I was wondering if anyone has been running the radials from Gordon on
the stock rims. I'm just wondering about a rim designed for a tube
tire combo using a radial tire. Any thoughts?...
Craig
==========
Over and over again, those most knowledgeable in such matters, experts such
as David Chapman, Mike Echemann, Rene Pohl and other amphibious luminaries,
the kind of folks you'd ask to sit on a Tech Sessions Panel if you were
lucky enough to have them at a Swim-In, have stressed that one should ALWAYS
use tubes, even with such "tubeless-style" tires as radials.
Tubeless-style tires such as those wide whitewall steelbelted radials that
Hugh is now offering will seat perfectly well on the Amphi stock rims with
no modifications whatsoever, but the old Amphi tube-style rims lack the more
modern tubeless-style rim's safety lip to keep them from blowing out and
flying off under stress. Sure, you might get away with no tubes...you could
also cruise with no bilge pump...but neither move is what one might call
"prudent."
To view some past postings to this list on this topic, see:
http://www.escribe.com/automotive/amphicar/search.html?query=tubeless
As for a source for such tires, in view of the fact that there is no price
difference between the supplier's retail price and Hugh's, who wouldn't want
to steer that order to Hugh? Like many other owners out there, if it wasn't
for Hugh's guidance I certainly wouldn't have a "swimmer".
~Bilgey~
