Hey gang, I'm curious cuz I've been thinking about a set of bigger tires...

I searched but have not been able to find, do they make a PL style plastic 8x8 rim? Of course I mean 8" dia, and 8" wide.

I know you can get them in aluminum, but I'm quite certain they are uber expensive, and was curious if there was such a thing? And I know you can get bigger tires to fit on the 4x8 standard PL plastic rims, but I'm just curious about if there are larger ones.

PL asymmetrical is what I have on the back... Call you r PL Dealer
Cadkat for the front... not sure where to get them.

They aren't cheap compared to the std rims!

I was just looking at cadkat's website and it looks like their hubs are ridiculously expensive. The key word that I was missing was "asymmetric"

Anybody else have info on plastic 8x8's

Contact Van for aluminum ones (I know you don't want them...but maybe not too much more expensive).

The sysmic 8x8 are cheaper than the cadkat 8x8.
the sysmic are symmetrical and the cadkat are asymmetrical. The sysmic come with ss bearing s that are $$$ to replace.
the cadkat are built with centers that you can order to fit any bearing you choose. You can order the cadkat symmetrical wheel if you want.

The pl bigfoot with the cadkat wheels and bf tires is set up with 8x8 on all 3 wheels.
both wheels have good and bad points, depends on your end use. Cant race with the sysmic unless you cover the spokes and the bead lip on the wheel will hinder installing and removal of US made tires.
cadkat are a bit more money but are better for bearing use and replacement along with the symmetrical/asymmetrical part that sysmic cant do.
I have had bugs big and small and had the sysmic with every type of tire made, along with the cadkat and tires of all makes on the same bugs. Which one is the best? The worst?
Aluminum will oxidize, not plastic.
Sysmic adds tons of bling........plastic is not bling.
cadkat is symmetrical/asymmetrical/sysmic is not.
Sysmic is tubless but will leak, 9 out of 9 wheels I have at the moment leak, my cadkats have yet to leak.
Sysmic are cheaper than cadkat.
there are a few other issues with both wheels. At the end of theday I have both types on all tires and the ones I like the best, the ones that I will put on my personal bug, the ones that will serve me the best......Cadkat.

I see now that I made a mistake, I thought my current rims were 4x8, but I realized last night when I looked closer at them that they are actually 2.5x8.

Am I correct that the 16x6.5-8 as well as BFs will fit on the 2.5x8 rims. Or are the 4x8 rims better suited for these?

The 16x6.5-8 wheels will fit on the standard PL ABS Rims. The 18x8.50-8 wheels will also fit (That's what i put on my buggy.). Can't speak for the BF's but everything I've seen indicates yes.

Just my opinion AND I'm not an expert but, If you can get the beads on, then you should be good. Putting fat tires on narrow rims will change the profile though so some trial and error is called for. Pretty sure it's the standard ABS rim..--> http://peterlynn.com/wp-content/uploads/2011/04/Kenda-Beach-...

consider the footprint of the tire.

if it is too flat of an impression or footprint it lacks the side traction but will float on soft sand well.
With a more narrow rim a grooved tire will have more of a rounded profile or crown, and better sideways pull.

Good winds sol,
Chris C1

I have seen the BF's on the std pl rim. Pulls the tire a lot.

Some people like it and other complain about shimmy. Guess it depends on the tire

I've got the Kenda Beachracers on Sysmic 4 X 8 rims and I can't say that I'm a fan. They're not very balanced at speed. They're ok under 50kph. They do go over soft sand easier than the 16.5 (midi's) but soft sand will still slow you down. I went for the 4 inch sysmic rims after looking at the profiles of the Kenda's on the 4 v 8 inch rims - they 8's had a flatter wider profile, but the nut was recessed in a long way which was going to make it harder to get the rims on and off the bug (which I have to do to get the bug in the car). It was darn hard work getting the bigfoots on the sysmics and I couldn't seat the bead myself. If I could do it all again, I wouldn't buy the Kenda's. From what I've seen, the Duro's (I think that's what's on the Libre Majestic / Dragster?? - Clive has the Majestic and has reported no wobbles from his tyres at 70kph) seem much better. Alternatively, I'd look at the 18.5 x 8 (midi XL) on a 4" rim (prob fit on the 2.5" too).

The main plus about the bigfoots for me is comfort - at 8psi you can get away with riding over stuff that would be pretty bumpy with the midis. They're a bit slow in the grass though.

Edit: my 1000th post!!

The biggest problem with almost all the tires we use is quality control as they are not meant for speed... Some are good and others could be almost square :o from the same tire size and brand.

This has turned out to be some good stuff.

Just for clarification,
"wheel" is the plastic, aluminum, steal, round thing that bolts onto the axle and the tire is mounted on. Also called a "rim".
"tire" is the black rubber thing mounted on the wheel/rim. Tires also come in plastic in all kinds of colors and are made of rubber in colors such as red, blue, green, along with the regular black.

I agree the. BF's are not for speed. They are for slow speed over rough, soft terrain. Some have added ths small balance beads to smooth things out while others have done the sticky lead weights which the tire companies use to balance street tires.
If speed is the end result than there are other much better choices.

The pl plastic wheel as well as the other 2.5x8s will hold any tire up to 25x18x8. Dont ask why that size
the wider the wheel, while keeping the tire size the same will increase the foot print at the same time will decrease the bite during side pull. Thats why grooved tires came into play. There is a point were you loose what you gain. (This is what I found comparing the apexx and mg croozer and swiching wheels/tires set up during the buggy test).

As stated above different tires provide good things and bad things. The amount of $$$ is not a determination of better or worse.

In the end, side by side, like like comparisons, wheels are different, tires are different, it depends on your $ and your bling factor. As long as your buggy moves, your kite pulls you, and your grin goes from ear to ear, if it works-who cares.
Now if you are concerned about handling, performance, and being 1st instead of 2nd in a race, tires and wheels (and $) do make a difference. IMHO

Cadkat Rim for the front and AS Rims for the rear. All running Duro Tires with Cut grooves. My old tires are on RonH's buggy.

Some people like the AS Rims with Beach Racer tires but it has a flatter surface.

Statement above : Smile and just ride.

Does anyone know how much the Peter Lynn asymmetric 8x8 rims cost?

I can't find them on any website without tires attached.

Quote: Originally posted by soliver

Does anyone know how much the Peter Lynn asymmetric 8x8 rims cost? I can't find them on any website without tires attached.

They show as $252 for wheel and bearings, or $275 with the Beachracers included. They really want you to take the tires with the wheels.

Last time I checked stock was fluctuating. They were going out as fast as they were coming in, that was just before Christmas.

Yes. Bob, it's actually a better deal just getting the tires as well.

EEGAD!, well scratch that idea...

It appears as though there's really no way to do bigger tires on a uber tight budget, but hey, I'm learning a lot.

One thing I'm thinking about trying and tell me if this is a dumb idea. We have 3 golf carts at the church where I work & I'm thinking of asking the guy that services our carts if he has any used golf cart tires he'd either give me or sell me cheap. If I can I'll get 2 18x8.50-8's and a 16x6.50-8 I can mount those and see how it works.

Thoughts?

Use your basic pl wheels and find some nanco 21x12x8 tires, also called bigfoot lites.:D

Bigkid is right. The bigfoot lites do an outstanding job. They will get you over silly soft sand, and hold a line just great.

I rode with Angus on Jekyll Island running BFL tires and Angus had his wide 16" tires with both of us running on Ivanpah Buggies. We also usually were using identical kites and generally ran dead even with each other. Jekyll is not a good test place for BFL tires since its such a hardpacked sand, but they were nice pulling the buggy over the dunes and they soften the jolt if you run through a rivulet or some other bump on the beach. Grooves if available will add some side slide resistance, but you won't miss them if you don't have them and aren't racing someone that does have them. Following Angus, I could see his grooved tires kicking up sand like a little rooster tail, but I was running the same line as he was and close enough to see his rooster tail.

Tires on the cheap....Check out a couple local airports....Tires for airplanes which are super heavy duty (plys) are only allowed to be used for so many flight hours then they need to be changed regardless of condition....I have had some friends luck out and get some really nice tires for next to nothing.....just another Ave to check out.....
FYI I got some BFL's couple years ago for WW and they are awesome...I do think having them on different rims is better, as all I do now is bolt and unbolt pending conditions....try to have wheel set-ups the same...ex. bolts, spacers etc so you are jockeying around different hardware.

As BEC said, correct-a-mundo. I have a couple calls a week asking for bigfoot tires from ultralight plane owners. Never thought to ask for there used tires in trade for new ones. I know the ones they use are up around 200 bucks a piece, thats why they ask for the nanco 21x12x8 which cost around 40 to 60 bucks each.

I talked to our golf cart guy, and hopefully tomorrow I will have a pair of 18x8.50-8 Golfpro tires (used and worn),... They are treaded tires, but hey, they're free.

I'm going to look around a little more and see if I can locate a 16x6.50-8 for the front so I don't have to get (or make) a new front fork.

If not, I may pick up a Nanco strait ribbed 16x6.50-8... Only $27

Check your local Northern Tool.. They were selling off their Kenda stock of both sizes really cheap for the multirib versions in store.. Online was nearly twice the price.

Aha,... Thanks riff!

No luck at Northern, if they were on sale it's cuz they wanted to get rid of them,... They didn't have any Kenda 16x6.50's or 18x8.50 's in a straight Rib... Bummer... Looks like I'll get a Nanco

http://www2.tires-easy.com/cgi-bin/rshop.pl?details=Ordern&a...

The "Tractor Supply" Chain carries several sizes in the Carlisle tires as well. May want to look there if you have one. The Nancos are inexpensive, can be a chore to mount but last for a good while.

Thanks for the cheap tire ideas gang, but my budget is $0 to as little money as possible... So here's the plan and break down:

(2x) used 18x8.50-8 Golf Cart tires: price... FREE
-they have tread that is there, but well worn, not ideal but hey, who can beat FREE. Obviously for the back. I might be able to get 2 off of one of the Golf carts at work (ideally), but if not, I've found a repair shop that will let me hunt through the pile of oldies for free.

(1x) new 16x6.50-8 Nanco N777 Straight Rib: price... $27.99
-this is the least expensive of this size strait rib tire available on Amazon, and with a Prime membership, I get free shipping. I could likely get another free Golf cart tire for the front, but since I use a PL front fork, 6.50 is the widest I can go without having to get (or fabricate) a new front fork (aka spend more money).

With all this, I have in essence Bigger'd all of my tires for a whopping cost of $27.99 (TOTAL)... I'd say that's a pretty good deal. I do have an email in to an aircraft maintenance company at the nearest airfield to me to see if they have anything they can give me... We shall see.

Since the idea is to minimize the cost, I'm going to forego replacing the front fender for now, and do that in a month or so... Even with that, it's only $14 for a new trailer fender and a little fabrication.

In the future when I do have some kite money to spend, I may to try to upgrade to 4x8 Rims, but for now I'm excited to see how it turns out. Will def post pics when I'm all done.

If you didnt have such a gorgeous wife, and such lovely little cheesy grin wrapped around my finger daughters, you could buy 2 new tires, maybe 3. :evil:Haha just kidding, been there and done that.
Like I said, as long as your bug roles and the kite flys, who cares what size your grin is.
just keep it at 4, the 5th one requires one more to equal things out.

Bad news replaced by good news...

I went on Amazon to order my front tire and Amazon says "this item is currently unavailable ..." WHAT THE!!!... So in starting to look around and find a good deal on a 16x6.50-8 straight ribbed tire, wifey says "why don't you check Ebay"

I looked on eBay and lo and behold there I find what I went to Northern Tool & Equip. for yesterday, a kenda straight rib 16x6.50-8 for $15... $17 shipping ($32 total), but hey, in the end I'm only paying $5 more for a WAY better tire... SWEEEEEET.

it should be here Thursday. :singing: