2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission Load range E tires

[BKeence]

I am having trouble understanding how to determine the plys of a tire. Are all Load range E tires 10 ply rated?



I recently learned that 10 ply doesn't necessarily mean it HAS 10 plys. It may only be 5 plys rated 10. When did all this take place, man I am really behind in time.



Thanks!



Brian

 

[Grizzly]

A long long time ago. It just means that 10 ply rating is as strong as a 10 ply no matter who many plies it has.

 

[MarkMiller]

Yep. As technology proceeds things change. The stronger materials used make a stronger tire from fewer plies. A load range E tire is still the minimum you should run though. A lot of D range tires are rated to nearly the same as a E range and ride softer but the heat produced will increase and hence life span will shorten.

 

[RNixon]

Those old-style "ply ratings" are meaningless! What counts is real number of plies, and how the tire is constructed. Older designs have 2 polyester plies in the sidewall and those two plus 2 steel belts under the tread, for a total 4 plies in the tread. Better, new designs have additional nylon or kevlar (aramid fiber) "cap plies" under the tread. The cap plies go a long way toward preventing tread separations. A few years ago I had a Goodyear Wrangler tear apart on me at 70 mph!! due to tread separation. Not a fun thing. Did a lot of damage. I will never buy another truck tire without cap plies.



The numbers of plies are molded in the rubber on the side of the tire. It should say something like "Sidewall 2 plies polyester, Tread 2 plies polyester + 2 steel + 1 (or 2) nylon (or kevlar "aramid"). Don't take a tire salesman's word for any of this. Most of them don't know what they are talking about. Ignore what they say about "10 ply rating". That means nothing!!! Insist on looking at the tire yourself.



I just bought a new set of Pirelli Scorpion load range E tires for my CTD from Discoutn Tire. They have two nylon cap plies. My second set. Highly recommended! Other candidates were Michelin and a new model Wrangler from Goodyear that has two kevlar cap plies.



Also pay some attention to tread pattern. If you drive off-road, you might want an "A/T" all-terrain or "aggressive" tread. I don't drive off-road, so specifically did NOT want an all-terrain tread (they wear out faster, and make much more noise). What I did want, and got, is a "highway" tread tire, which is much smoother and quieter on the highway.



Good luck.

 

[MarkMiller]

Tread pattern, there are lots of different patterns out there depending on the use ans the look you want. I live on a farm and we get snow so I need a tire with aggressive tread, I am at the end of a set of Super Swamper Trxus mud terrain tires 33x12. 5x16 ($159 ea. )about 35k life http://www.intercotire.com/site24.php . Not bad tires, some noise and vibration but they really got the job done in snow and hub deep mud. they come in stock sizes as well. I am going to try a set of Parnelli Jones 35x12. 5x16 because they are a littlebetter construction and should be quieter and last longer http://dirtgriptires.com/default.htm . I am also going to try Innovative Tire Balancing's Dyna Beads to balance these. They are small ceramic beads that constantly shift in the tire to constantly balance the tire. Because a tires balance changes over its life. They can be inserted at the time of mounting the tire on the wheel or even afterthe tire is mounted. If oyur interested just go read through the site: http://www.innovativebalancing.com/index.html Its very informative and from all the research I have done they work spectacularly.

 

[Turboman]

The beads from Innovative Balancing work great. I had Centramatics, but with a larger tire they just couldn't do the job, so I put them on the fiver and put beads in the truck tires, I used 4oz for a 305/70-16 and they work. I also put new tires on a Kenworth (11R24. 5 Michelin XDHT) with 12oz in each tire and it rides like a Cadillac on a new road. BTW I have Centramatics on the steer tires of the KW.

 

[Vaughn MacKenzie]

RNixon, great information. . . learned a thing or two from your post

 

[BKeence]

WOW!!! Thanks for all the information. I guess it has been awhile since I read the "Fine Print" on a tire.

Will the tire say "cap plies" on it somewhere?



I am wanting to put new tires on the 5ver too, glad I asked the question.





Brian

 

[RBischke]

Just looked at my new Toyo 295/70R17's E rated. They read tread 2 steal, 3 polyester, 2 nylon, sidewall 3 polyester. Adds up to ten.

 

[RNixon]

The printing on the tire doesn't use the word "cap plies" That's just the way they are referred to generally. Anything beyond the basic "sidewall 2 plies polyester" , "tread 2 plies polyester + 2 piles steel" would be cap plies. I've only seen two types of fiber used in cap plies, nylon and kevlar (aka aramid).



Please note: The plies are NOT additive between sidewall and tread. The "two plies polyester" shown in the tread are THE SAME TWO PIES that form the sidewall. The two polyester sidewall plies go radially from bead to bead, so they are also under the tread. Steel belts and cap plies go around the circumference, over the top of the sidewall plies. If you took a core sample through the tread of a common 1-cap-ply tire, you would see 1 nylon cap ply on top, followed by 2 steel belts, then the two polyester "radial" plies. This is a total of 5 plies under the tread, not 7.



I have not ever seen a modern light-truck tire with more than 6 plies under the tread. There are also some tires that use all-steel cord for very high strength. I haven't used any of those. They seem to be fairly uncommon on light trucks. I'm guessing they are used more on large, heavy over-the-road trucks. I would expect the ride from those to be _very_ rough!

 

[BKeence]

Thanks!



Brian

 

[Matt42]

Cap Plies

If I recall correctly, nylon cap plies were introduced as a way to prevent tread separations. I first started noticing them as the Firestone Wilderness tires were being recalled by Ford. It seems that the legendary heat we get here caused the adhesion between the rubber and the steel belts to deteriorate. The tire would then disintegrate, sometimes with fatal results.



So I started looking closer. I was finding the nylon cap belt only on tire brands I would never buy here. It would probably be different if I lived farther north. Road surface temperatures here can exceed 180F. Tires don't wear out unless they get a lot of daily mileage. They come apart. Whether they come apart in a slow, benign manner or catastrophically seems to depend on the manufacturer and how well the owner kept the pressure up.



The heat can be a problem elsewhere in the Southwest. Recently, a colleague from Las Vegas and I were walking through the Fred Meyer parking lot at University and Airport in Fairbanks. We were carrying on some unimportant conversation when we both abruptly stopped next to a Jeep Wrangler. It was equipped with a set of *worn out* Goodrich TA radials. Neither of us had seen tires like that worn out in a very long time. In pieces, yes, but not worn out.