Bias ply tires

[troy]

Who here runs bias ply tires on their rig ? If so what do you like / hate about them

[HeadDamage]

Terrible flat spots when cold. Try to follow ruts on road. Slippery on wet or snowy roads.

Strong side walls.

[Rob]

My first series rovers had bias ply tires and when I switched them over to radials I noticed a big improvement in ride and handling both on and off road. On the prairies the bias were like riding on square wheels in the cold weather as the flat spots from sitting took time to soften out when the bias tire was cold (radials are much less impacted by flat spots from sitting). There are suggestions that bias tires have stronger/stiffer sidewalls which might add a bit to load capacity but it also lessens the tires ability to flex over things (some argue that radials are less likely to suffer sidewall damage as they flex more than bias - maybe someone else can tackle that argument). Bias were designed for inner tubes though many of us run inner tubes in radials on our old trucks with tube-type rims (and some don't... with decent success). There is the point of an "authentic look" running bias on series trucks (keeps the rivet counters happy).

Overall though, I can't think of any significant advantages for bias ply tires over radials on a rover.

Cheers, Rob

[Greg S]

I grew up in the age of the introduction of radial tires to the light truck and off-road use. Strong supporter of bias to the point of insisting on bias from my tire supplier. Good Year I believe. The dealer had to import them specially for me and warned me not to get them. He was right! Despite the hard spots that eventually warmed up and turned round after two or three miles each day, they worked well until half worn. Cupped like you wouldn't believe, because that is a problem with bias. Steering got progressively worse in regard to wandering, especially at highway speeds due to the cupping and because that is also something bias are prone to. Traction was good unless you had to air down a lot because bias don't deform the same as radials at low pressures. I was hanging on to the old arguments of the bias user's back when radials were coming into popular off-road use. I was wrong! Switched to radials when my bias were only half worn. WHAT an improvement. Steering - FIXED, traction - improved, ride - smooth (er). {Can't get a SMOOTH ride in a leaf sprung Landy.}

Yes, I know Super Swampers have a great following and are bias ply. I recommend that unless you are doing a rivet-counting-correct restoration of some kind, "Stick with radial tires." for a whole lot more reasons than mentioned.

[troy]

Iam thinking I might just take the Yokohama 742 7.50 x 16 s off the 59 and put them on the new rover in the spring., I just like the 7.50 s and it is hard to find a radial tire in that size .

[red90]

The new BFGs M/Ts come in 7.50x16.