Bias or Radial?

[dlandersson]

Don't forget that the air inside the tire rotates differently in the northern hemisphere than in the southern hemisphere. Want proof" Go flush a toilet, the water will drain differently in the northern h than the southern H.

http://science.howstuffworks.com/scienc ... seball.htm

I went with bias ply. The reason, as it was told to me, is that when the tire is hot after towing and dunked in the water the steal and rubber from the tire have an issue. Different expansion rates. This leads to separation of the ply and tire failure. Makes sense to me.

[Catigale]

..I wonder who sits up at night thinking some of this stuff up, sometimes...

[DaveB]

You and I and the rest of the Blogs. Makes you keep your mind active and wondering.
Dave

..I wonder who sits up at night thinking some of this stuff up, sometimes...

[Tsatzsue]

Bash bash!!! I'm just repeating what I was told by Town Fair Tire when I was replacing my trailer tires. The thermal expansion part seemed to make sense. The steel in a bias tire is just in the bead. That is solid. I was told that steal belted radials will separate. I'm no expert...I'm glad you guys are.

[Russ]

Heat expansion is not an issue with me because from the time I park and rig my boat, the tires will have cooled off. Now for other boats that may go straight from highway to ramp, it might be different.

I bought bias tires because the radials were out of stock. Probably better off with them.

What concerns me more now is the lack of balancing of the wheels. Much of my drive to the ramp is 65-75mph highway. I've seen some car tires that required quite a bit of weight to correct the balance. Extra vibration on the trailer can't be good.

--Russ

[Tsatzsue]

Since I was fired up I had to search the net for "professional comparisons". Looks like Town Fair's claim was BS. Sorry for the reverse bash guys. Evidently there are pros and cons both ways...radials track better- bias has tougher sidewalls but run hotter. Matter of preference.

[Tsatzsue]

Russ,

I had the balance mine when they put them on. Worth it. In hindsight I should have gotten galvy rims at the same time.

[Russ]

I remember years ago being told not to park radial tires on the edge of a curb because the heated tire can make the steel belts shift inside the rubber. There seems to be a lot of information out there that people have propagated over the years, not all of it is true. However, everything you read on the Internet or an email is absolutely true

--Russ

[dreamer]

After 3 years I switched to radials. The original bias ply were wearing out on the inside treads quite severely. After 2 years on radials (goodyear marathon) I haven't noticed any uneven wear. They do track better, I especially noticed this when I had to avoid a car heading toward me and had to steer quickly out of the way.

[dlandersson]

That's true, I saw it on a Allstate commercial on youtube.

I remember years ago being told not to park radial tires on the edge of a curb because the heated tire can make the steel belts shift inside the rubber. There seems to be a lot of information out there that people have propagated over the years, not all of it is true. However, everything you read on the Internet or an email is absolutely true

--Russ

[raycarlson]

Am always amazed when peoples swear by the information given them by the local yocals at the tire shop, and take it as a scientific gospel proven piece of technical data.Common sense would dictate that if the kid with a couple years exp had the knowledge of a mechanical-chemical-etc-engineer he would no longer be sweating away down at the tire store for 12.50 an hour.His technical advise is not quite as reliable as say your family doctor's advice is,usually your local mechanic's advice is well watered down with sound 50year old wives tales as told by his grandfather and a host of other armchair engineers from the 1940's who hang down at the shop and dispense the expertise to anyone who will stay still an listen.In most cases 30minutes on the internet will answer any question one could have on almost any subject matter out there.

[grady]

.In most cases 30minutes on the internet will answer any question one could have on almost any subject matter out there.

Because everything on the internet is true!

And everyone that answers a question on a forum is an expert!

[Hamin' X]

In most cases 30minutes on the internet will answer any question one could have on almost any subject matter out there.

Yep, I saw it on the internet, so it must be true!

~Rich

[Russ]

Am always amazed when peoples swear by the information given them by the local yocals at the tire shop

Recently I bought tires at Costco. On the receipt there was a line that said, "After 25 miles, check the lug nuts or bring the car back to us for inspection." This is the standard line on all their tire receipts.
Now I doubt an automotive engineer or a yocal put that on there. It was probably a lawyer. Translation, "Our knuckle headed techs don't always screw the lug nuts on tight, so you better check them, otherwise don't try to sue us because we warned you and you signed that receipt acknowledging it."

To be fair, many tire store employees probably know more about tires than I do. Their advise is worth considering. I also realize that many make money on commission and if they recommend the super deluxe blue cold laser with nitrogen core balanced alignment with the extended warranty, it may not be worth an extra $200 bucks.

Also, advertising a cheap tire and charging $15 to balance it seems like a scam to me. Who buys a car tire without balancing and mounting? "No thanks, just give me the tire and I'll put it on myself."

--Russ

[RobertB]

I only balance tires when I belive there is a need and it will make a difference. On my cars - yes, definitely. On my motorcylce, I used to but then realized that one hard stop/skid could remove enough rubber to change the balance. Instead, bought excellent tires and mounted with the balance marks aligned on the tire and wheel. I started thinking this way after working as an engineer on the F-16 where I was responsible for wheels and brakes. It is pretty amazing how much rubber is removed from a tire each landing when the tire first contacts the runway. As a matter of fact, a Block 40 F-16 may need tires changed in as little as 10 landings based on how much tread is requried for safe operation.

So, why do I not balance tires on the trailer - because it makes no difference to the ride or handling (to me). If the tires are bad enough to cause a vibration I can notice 20 some feet in front of them, then it is likely I need new tires.