Main wheels mod

[Sonex1517]

I have stock wheelpants with 5x5.00 tires. It’s tight but it fits.

[Darick]

Thank you. I will definitely change to the 5.00x5 as I am based on a turf field.

[Sonex1517]

You may need to do a small trim on the inside edges. But it works.

[Carlos Trigo]

... you can fit 380-150-5, this is basically a 6″ wide tyre with somewhat more height but fits on the 5″ wheel...

To help put this in perspective, a standard 500-5 tire is typically 14.2" in diameter, 5.00 inches wide and fits on a 5" wheel hub. The 380-150-5 is 15" in diameter (380mm), 5.9 inches wide (150mm) and fits on a 5" hub. I believe this is about the biggest tire you can easily use on a standard Azusa hub.

Jeff

Jeff

This is good technical information!

Do you also know the dimensions of the stock tires?

Thanks
Carlos

[bvolcko38]

Mine did not require any modifications other than putting an 1/8" shim on one side of one wheel pant to prevent rubbing. If I had the larger tires when I mounted the wheel pants on the first go-around I'm sure the shim would not have been required.

[SonAl]

For us nose draggers, does anyone know if it would be difficult to put a larger tire on the nose wheel fork? Would it fit or require modification of the fork (for diameter and/or width). Thanks.

[sonex1374]

Do you also know the dimensions of the stock tires?

The stock Sonex tires are Cheng Shin 11-400x5, which are a 11" in diameter, 4.00" wide, and fit on the 5" hub.

Jeff

[Darick]

just today I put on the 5.00x5 tires and they rub on the outside wall. I cut off about 1/2" of the axle when originally fitting the pants to eliminate having to pull the bottom apart to get them over the axle.
That eliminated the stress on the fiberglass and they fit nice and close to the smaller tire.

However now they rub with the 5.00x5 and I need a solution. Should I cut them apart and add width? ( I hate working with fiberglass). Is there another brand like Vans, Kitfox, etc that someone has used without much modification?

Any help is appreciated.

[DCASonex]

Did much the same as you, made a spacer that attaches inside the wheel pant to make up the added axle length. Still need to spread the wheel pants by cutting along center line on Bottom only, and splice in a filler. Common fiberglass epoxy from a local marine supply works fine, very easy. Send me a PM with your direct e-mail and I can send you some pictures.

David A.

[Murray Parr]

I have the 5x 500 tires and had to add width to the wheel pants and a shim on the attach plate. It is still tight but not rubbing. Does anyone know what would be an acceptable clearance between tire and wheel pant or what the standard sonex wheel pant clearance is?