300mph+ land speed tires

[quademb]

We are using Goodyear Landspeed tires rated to 300mph, but lately we have been exceeding the 300mph mark, and are worried about tires chunking or creating a catastrophe.
 
 - What do the vehicles that exceed 300mph+ use for tires?  
 
 - Is there any way to extend the mph rating on the LSR Goodyears that we have past 300mph?
 
 - Would it be possible to use a solid rubber tire?  If so, who could we contact?  
 
 Thanks,
 buckeyebullet team

[Ken Walkey]

The Goodyear LSR tire comes with about .100 of rubber over the cord, you can see the cord in/at the base of the tread. You can mount the tire with full pressure and grind/shave about .050 off the surface. Both Terry Nish and myself have done this with them. Keep in mind, Goodyear DOES NOT recomend this, but it does work. As with anything in LSR, you yourself take full responsability for anything you do.
 Solid Aluminum wheel/tires are used in the front on several 'liners. (solid rubber-NO)

[Justin]

What is the benefit of shaving the .050 off the surface?

[Sumner]

You can mount the tire with full pressure and grind/shave about .050 off the surface.

I definitly won't be do this (shaving a tire), but I'm interested in how it is done.
 
 So you have the tire at full pressure.
 
 Then do you spin it? At what rpm?
 
 What do you grind the tire down with?
 
 c ya, Sum

[quademb]

Are there any airplane tires that would resemble the Goodyear LSR Tires and be able to handle speeds of 300+?

[Ken Walkey]

In shaving/grinding the tires, I made a spindle on a 2"dia. tube, put it in an engine stand so the tire/wheel ass'y was free wheeling. Got a comfortable chair and a body grinder w/40 grit wheel, and working the tire from side to side with the grinder also kept the tire spinning. I suggest you wear a shop coat and a mask. It's really very dirty. Earl Wooden took pictures, I'll try to find them.
 Airplane tires: Yes, Talk to the diesel truck boys. They also have to shave off all the excess rubber so they do not fly apart.

[Bob Drury]

Buckeye,  You need to scroll back to the LSR tire topic dated October 26, 2004.  Go to the top of this page (General Discussions) and hit the last 100 days bar to hit the post.  We pretty much covered this topic...P.S. The molds are in the machining process for the 30x9x18 LSR tire as we speak, With the others to follow soon after.
    Lets all cross our fingers and hope the manufacture and testing go well, and maybe the guys that really need them might have them for speed week.

[jimmy six]

I do mine similar to Ken. I use a 6" belt sander mounted to a plate, move it back and forth on the tire while turning the tire in the opposite direction of the tire trying to rotate from the sander while mounted on the car just as it would be making a pass. Hard to explain but easy for me to do. The most important thing is the vacuum cleaner which runs all time. The key is to take your time when using any process.

[bobh]

If the goodyear tires are only rated to 300 MPH by goodyear will the inspectors let you run them over that speed? Some of us would like to get started on a lakester or streamliner, but the lack of properly speed rated tires makes me a little bit worried about starting this project.

[quademb]

What about solid carbon fiber tires like what Craig Breedlove used on his land speed car?  
 
 I imagine those would be expensive...

[John Beckett]

Bob
 
 I think that some Goodyear?s have already been run over that speed, but not sure how far over.
 Thinking that Vesco?s liner that Nish ran before building his new one ran some sort of shaved road race tires. (for a Super-V maybe) And they went well into the 300?s.
 
 JB

[John Beckett]

Solid Wheel/Tires have not been received well by the SCTA. Someone else will have to explain why. But it is also my understanding the coefficient of friction between salt and aluminum is very poor. Carbon Fiber may not be much better. Have looked into aircraft tires for myself. Very sturdy construction, but the big problem is the weight.
 
 JB

[quademb]

We ran our shaved Goodyear LSR's to 321mph at the world finals.  There was chunking on the tires when they were done.  Scary stuff.

[Ken Walkey]

Most metal wheel/tires leave a narrow footprint, which tends to leave grooves in the salt. Other vehicles(bikes inc.) run over the grooves with the possibility of loosing temporary control, the reason. Craig was not driving thru the wheels. I personally don't think the carbon fiber helped him one way or another.

[JackD]

The carbon fiber helped to reduce weight/mass so they would get up to speed quick.
 The jets do more flying today than driving and the wheels mostly keep it of the ground.
 The direction is more a function of controling the air than it is steering on the ground.
 For traction with a contact patch, you need a pneumatic tire.
 The best example was the 1st edition of the Herbert 4 motored liner. When Vesco let the clutch out the wheels (4) all spun and the car didn't move. Like a train wheel starting on a wet track.
 
  <small>[ February 04, 2005, 08:28 AM: Message edited by: JackD ]</small>