you to the vehicle specified PSI. True story!

I'd be more interested to see a minimum safe PSI from a tire maker as there are a lot of assumptions made here on SL about PSI and some of those are pretty low.

Hey man, as far as I know,.. myself and ... Peter Aawen ... are the only on this Forum who has actually gone to a school and studied what tires can do and can't do, among other accident related topics. Which means I'm not taking a S.W.A.G. when I talk about ..TIRES .... so if you want go on what : somebodies friend ,who has a cousin, that once rode a Spyder. That's fine with me because I'm not likely to ever meet you on a highway.......... annnnnnnd that chart you nicely put up was / is based on GENERALITY'S and frankly imho they don't really relate well to Spyders ........ Mike

[SpyderAnn01]

if those are pictures of your current tire you have another 10,000 left on it...the wear bars are the lowest ones....

20160504_090715.jpg that triangle is in line with the wear bars...
20160324_085157.jpg This is what your tire looks like when you are on the wear bars....

I sure hope you didn't go far on that tire.

[MikeT]

Thank you... That is better. I'm used to seeing manufacturer specific specs on things like light truck tires, large truck tires and trailer tires... Having searched car tires by make/brand I wasn't finding those.

Glad I could help.
If you want to compare the OEM Kenda, it is a 76 Load Rated tire. The OM states that the inflation pressure is 28 PSI +/- 2 PSI. Here is the data in that PSI range:
26 PSI-683 lbs
27 PSI-697 lbs
28 PSI-705 lbs
29 PSI-739 lbs
30 PSI-772 lbs
This data shows why when using a car tire, there are individuals advocating 18-20 PSI.

[Stumpy6Guns]

The handiest tire wear gauge around is probably in your pocket! Stick a penny in the tread (away from the wear bars) with the top of Lincoln's head down. If you can see the top of his head, the tread is worn below the limit.

There used to be PSAs on TV about this, but I haven't seen one in many years.

[Peter Aawen]

Our rear tire didn't look quite as good as yours on one side but if you spun it 180°, it was as smooth as a baby's butt! Totally devoid of any tread!

It was like the tread was not concentric with the tire bead. It was not a result of a flat spot from the wheel being locked up and skidded. There was no abrupt change in tread depth, just a gradual increase and decrease as you spun the tire. I've never seen anything like it.

On a side note, we just bought my wife a new bicycle yesterday. It has Kenda tires! I'll be keeping an eye on them for wear. What size and brand car tires should I replace them with? Should I replace them right away or just wait until they wear out?

Hey BoilerAnimal, that sort of wear is almost certainly due to a poorly constructed & out of round tire!! The 'different tread depth' thing is not quite so uncommon as you might think, but it is pretty rare to be clearly visible/measurable on one full half of the tire!! Most often it appears as 'patches or sections' of tread that have different wear depths to the rest, but you can usually tell those tires are wearing that way due to the vibration, rotational thumping, & wobbling that occurs - I suspect that because so much of your tire was involved, that may have been a bit hard to feel because there would've been no 'regular' (or irregular) thumping as the high bits or lumps hit the road... you probably would've had more of a high velocity wave type undulation!! The Arachnid tires that some have tried only to have them rapidly wearing out just on one side of their tread is another example of how that type of tire construction issue might present!

As for the Kenda tire on your wife's bicycle, Kenda CAN & DO make some pretty reasonable tires.... just not those they sell to BRP for our Spyders!!

As for the load/pressure info that you are looking for WaccyDan & MikeT, most manufacturers DO in fact have that sort of info buried somewhere in their tech info/specs for the different tire models/tread patterns that they produce. It's just that these days, they tend to only publish the minimum/basic info their target market is likely to want, simply because too many people got confused by the complete details & couldn't find their specific data requirements or understand how to apply it in their particular case!! I posted a link for a specific type & sized tire in one of my posts on this Site, a link that I acquired thru my industry/manufacturer contacts to one manufacturer's table for a specific tire; & both I & that particular manufacturer almost immediately got swamped with questions on how to apply that info to other tires in their range as well as to different makes & types of tires, so much so that the manufacturer moved the table at about the same time as I removed the link!!

However, if you dig far enough &/or ask nicely enough, the load/pressure info (& a heap more interesting stuff too) that you are after for most tires you might be considering running on your Spyders DOES exist, manufacturers are REQUIRED to have it in order to get their tires accredited for sale in your countries & mine, & it is usually available from them if you specifically ask (or ask the right person, not just the sales wally!) altho it still might not be something a particular manufacturer is prepared to let loose/make available to the entire public! Be aware tho, it is often somewhat different to the generic load/pressure info provided for the nominal load ratings (altho that's usually a good start) Still, most tires have specific info detailing their Max Load/Max Pressure info printed on their sidewall (if they don't, they may not be ratified for sale in your country - or anywhere else!) & it doesn't take a mathematical genius to 'reverse engineer' that info to work out what pressure that tire will need to carry the significantly lighter loads our Spyders impose - just remember to add the '4psi constant' to cater for the dynamics of a moving tire & loadings over a static load!

[wd8ajj]

When my tires look low on thread even not at the wear bars, I'd rather replace the tire than my life. All the talk about were the wear bars are show and millimeters are trivial to my well being. 70 bucks for a tire is cheaper than my hospital bills trying to push an extra 1k miles