Tire Pressure Anyone ???

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Rich-Johnson
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Vintage Karting items owned: 1959 Rupp Dart Kart with West Bend motor

Tire Pressure Anyone ???

Post by Rich-Johnson » Sun Nov 25, 2007 6:55 pm

Hey guys...Any idea what tire (tube) pressure I should run with some 4.10/3.50-5 and 4.10/3.50-6 tires. They are mounted on 2 piece steel rims with matching tubes...Thanks everyone !!! Rich

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Dan Flanders
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Re: Tire Pressure Anyone ???

Post by Dan Flanders » Sun Nov 25, 2007 9:52 pm

Hi Rich-

Try running 18-20 psi in the front and 20-22 in the rear. That should be a good starting point. From there, you can fine tune it to your liking. A +/- 2 psi pressure differential seems to work well. In some cases you may have to exaggerate the differences to get the back end to break loose or the front end to bite. I have been running 19/25 on my New Breed to try to loosen up the back-end but I think I may have to center the motor and play with the front and rear widths.

Dan

Rich-Johnson
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Re: Tire Pressure Anyone ???

Post by Rich-Johnson » Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:13 pm

Dan Flanders wrote:Hi Rich-

Try running 18-20 psi in the front and 20-22 in the rear. That should be a good starting point. From there, you can fine tune it to your liking. A +/- 2 psi pressure differential seems to work well. In some cases you may have to exaggerate the differences to get the back end to break loose or the front end to bite. I have been running 19/25 on my New Breed to try to loosen up the back-end but I think I may have to center the motor and play with the front and rear widths.

Dan
OK...I put in 20 psi...they seem to have a bulge in the center of the tires at that pressure...Does this sound right ??? I would have thought you would've wanted them flat to grip the track a little better...Rich

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Dan Flanders
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Re: Tire Pressure Anyone ???

Post by Dan Flanders » Wed Nov 28, 2007 3:58 pm

Yep, that sounds about right. Welcome to the world of "fun kart" tires....Cheng Shen's are notorious for the bulge, but they seem to work ok. You can get the tire to lay flat about 35 psi (if you are lucky), but talk about slippery. Another option is to contact Gus Gustaffson. Gus produces Duro tires which I've heard are an outstanding product. I believe his contact info is in the resource section or contact him through PM.
Dan

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Brian Thomas
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Re: Tire Pressure Anyone ???

Post by Brian Thomas » Wed Nov 28, 2007 7:05 pm

I run about 10 lbs on my Simplex, dont look at the avitar pic that was at about 25 lbs
Brian
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steveohara
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Re: Tire Pressure Anyone ???

Post by steveohara » Wed Nov 28, 2007 11:08 pm

Gotta be careful with vintage kart tires and wheels and low pressures..... many of the wheel/tire combinations have virtually a slip on fit at the bead and the only thing keeping the tires on the wheels is the pressure. I haven't used the Duro tires yet but the Chen Sheng and old Carlisle and Goodyears should be run with plenty of pressure to keep them out on the bead. The problem is really bad with Nylite wheels..... want to take the tires off, just bleed the air out and split the rim.... the tires fall off!
I keep mine up to at least 18 psi and usually more.
Steve O'Hara

Rob Voska
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Re: Tire Pressure Anyone ???

Post by Rob Voska » Fri Nov 30, 2007 9:01 am

Low pressure will make the tire roll over the side a lot more. That will wear out the tube from rubbing the inside of the tire.

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