bigshow345
Seasoned Expediter
Ive been reading through the pros and cons of using super singles on my sport chassis truck. Supposedly they increase fuel economy and reduce curb weight. What are your thoughts?
Anyone run super singles?
- Thread starter bigshow345
- Start date
We have been running wide base singles for approximately five years. No problems. We have them on our drives as well as our pusher axle.
When we bought this truck we exchanged the duals the truck came with for wide base singles. We run Michelin XOne XDA Energy
We run the Pressure Pro air monitoring system with the tires for peace of mind.
When we bought this truck we exchanged the duals the truck came with for wide base singles. We run Michelin XOne XDA Energy
We run the Pressure Pro air monitoring system with the tires for peace of mind.
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On June 21, 2010, you wrote in this thread about a bubble that developed on your wide base single and the difficulties you had in replacing the tire. Was that not a problem? I know you praised the manufacturer for making things right, but the tire did fail, did it not?
Super singles have a lot of advantages but every advantage also has a trade-off. No tire is trouble free and for all the praise they receive, super singles (wide base singles) are still tires. See these photos for an example (most likely due to driver neglect of tire inflation in this case).
Read further in the above mentioned thread for my comments about super singles and the reason we do not own them.
Additional comments are in Reconsidering Super Singles (written when we tried to buy super singles but found them unavailable).
TeamCaffee also wrote in this thread about permits that are required to run super singles in Canada. I would expect that to change as the tires become more widely accepted. Have there been any new developments on that front?
Tire chains are also an issue. If Diane and I put super singles on our truck, we would need to buy new tire chains to fit them. That is an expense that is seldom mentioned when people talk about converting to super singles.
I have not checked this out but I wonder, would super single tire chains weigh more than traditional chains and thereby cancel out the weight advantage super singles provide?
On our truck, we can meet California chain requirements (the most stringent) by carrying four chains, one for each outside drive tire. If we went to super singles, we would also have to carry four chains but they would be twice the width (and weight?) to fit four drive tires on two drive axles.
New wheels would also need to be purchased to accomodate the super single tires. That would not be an issue, we believe, because the dealer gave us a great trade-in deal for our old Alcoa wheels when we then talked.
If we were buying a new truck today, super singles would be seriously considered, but the cost difference, wheel-cost difference, chain cost and weight difference would also be considered.
Given the number of super single aligators we see on the road as these tire become more widely used, and the fact that our traditional tires have been at least as trouble free as super single owners report, no points go to super singles for being trouble free. They are no more reliable than any other good tire that is properly cared for, in my judgement.
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Phil there is not a perfect tire on the market. Each has plusses and minuses.
The fuel mileage we see with our wide based singles far out weigh carrying chains to fit the tires. The automatic chains weigh way less then the throw chains.
That is an old post on the winter Canada issue and something that would need to be researched again as the wide based singles are becoming more popular.
The bubble was caused by a technician breaking the bead on the tire when he turned it in the rims not because of the tire. The tire had 380,000 miles on it and if the technician had not ruined the tire we expected it to go to 600,000.
Each person has to make the decision on what will fit their operation best for us it has been the wide base singles and I believe our return on investment has far out weighed running duals.
The fuel mileage we see with our wide based singles far out weigh carrying chains to fit the tires. The automatic chains weigh way less then the throw chains.
That is an old post on the winter Canada issue and something that would need to be researched again as the wide based singles are becoming more popular.
The bubble was caused by a technician breaking the bead on the tire when he turned it in the rims not because of the tire. The tire had 380,000 miles on it and if the technician had not ruined the tire we expected it to go to 600,000.
Each person has to make the decision on what will fit their operation best for us it has been the wide base singles and I believe our return on investment has far out weighed running duals.
greg334
Veteran Expediter
Well Phil, the answer is NO.
The super single chains add weight but not enough for the time they will be used (You won't got cross country with chains on) to actually effect the advantages of the overall weight reduction with super singles and your fuel mileage will take the hit anyway because of the use of the chains, so overall it is a wash.
Now the other part of this is buying good quality chains is a must. There are a few cheap Chinese made chains out there which can break, damaging tires.
Overall the investment for a change over is a wash over the lifetime of the tires and chains are an insignificant part of the change over.
The 600,000 mile number is an attention getter. In your five years of running super singles, have you actually achieved that?
Regarding fuel economy claims, if anyone can quantify them, you can. There are no industry studies out there that talk about super singles and straight trucks that I know of. Any numbers you can share would be appreciated.
This could turn into an especially useful thread for readers if you (and others who may have them) share numbers. You the super single (wide base single) promoter and me the super single skeptic going at it to agree on the truth.
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Bob clarified that we have not been running the tires 5 years it is closer to 4 years.
The tread depth gauge is used often on our tires and the tire wear indicated we would reach the 600,000 mile mark. Our wear rate per 15,000 miles indicated we would get should get close to the 600,000. We were rotating the tires on the wheels to even up the tire wear when the damage to the bead occurred which did not rear its ugly head until later on down the road.
Those tires were different then the tires we are running now as we started with a full inch of tread. Bob credits the low tire wear to the truck having low torque, running slow, monitoring the tire pressures by gauge and the Pressure Pro system, light weights, lift able pusher axle, and running low speeds.
On our new truck our tread depth is less and we do not expect to get as long of life out of these tires. Currently the wear rate is about 1.5/32 per 30,000 miles. We also have higher torque on this truck and have to pusher axle down more than we did on our old truck.
Our DD13 is still breaking in and to date using the odometer versus gallons pumped we have had one 13.05 mpg, 12.53 and a 12.38 and are consistently in the 11's. We now have 47,000 miles on the truck.
The tread depth gauge is used often on our tires and the tire wear indicated we would reach the 600,000 mile mark. Our wear rate per 15,000 miles indicated we would get should get close to the 600,000. We were rotating the tires on the wheels to even up the tire wear when the damage to the bead occurred which did not rear its ugly head until later on down the road.
Those tires were different then the tires we are running now as we started with a full inch of tread. Bob credits the low tire wear to the truck having low torque, running slow, monitoring the tire pressures by gauge and the Pressure Pro system, light weights, lift able pusher axle, and running low speeds.
On our new truck our tread depth is less and we do not expect to get as long of life out of these tires. Currently the wear rate is about 1.5/32 per 30,000 miles. We also have higher torque on this truck and have to pusher axle down more than we did on our old truck.
Our DD13 is still breaking in and to date using the odometer versus gallons pumped we have had one 13.05 mpg, 12.53 and a 12.38 and are consistently in the 11's. We now have 47,000 miles on the truck.
Doggie Daddy
Veteran Expediter
We are running the Michelin XDA plus tires, not as good for fuel mileage but great for the wear mileage. We have 320,000 on the tires now, and it looks like we will be able to double that with no problem.
Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
Posted with my Droid EO Forum App
moose
Veteran Expediter
me thinking that a conversion from duel to SS will never return the investment.
same as going from steel wheels to alloys .
more so in a combinations vehicle like a sport chassis - it will be complicated at best.
BTW, do you use that truck for recreations or business ?
but if buying a new rig, SS are the way to go.
i have SS on the Tractor, and am spec'ing a new trailer now with SS as well.
having 8 SS tires on one rig gives me some great advantages.
at 4$/G for fuel, and new tires prices as high as the legislators dare to tax them, it's a no brainier to me.
zorry
Veteran Expediter
R e: Anyone run super singles?
A few years back I wanted to switch an e unit from 8 tires to 4 SS. Flying J truck sales in Indianapolis sells thier old fleet trucks which all have SS. It's easier to sell the used truck to the un-educated with 8 drive tires. I had VERY good tires,4 alum and 4 steel wheels. I walked the lot,picked a truck and for $500.00 total we would have backed the trucks into the shop and they would have made the swap. I would have left with 4 used tires on 4 alum rims. I thought it have been a good deal. I do not know if they still do it but it's worth a phone call.
A few years back I wanted to switch an e unit from 8 tires to 4 SS. Flying J truck sales in Indianapolis sells thier old fleet trucks which all have SS. It's easier to sell the used truck to the un-educated with 8 drive tires. I had VERY good tires,4 alum and 4 steel wheels. I walked the lot,picked a truck and for $500.00 total we would have backed the trucks into the shop and they would have made the swap. I would have left with 4 used tires on 4 alum rims. I thought it have been a good deal. I do not know if they still do it but it's worth a phone call.