Any experience with "lighter" tire foam?

[J_J]

Rip,

Just curious about some things.

Is there any air pressure in a foamed tire? If not, did they punch a hole in the top of the tire to get the foam in and push the air out? Is it possible you could get a flat spot in the tire/foam caused by a sudden fall? Do all your tires have the same outside circumference after putting the foam in? What happens if you put more or less in a tire. Do they put in the same amount of liquid in each tire, or just fill it until it comes out the top of the tire? Do they cut the stem off.

 

[Rip]

JJ,
No air pressure in a foamed tire. No flat spotting even under extended parking in one position. Not sure how they get tire entirely foam filled (without air pocket), but they use a fairly elaborate special machine to do the process (I did not watch as I had to drop off the tires & wheels and pick them up a day or two later). As the liquid foam sets up a certain way, they can not be filled less or more. A given tire & wheel size gets a specific quantity of liquid foam. Foams are however available in several densities and by several manufactures.

Same exact size & shape (profile) as when inflated to rated air pressure. Still have same load rating (but in reality I would suspect would handle significantly more). The valve stems were not cut off, but if they were to get torn off in use, no problem.

Foam filling has been used for many years in skid-steers and other construction and industrial equipment so is not new or novel at all. Foamed tires are listed as factory approved options by many OEMs such as CAT. Is not as common in agricultural equipment as it is permanent and so can not adjust to suit seasonal or soil conditions. All major towns will have a tire dealer that can do the procedure. When the tire does eventually wear out, it and the interior foam must be cut off the wheel.....a bit of a procedure I hear.

By the way, my foam-filled tires & wheels (12x25 turf, I think) weighed 185 lbs each versus 42 lbs before foam, so "only" 570 lb additional weight.

 

[J_J]

I looked at the site to get an estimate for foam fill. and the cost for my 26 x 12 x 12 tire would be about $493.00 . I can't believe that they want that much. That kind of money will buy a lot of tires.

Air Free Tires - Easy Foam Program Pricing

 

[Rip]

Foam filling tires is not really about saving money on tires or tire repairs, it is more about less down-time on commercial projects (a routine flat can put a man & machine out of commision for a day) plus the added weight - stability - traction.

In my case a side-wall rock cut, torn valvestem, or even tire off the rim was a MAJOR hassle on my very steep 30 - 40 deg hillsides. Had a few and found a total solution - not cheap though (although I do not recall what I actually paid).

I am not aware of a cheap DIY foam-equivilant. Certainly the various liquid 'slime' type formulas reduce flats due to nail or thorn type punctures. Gemplers has some fairly heavy duty types (I use in my Polaris Ranger tires) used frequently in AG equipment, and for many folks, that may be a good solution to their problems. One can use short metal valve stems or weld stem guards to deal with that issue which PT wheels seem particularly prone to. Other liquid soultuons will add weight and are not pemenant as foam.

 

[Big Wave D]

I don't know where I read a person's post about when his tires 'wore out', but he had them recapped.

Instead of having to cut off old tires, mount new tires and having to redo foam again.

I don't know how specialized a tire merchant has to be to accomplish this, but it sounds like the best way to handle replacement.

It seems like one is going to have a rather heavy outlay of cash for the first time around for the foaming. I'd like to not have to redo the foam every time I needed new 'treads'.

 

[ponytug]

Wow. I have never seen a complete wheel (tire & rim) go through an on rim recapping, but for the lower end tires (continuous tread that is cut to fit), I guess you could do it with a low temperature vulcanization.

Never would have guessed it was possible.

For me, it would be about tire age and sidewall damage that would condemn the tire.

Thanks for the information.

All the best,

Peter

I don't know where I read a person's post about when his tires 'wore out', but he had them recapped.

Instead of having to cut off old tires, mount new tires and having to redo foam again.

I don't know how specialized a tire merchant has to be to accomplish this, but it sounds like the best way to handle replacement.

It seems like one is going to have a rather heavy outlay of cash for the first time around for the foaming. I'd like to not have to redo the foam every time I needed new 'treads'.