Pro's and Con's of Super Singles

Discussion in 'Questions From New Drivers' started by Blackducati750, May 29, 2009.

  1. gerardo1961

    gerardo1961 Road Train Member

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    I drive 150 k on my ss,is ok ,the only think what is bad when is ice and you have to backing,only I have diff and atc for my backing,I have chains for my ss,only I like to changed my chain ,I see specialchain from Europe only 5pds instalation is supereasy in less then 5min,see here www.autosock.com
     
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  3. Freebird135

    Freebird135 Road Train Member

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    yea that makes sense
     
  4. Vodila

    Vodila Bobtail Member

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    Polarbear,
    Which model of TPMS you installed
     
  5. Polarbear

    Polarbear Light Load Member

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    I installed Pressure Pro TPMS on all tires. They have worked out great so far. After parking the truck and letting the tires cool overnight, if the temperature drops outside by 15 degrees or so then the tire PSI will drop by 8 PSI.

    I have to say that I only use Michelin tires. Always have, and probably always will. I am not here to advertise for them, but I have had the best results with Michelins over the numerous year I have been buying tires.

    The tires are more sensitive to cold weather and hot weather than duals. Which makes sense because of the amount of air in the tires compared to duals. After going to the Michelin website and checking into what PSI to use I found that for my XDN2's I should be at around 85 PSI per tire and on the trailer the XZUS's are set at around 100 - 105 PSI.

    The low PSI is because the tires are so wide that they tend to bulge out in the middle of the center of the tread if they are filled to capacity and if they are filled to 120 PSI then you should have about 44,000 lbs on a set of duals which is not something that I will ever do. For my operation I am maxed out at 34,000 on my drives and 40,000 on my trailer so 85 PSI is the recommended PSI for the drives.

    Apparently people that stick with 110 - 120 PSI like they are used to with their duals can run their tires at that PSI, but they will wear out very prematurely because the tires wear from the center of the tread to the outside of the tread very quickly. Most of the tire shops that I have asked about this have never even read the report from Michelin and routinely air the singles to 110 PSI. I was told by Love's that it is their policy to limit liability to air all tires to 110 PSI no matter what truck they are on or what you request they be aired to.

    I also looked into Nitrogen tire inflation, but decided against it due to the fact that compressed air is already 88% Nitrogen and if you purchase a Nitrogen refill for your tires, you will only get 95% Nitrogen which is only a 7% gain and for $40.00 a tire it isn't economical to use Nitrogen.

    I also found on the Michelin website that because of the added traction the new super wide tires offer, it is possible for a driver to overstimate the ability of the tires because their tendency to grab the road as aggressively as they do and take turns that they would not have attempted with duals and even though the tires will not lose traction around tight turns at high speeds the top heavy nature of a semi will still cause the vehicle to overturn. I guess my circle track plans with my 80 foot rig are ruined forever:biggrin_255:
    So far I have driven 38,545 miles on these tires and I have picked up about .5 mpg. I have lost 1/32 of an inch of tread. Now that the summer is here and the tires will be heating up I will be monitoring the TPMS as to the PSI on hot desert roads in the middle of summer. I don't have to worry about a tire losing air anymore or a tire getting ready to explode because of a bad belt in the tire.

    I will update in a few months on how they are doing.
     
  6. Polarbear

    Polarbear Light Load Member

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  7. duanelinn

    duanelinn Bobtail Member

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    Since this is my first post in this forum(or any other), I will be brief and to the point regarding this issue.

    I've been driving now for about six and a half years now. I used dual tires for the first six and a quarter years and had little to no problem with them(winter driving included).

    However, since I started driving for Wild West Express, I have had some rather hairy experiences with the super single.

    First off, I do agree with the posters who praise the significant gains in miles per gallon(I am averaging 7.3).

    BUT...

    I do have concerns over the performance of the super single on wet roads, rutted roads and before too long, winter conditions.

    I have read pretty much all the opinions and experiences in winter for the super single and I only have one statement to you all.... ARE YOU CRAZY?

    I don't know where you folks are driving, but up here in the West(more particularly, the Northwest... I-84, I-82, I-90, I-5, RTE 6, RTE 30 etc.), it just isn't flat ground here. As most of the seasoned drivers can attest to, it is downright frightening to take Emmigrant Hill, Snowqualmie Pass, anything west of Denver, etc; in the wintertime.

    I have slid from hitting ruts on I-84 when wet, the traction is not nearly as good as duals(even on dry pavement), the tractor pulls significantly when making contact with patchwork, ruts, corners(I take them 5 to 10 miles slower than the posted speed limit), and I haven't even attempted driving them on snow or ice, but I can assure you that this driver won't even try it.

    They just scare the hell out of me...

    To conclude,

    I don't care for the super single tires... Life is far too short as it is to be gambling on fuel economy.
     
  8. Gasienica

    Gasienica Heavy Load Member

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    The people that think they get better traction on wet or snow with super singles must of blew their lid. Thinner tire cuts threw snow better. Why do you think winter tires are suggested to run a pizza cutter thin tire instead of your summer slick tire. Also wider tire easier to hydro plane. As for fuel mileage I think it gets a fart of a increment better then duals. Tire wear, well since they claim they grip better and have more traction doesn't that mean more friction and resistance. You see those side walls flexing when your taking a turn.

    Don't be a fool, wrap your tool, stick with duals unless you have no choice and have to run what your given.
     
  9. Polarbear

    Polarbear Light Load Member

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    If you read the Michelin spec sheets you will see that you do get better traction with these tires with a loaded trailer as they were designed to be used to haul freight not run around empty. If you are running around empty you have to run a lower pressure for the empty run. These tires perform better than any set of duals, but like most other high performance add-ons they require more expertise.

    You can't just drive around like you could on duals the same way. These tires are very sensitive to pressure and temperature. If you want to save a lot of money on fuel (like I have-about 8,000 to 10,000 bucks this year) then you have to do a little extra work versus duals. To me it is worth it and with the TPMS I have 24/7 PSI monitoring so that decreases the extra work that you would have to do by constantly checking tire PSI.
     
  10. corneileous

    corneileous Road Train Member

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    The road service mechanic I talked to one day while sitting on the side of the road with a blown steer told me that yer lookin at about 1500 when you figure in the cost of a new wheel as well.
     
  11. Blackducati750

    Blackducati750 Light Load Member

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    That's what turns me off about them. You can't drive far, but if you blow up a dual, you still have the other tire there to hold the axle level. And, keep the rim off the ground...
     
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