Tire test time...

RPAspey · 06-17-2014, 03:11 PM

A few weeks ago I replaced some damaged tires with tires suggested to be very good by my tire guy. They weren't Maxxis but another brand called Hercules. Over the last weekend when I was adjusting my brakes, I found an unusual area on a 2011 Carlise tire that I had been using. I took that tire to my tire guy who confirmed it's the early stages of tread separation. Funny thing is I still have a set of 2010 Carlises that I'm using as spares, after about 3000k miles, that are in great shape. So I need another set of tires for the front axles. This time, I insisted on Maxxis.

Here's the long term non exacting experiment: I will end up with one Maxxis and one Hercules tire on both sides of the TT. I am about to embark on a 500 mile round trip. I plan on stopping about every hour to document the following for each tire:

the tire temps taken at the edge of the tread, but still on the sidewall.
the hub temp for reference.
ambient air temp from the FAT gauge in my truck. That Free Air Temp for those non aviation types.
any important details including any serious bumps or potholes.
approximate average speed from my GPS for the last hour and mileage
pressures from the TPMS

What I'm interested to see is if the Maxxis run differently from the Hercules. I know it's not a perfect test, but what the heck. I may do this again during a similar trip in August too. Anything else?

cadman99 · 06-17-2014, 05:05 PM

I have Hercules tires on my truck and trailer. "E" rated on the truck and "d" on the trailer. About 12,000 miles on the truck tires and 4,000 on the trailer. No problems yet and minimal signs of wear.

f5moab · 06-17-2014, 06:42 PM

Does Cooper still make Hercules tires? Just curious....

cadman99 · 06-18-2014, 08:43 AM

Hercules made by Cooper -

Cooper Tire Corporate - News Releases

f5moab · 06-18-2014, 12:22 PM

That's dated 2010. I was told by a tire dealer that Hercules pretty much went on their own. So I was curious if they still had a relationship since Cooper was purchased, last year, by Apollo tire (India).

BiigDaddy · 06-18-2014, 12:48 PM

I'm posting to keep up with the results!

RPAspey · 06-18-2014, 03:11 PM

Just picked up the tires. They look good. But I wouldn't know a good tire from a bad one anyway

Something I want to add to the list is tread wear but only after say 500 mile increments.

BiigDaddy · 07-08-2014, 08:40 PM

Hey RPAspey, how did the experiment go?

RPAspey · 07-09-2014, 12:22 AM

I got back Saturday night, and have been busy since. I wanted to crunch the numbers tonight, but a serious storm just rolled thru my service territory so now I'm on my 19th hour at work. I might be at work for a few days.

The only obvious observation was that the Hercules tires wore almost 1/32 on the outside tread only, but the Maxxis didn't change. Now a caveat is that the black tank was full for 300 miles of the 500 mile trip which may have loaded the Hercules tires a bit more.

sail2liv · 07-09-2014, 01:04 AM

Maxxis will blow out if you drive fast......like all trailer tires.....so drive 10 % below max speed .... and hopefully no problems if you do everything else right....my friend pulls trailer with car in it and drove around 70 + and one day was driving slow over railroad track and pow.....was a maxxis.....

Blaster 84 · 07-11-2014, 08:39 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by RPAspey

I got back Saturday night, and have been busy since. I wanted to crunch the numbers tonight, but a serious storm just rolled thru my service territory so now I'm on my 19th hour at work. I might be at work for a few days.

The only obvious observation was that the Hercules tires wore almost 1/32 on the outside tread only, but the Maxxis didn't change. Now a caveat is that the black tank was full for 300 miles of the 500 mile trip which may have loaded the Hercules tires a bit more.

Your uneven tire wear may also be to an out of alignment axle. Last year I had one bearing hub temperatures running higher than the others. I couldn't understand why until I noticed uneven tire wear. After axle realignment my hub temps are the same. I am interested in the Hercules tires and your report is the first negative comments I have seen. I'll watch for your report.

RPAspey · 07-12-2014, 05:36 AM

I doubt they're out of alignment. I've been checking hub temps for years and never found any real difference between them. I did just adjust the brakes though and I know one of them grabs sometimes. I haven't had the time to check them since coming back from the last camping trip.

Blaster 84 · 07-12-2014, 07:29 AM

I have been looking at the Hercules so I'll be interested in your report. I can purchase 225/75 R15 D, which is rated at 2200 lbs. for $95. Or I can go with the E tire, which is rated at 2830 lbs for $96. I don't see bad comments about Hercules like I do other brands. But I do wonder about their dealer network if I am somewhere else in the country and have a damaged tire.

Ford Idaho · 07-12-2014, 07:40 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Blaster 84

I have been looking at the Hercules so I'll be interested in your report. I can purchase 225/75 R15 D, which is rated at 2200 lbs. for $95. Or I can go with the E tire, which is rated at 2830 lbs for $96. I don't see bad comments about Hercules like I do other brands. But I do wonder about their dealer network if I am somewhere else in the country and have a damaged tire.

If you decide to go with the Hercules tire the E rating for just a buck more looks like a great deal to me.

What Major brand name does the tire dealer sell for?
Goodyear, Bridgestone?

Blaster 84 · 07-12-2014, 05:03 PM

Hercules is not associated with any other major tire manufacturer. The tire salesman agreed that the dealer network may be rather spotty. So I have chosen to go with the GY Marathons.

RPAspey · 07-13-2014, 10:33 AM

Ok, I'm almost caught up with everything that needed to be caught up with....does that make sense. Well, I'll explain briefly. Camping for almost 3 weeks, home 1 day, back to work then storm, live at work for 4 days, kid's swim meet all day yesterday, now catching up.

I've used a spreadsheet to organize the data. Really nothing of difference between the Hercules and Maxxis tires. They all seem to trend the same for temps. All pressures stayed practically identical. So aside from tire wear where the Hercules seemed to lose about 1/64", no difference between them. I'm going to do a physical inspection today, during a brakes check...more on that.

I did notice that my driver's side hubs tend to be a few degrees warmer than the right side at all sample points but the pre trip. I believe its due to heavier loading on that side. Fridge, water & kitchen over those tires.

Until I perform the brake check, I believe the significant higher temperature on the driver's side, rear drum/hub is due to a overly tight brake. I know one was grabby on the trip home.

Bottom line...no notable differences in travel temperature between Maxxis and Hercules tires. Slightly more wear on the Hercules. Visual inspections to ensue later today.

**wmtire** · 07-13-2014, 10:43 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by f5moab

That's dated 2010. I was told by a tire dealer that Hercules pretty much went on their own. So I was curious if they still had a relationship since Cooper was purchased, last year, by Apollo tire (India).

That merger never went thru as far as I remember.. Last time I read something in my tire trade journals it was all tied up in court with each side blaming the other with some stuff over Chinese operations.

Let me research that.

EDIT: Here is an article with details:

http://www.bloomberg.com/news/2014-0...to-apollo.html

RPAspey · 07-13-2014, 11:24 AM

Completed the visual inspections. I jacked each wheel up, spun it a bunch,and tweaked the brakes one 3 of the 4 axles.

All the tires had a flat spot on them from sitting for a week. The Maxxis flat spot wasn't as pronounced as the Hercules tires.

The MAXXIS tires still had some of the little nipples left on the tread. Hercules tires did not. This seems to validate the 1/64" tread loss I measured. BTW, the tread wear might be due to heavier loading of the rear axle.

The axle with the higher temps didn't need the brakes tweaked. The rest did, but only one or two notches. I figured as much.

SO, as of 500 miles, there is only a slight difference in wear between the MAXXIS and Hercules tires.

RPAspey · 08-18-2014, 07:19 AM

Just got home after another trip, and after 1000 miles on the tires, there are NO noticeable differences in the tires. The initial loss of tread depth on the Hercules tires hasn't progressed. No visual problems (bulging, uneven tread, cracks, etc) on any tire. The temperature differences on the TPMS seem to correspond with the sun and how heavy the breaking has been. Non have lost any pressure since last trip.

... I'm not going to bother to document the tire temperatures as varies so much and there doesn't seem to be a correlation between the tire types. I will keep using my IR thermometer to monitor the hub temps as I've always done.

...The axle with the higher temperature...well, since I readjusted the other 3 brakes, I had to lower the gain on the controller. I also noticed somehow I set the controller to Boost Level 3. From my notes on it's installation, it should have been at Boost Level 2. The brakes now are smoother and there is less heat on the hubs.. max measured temperature after some serious downhill braking (at least here on the east coast) was 143 degrees.

Bottom line, so far there is no noticeable difference between Maxxies and Hercules tires. I'll keep posting updates after each trip. Next one is October.

sail2liv · 08-18-2014, 08:21 AM

I find it interesting in the posts here that there is no real mention of speed....if you have tow haul on and are going slow serious braking should not be required on down hills......I guess I am just the old guy that everyone passes two to three times a day and says there he is again he should be going faster.....my OEM Chinese bombs are still on there and I am still waiting for a blowout.....

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