Tire Size 1993 102c

[Nineforever]

Good Afternoon members  was wondering what tire size i schould put on the steer axle of my 102c

[robertglines1]

front axle weight and rim size you have now would have allot to do with it.  Weight being the prime factor here! Most seated coaches were designed to carry passengers at a allowed weight of 250# each to cover them and luggage. Just a fwiw figure when trying to guestimate your coaches weight.  A scale is your friend here.  A larger size tire with a lower air pressure will give you a softer ride. Most truck stops or grain elevators will weigh your bus for you. Weigh each axle separate. Bob

[Nineforever]

Thank you

[RJ]

Name??? -

There should be a builder's plaque on the wall above the driver's window to your left.  On that plaque it shows axle weights with the recommended tire size and pressure for revenue service.

Most MCIs use 12R22.5 tires.

Be aware that the HD truck tire industry is converting to the metric sizing that's been common in automobile tires for a number of years now.  So you have to do your homework to figure out the metric equivalent.

But first, take your coach to a scale and weigh it "ready to roll" as if on a trip.  Divide each axle's weight by the number of tires on the axle to determine the approximate weight on each tire.  Add 200# for "stuff" to give you a good working number.

This number can then be used to guide you to the correct tire size & load range as well as the correct tire pressure to carry in the tire.

Little more complex than buying tires for the VW, eh?

Oh, and please take a couple minutes to edit your profile to include a signature line, similar to mine below.  This will help us better help you with recommendations for local service and/or parts sources.  Added bonus - there might be another busnut nearby!

FWIW & HTH. . .

[luvrbus]

The C's are heavy on the front axle I would stay with the 12rx22.5 or the 315x22.5 JMO

[robertglines1]

Maybe John or some of the other MCI Guys will chime in. I think they are runnin the 315's on the front.

[hargreaves]

I use the 315s on my 102A3  Although I am using *.25 rims which reduce the max. load.  Cheers Gerry

[hargreaves]

Sorry 8.25 rims   Cheers Gerry

[Nineforever]

Ive changed my profile so members know where im located
Friday i purchased new 315x22.5 Hankooks to replace the michelen 315x22.5 that were on there since i purchased the coach last year, the rims look fairly new did not replace them . The local heavy truck tire shop West Town Tire in Yellowknife  does not have a high speed balancer for big tires he uses the beads.
Now i have a shake shim when i go over 70 klms ahour . they mounted a de mounted the tires several times  trying to get rid of the shake with know luck , They have ordered in a nother set of tires thinking maybe we got a bad set < out of round > mmm ? said they never had that problem before . I was thinking maybe the tire size was wrong the old tires were balanced on a high speed balancer they took those wieghts off when they installed the new tires with the beads in the tires .

[John316]

A little late to the game here. We run 315's on our steer, just because of how much we weigh.

Nine, you are doing good to make sure that they get you good tires. Those are expensive enough that you want it right from the start.

Cheers,

John

[B_K]

Find a shop that can balance them.

We run charter buses and you can not believe the difference in the ride.

We also tried the "beads" for a while. And we found (as we'd been told) that sometimes they work, and some times they don't !
Two of the biggest problems with the beads are #1 that the tire jockeys don't usually read the instructions and just throw a back in per tire. (as they are used to doing with truck tires) Our tires are usually a larger tire than on most trucks and require more "beads".
#2 moisture causes the beads to clump.

OH and as the lady service writer @ Setra in Winter Garden, FL tried telling me once they work in truck tires but not bus tires! (but my driver said she turned redder than a fire truck when I asked her {over the phone, and he was standing in front of her} "So you mean to tell me those tires know the difference of when they are on a truck or bus?")

Also make sure when they are airing up the tires they lay them flat on the ground until both beads are fully seated. Then they can stand them up and put 'm in the cage to finish airing them up.
If they don't lay them flat they can seat slightly off center.  (at least that's what I'm told by my current tire shop) They say it's not bad enough that most trucker notice or complain about it. But when you carry passengers or it's your "personal coach" you want the smoothest ride possible!
  BK 

[hargreaves]

I was at the RV show in Quartsite and they had these balancing rings that you put on the drum before you put the  wheel on. The ring has something in it that does the same thing as beads. They say they work well.Didn't buy any but it sounded good.   Cheers, Gerry

[Nineforever]

I called MCI techincal support 800- 241-2947  , and explained to them what problems im having with the new Hankok 315/80 22.5 as soon as i mentioned the bead balance he said that it is almost impossible to balance those tires with beads , it can be done if your tire man has lots of time to play around with the amount of beads it will take , it will be hit an miss , the proper way is with a lazer balancer or high speed balancer if you dont have that equipment localy available stick with the 11R22.5 no problem to balance those with beads .
Wednesday ill drive the coach back into Yellowknife and let Ken @ West Town tire play with it some more ,would  like to stick with the big rubber if at all possible  like yu all say better ride especially up north here on the chip seal hyways there not the smotthest .