Tires

[Glennman]

I'm sure there are lots of threads on the subject of tires, but I have (2) questions regarding them.

1. Has anyone ever heard of Blackhawk tires?

2. Generally speaking, what is the difference between "open" shoulder and "closed" shoulder tires (not necessarily the difference, but what are your experiences with either)?

I'm in the market for (4) drive axle tires. The Blackhawk tires are inexpensive (comparatively) and the ones I'm looking at are closed shoulder.

Thanks in advance everyone!

[luvrbus]

Closed shoulder tires wear longer and quiter because there is no break in the thread,closed shoulder tire are used about all highways trucks and buses ,I never had good service with open shoulder tires they would start to cup on the outer edge in time

[lhwood]

I put a set of open shoulder drives (Firestone FD663 if you want to look them up) on my MCI 102-c3 shortly after purchasing the bus.  I had read/heard horror stories of how easily these old beasts get stuck.  I've put roughly 50K miles on them and haven't gotten close to getting stuck yet.  Granted I don't do a lot of off roading either.  I am starting to notice some uneven wear on the tread.  There is some minimal noise I can hear anywhere in the coach but not loud enough to be bothersome anywhere.  Doing it over I would go with a all-position tread design.

[Glennman]

Interesting. Thanks for the replies. My other tires are all closed shoulder, so that's what I'll get. I'll take a look at the Firestones too, but the cost is almost prohibitive. I have lots to consider!

[Glennman]

So, last night I'm googling 318 80R 22.5 tires and I'm looking at all the options.

Tonight, only 315 80R 22.5 tires come up with the same search! What's going on?

How much difference is there between 315 and 318? This stuff is driving me nuts!

[luvrbus]

Look into Ironman, Double Coin and Toyo ,I would use 16 ply on the steers and 14 ply on the drivers and tags to save a few bucks,you pay almost $100.00 FET plus the sales tax and mounting each on the 315/80/22.5 tires'The  FET tax is based on the weight the tire can carry lol it is really just a road tax they try and hide under a different name .I don't waste the money to balance the tires on a bus

[lhwood]

I'm not aware of a 318/80r22.5  I think you're looking for the 315

[luvrbus]

I'm not aware of a 318/80r22.5  I think you're looking for the 315

Looks like a typo the next tire size up is the  345,or 385/22.5 and he doesn't want to buying those at prices for the 385/65/22.5 at around $1500.00 each

[Glennman]

I'm not aware of a 318/80r22.5  I think you're looking for the 315

Yep, just another brain fart. The correct reference is 315. I don't know what I was thinking!

[windtrader]

I'm running Sumitomo tires, still actually made in Japan. All position tires as each buy I get two up front then rotate to the back. I do balance the steers. All I know is they roll without any sense of vibration even well over 70.


I actually got the last couple off Amazon at an excellent price and with Prime free shipping. they are one size down from yours so less costly

[buswarrior]

315 is a lot of tire for an MC8, and expensive. (edit, well darn, is this for the'8 or the D? When did you get the D?)

Likely, the fat sidewall will be able to rub underneath( the MC8) in full lock turns, and what width rims do you currently have?

315 need to go on 9", not 8.25"

(for either coach) An excellent time to consider a tire that more closely matches the loading of your conversion, vs an overloaded seated coach, which is the dirty secret that the 12R was spec'd to keep hidden. (on the MC8, and the leverage of all those bodies on the front axle in the D)

295 or 275 or 11R and then look at the revs per mile and see how close to 495 rpm(for the MC8) you can find, compare costs, choose yer compromise?

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Glennman]

I'm working on the 2002 D4500. My concern with changing tire sizes is I already installed 315 80R 22.5's on my tags, so I wouldn't be able to change tire sizes without changing all the tires. Downsizing to something closer to my actual loads sounds tempting though. Maybe the savings would justify changing all of them (?)

[buswarrior]

You don't need a complete set.

Tires need to be the same across an axle, each axle can run different sizes.

For instance the newest stuff is running a 365 on the steer and tag, 315 on the drives.

You will most definitely see some savings if you can get down to popular tractor trailer sizes, and away from heavy bus sizes.

Work the spec' tables for weight capacity and rpm, then follow up with your local dealer to confirm.

happy coaching!
buswarrior

[Glennman]

I certainly don't want to purchase new rims. I'll look into downsizing the tires, but using the same rims (if that is even possible). Thanks!

[windtrader]

Going to standard truck sizes will be far easier in terms of prices and availability. That includes rims. I'd only put larger size if the weight demands it. I'm running 12r22.5 and even those not so standard. I think 11r22.2 is the standard truck size.