Split rims

There are separate categories for "Passenger Vehicles" and "Off road passenger vehicles". The "soft roaders" would probably mostly fail the tests for the off road ones.
https://www.legislation.gov.au/Details/F2012C00326/Html/Text#_Toc326158540

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

Garry
That is good to hear. Tubeless are far safer than tube tyres. Even for heavy work, ie trucks, the frequency of failures with tubeless is reduced. The Newell used to be littered with tyres, not anymore. I bought an HJ61 Toyota in 1986 and replaced it’s rims as, purely for the safety aspect. Now decades later it is being seriously considered as being wise.

Yep, can tell you from personal experience, that a tubed tyre goes flat in 0.1 seconds no or little warning, and usually at the worst time. Having said that, i got a puncture doing a u turn at the caravan park in Tibbuburra, 10 ply splitty, nearest tyre fitter, 700kms away, dismantled, put spare tube in after pulling out thorn, reinflated and carried on to innamincka.

I had a pallet staple go through the rear tyre on my motorbike mid corner. As said, the tube goes in 0.1 seconds and it was more good luck than good management that got me around the turn with the tyre demounting its self in the process.

I much prefer tubeless as they will still go flat, but in a much more controlled manner.

9 times out of 10 you can patch them up with some sticky string, pump them up and be on your way, rather than trotting out the tyre irons and demounting the tyre off the rim and fix it from the inside.

Breaking the bead and getting the tyre off the rim for that 10% can be challenging though, but if it is to that point they carcass is probably stuffed and you are just bodgying it up to get back to civilization.

................and some tubeless tyres don't know they're supposed to go flat slowly!



Bob

I run tubeless tyres on the OKA, but from personal experience, if you have LOTS of punctures to repair and don't like throwing "slightly damaged" casings away, it is much better to run splits.

Cheers,
Peter
OKA196 motorhome

A lot depends on the type of tyres you have to use in some conditions.

There was a photo on this site about six years ago of a new 7.50 x 16 MRF Superlug cross plyMRF on the front of a Nissan Patrol. It had zero pressure in it but it was nowhere near flat. Not even the weight of a Patrol could crush its near inch thick sidewalls.

Those type of tyres are all over outback stations and are the reason why split rims still exist. They are there for puncture resistance, not street handling

I have an old 7.50 x 16 Dunlop street tyre . It was given to me by a tyre service. I had ideas of maybe fitting 7.50s to an old live axle Hilux but I have yet to try and get it onto a one piece wheel by hand. It is an all steel radial, not a steel belted radial. It is so stiff and heavy that I don't like my chances.

I still have a set of split rims though but I don't use them anymore. It ,and one of those MRFs, would fall on and off a split rim.

For a well informed and accurate comparison of split/ non split rims ,types of tyres best suited to various situations , and a heap of other interesting stuff have a look at Mick Huttons articles on the Beadell Tours website.
Peter-n-Margaret I tried to follow that legislation link you provided but could not find any reference re split rims...having said that I think you are probably right regarding type of four wheel drive and the use of split rims.
Cheers to all

Why would they try to ban split rims from passenger vehicles when split rims are still used on all rubber-tyred earthmoving equipment - up to the biggest 400-tonne dump trucks??

Large numbers of people get wild-eyed and start mouthing rubbish such as "widow makers!", "tyre-fitter killers!", and "accident looking for a place to happen", when split rims are mentioned.

The simple fact is - there is still a place for split rims, there are still millions of split rims in use - and you would probably be surprised if I told you, you probably drove right alongside a split rim under heavy load, spinning at 100kmh - at least several times today! - and probably even more times, if you've been doing substantial long-distance travel!

I've changed God knows how many split rims over more than 50 years, and never had a problem. I still run multiple numbers of split rims today.

Accidents happen with split rims due to a basic lack of care in assembly, a lack of careful rim and lock ring examination, and a basic lack of training.

You always check split rims for damage, for dents in locking flanges, for cracks, for ill-fitting lock rings, and for serious corrosion.
You never assemble a badly corroded split rim, nor a dirty rim with mud on it.
You ensure the lock ring is a snug fit when you have it assembled, and are applying initial pressure.

You learn to identify rims and their correct lock rings - and you don't "mix-and-match" brands of rim and lock rings (rim manufacturers all have their own slightly different designs).

I'm more scared of a tyre explosion caused by severe carcass bruising and internal damage to the tyre, than I ever am of a split rim that I have assembled, flying apart.

The horror stories of blokes getting killed by exploding split rims, relate back to simple things -

1. The deadly and obsolete RH-5 degree Firestone split rim - which IS a real killer. Fortunately, very few of them are still in existence.

2. Youthful enthusiasm, coupled with a lack of training, experience and knowledge. That's not the fault of the youth killed, that's simple lack of supervision and training.

3. Damaged, corroded and mis-matched rims and lock rings being assembled. Again, lack of training, experience and knowledge.

I do know of at least one 19 yr old farm boy who was killed by a lock ring coming off, as he inflated the tyre.
Once again, it was case of youthful ignorance coupled with a lack of training and supervision.

Cheers, Ron.

With gear like R&R Beadbreaker and tubeless plug kits these days, a split rim is probably not the easier way to change or repair a tyre in remote areas. I repaired only one on an old Land cruiser Trayback we had on our acreage in the Southern Highlands and i found it rusty, messy and hard work. I have an R & R BeadBreaker now and find it much easier, but it still depends on the type of tyre. Im not sure if you can run those old style 10 ply crossplies on tubeless rims, but if you can, I'm sure even the R&R BeadBreaker would be challenge. Michael

i would love to see the facts in this issue . the vacc do not write legislation nor do they write engineering standards for motor vehicles, they are a lobby group who represent repairers n the motor industry, they have tried to push for many thing usually in the interest of the groups they represent and not in the best interest of the motorist. i think it is another old wives tale that split rims will be banned , more like whoever came up ith this story does not want to work on them and wants to sell you some new tyres and rims