Tires Exactly what is the "foam" in foam filled tires

[gordon21]

Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

I have been reading dozens of posts about foam filled tires for several months. I still don't know exactly what "foam" you are talking about. One poster said it would take something like 643# of foam to fill his tire. Is this stuff denser than concrete?? I know there must be lots of lurkers who want to know the same thing. I am having trouble trying to imagine any kind of foam that would need 643# to fill a tire. That sounds more like 100 cubic feet or more of the stuff.

Is this open cell rigid stryo foam, closed cell flexible foam like in life jackets, liquid rubber that hardens, a coating like the Rhino stuff for truckbeds, miniature little plastic beads the size of BB's or what? It sure would be a big help if someone could post a pix of a chunk of this foam. Several posters mentioned about a dollar a # for foam. Several people mentioned that the foam weighs more than their previous liquid fill. Foam that is denser than water or CaCl??? Foam heavier than water?????

 

[jjcc246]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

the tires I had that were "foam filled" had a black solid rubber type of filling. It filled the entire inner tire and when the tire was shot (do to thread loss, not punctures) the tire had to be cut off the rim. but I must say, if weight isn's a problem well worth it.

 

[gordon21]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

So a "foamed" tire essentially becomes a soft solid rubber tire with some limited compressability? Sorta like the tires you see on forklifts except with a 6-10" high profile??? Does the increased overall hardness accelerate wear?

 

[gordon21]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

If these are solid rubber, why don't they sell them pre-made that way and assembled with split rims that merely bolt together to hold the solid tire? It would seem like an easy sale to sell a guaranteed puncture proof tire if I were Goodyear or Michelin.

 

[vaj]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

It does not become a soft rubber tire as you mention. It is quite hard. I always laugh at the term foam since it is like rock. I did it to the front wheels of a 2wd jd310d backhoe for the sole purpose of weight. I was sick of doing whelies all over the place. If you provide the tire size, they should be able to tell you in advance the weight added per tire. It was suggested to me and I listened, to get new tires at the same time. I do not notice any extra wear but common sense tells me the more weight rubber bears, all else being equal, it will wear faster.

 

[pajoube]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

What about the green slim you can buy at Sears and put into tires? Is that any good?
PJ

 

[mikim]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

<font color="blue">What about the green slim you can buy at Sears and put into tires? Is that any good? </font> Not so far in my experience. I'm sorry I ever put it in. It's going to make a mess getting it out. And it seemingly does no good whatsoever with my thorns. --Others mileage may vary--

 

[Billy_S]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

Supposedly, the foam is designed to approximate the deflection of an air filled tire. I didn't have very many hours on my BX2230, when I had the tires foam filled, so I really don't have a valid basis for comparison, but it rides like a log wagon. Not horrible, but definitely stiff.

I doubt there would be much of an effect on wear, but considering the price of the foam, which is often significantly higher than the price of tires, I would suggest foam filling only new, or practically new tires.

The rear tires on my Kubota are 26X1200-12. The foam to fill them weighted 138 pounds. According to the Goodyear Farm Tire Data book, if I filled them with calcium, at 3.5 lbs per gallon, the weight of the fluid would be 106 pounds. At 5 lbs calcium per gallon, the weight would be 107 pounds. So clearly, the foam does weigh more than fluid. The fluid fill data is at 75% full, which is the industry standard.

Hope this helps.

 

[bigfrog]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

I just had my tires filled with a product called TyrFil. It is a urethane rubber. I did not see them do the filling process, but they described it as injecting a couple of liquid materials into the tire that when mixed and given time to set, form the solid rubber material. It is designed to deflect, or compress, like a tire filled with air. It is heavy though. I have posted an update on the thread called "Foam Tire Fill Price?" This stuff is a liquid at first, and then it sets up. It is very heavy.

Here's the link to the mfg site where you can read more about it:

http://www.hyperlastna.com/products/tyrfil/main.htm

 

[adlertom]

Re: Exactly what is the \"foam\" in foam filled tires

Is this open cell rigid stryo foam, closed cell flexible foam like in life jackets, liquid rubber that hardens, a coating like the Rhino stuff for truckbeds, miniature little plastic beads the size of BB's or what? It sure would be a big help if someone could post a pix of a chunk of this foam. Several posters mentioned about a dollar a # for foam. Several people mentioned that the foam weighs more than their previous liquid fill. Foam that is denser than water or CaCl??? Foam heavier than water?????

I would also be curious to know exactly what "foam" is. I did check into both "foam" and Tyrfil. For my front tires, I was told that "foam" would add 125 pounds of weight to each tire. Tyrfil would only add about 85 pounds.

According to the manufacturer's web site, TyrFil is "a urethane rubber product guaranteed to flat-proof pneumatic tires."

So, shall I assume that "foam" must be something heavier than urethane rubber?