Installation options:
In your driveway
At a local tire shop
Delivery only, you handle install
We’ve Got You Covered!
1-866-961-8668
The question of bias ply vs. radial truck tires actually has its roots in mid-twentieth-century tire development and the technological breakthrough that was the radial tire.
Let’s get into some basic definitions first, which will help illuminate the discussion, and well, why in the twenty-first-century, the debate is all but closed – nearly every modern truck tire is of the radial variety.
Tell us what you drive and we’ll show you all the best options.
The earliest forms of automotive tires were all bias ply. Think Ford’s Model T and the like – they were all shod with bias ply tires.
The term “bias ply” is a reference to the tire’s type of construction. Underneath a tire’s external tread are many layers of construction materials, including “plies” that serve as the structural foundation of the tire.
On a bias ply tire, the plies are placed in a layered, angled, overlapping/crisscross pattern and extend throughout the entire tire. So to put the bias ply concept into tire tour guide type terms, you could think of each ply as starting at one bead, heading “up” the tire sidewall, across the center/crown section of the tire (the part that makes contact with the road), and then “down” the opposite tire sidewall to the opposite bead in 40-60-degrees of the tire’s direction of travel.
Invented in 1946 by Michelin, the radial tire also uses plies as a structural foundation of the tire. However, unlike with the bias ply tire, which overlaps and weaves the plies, the plies of a radial tire are “stacked” across the center/crown section, and specifically, these same plies don’t extend down the tire sidewalls to the bead in 90-degrees of the tire’s direction of travel.
The separation of crown and sidewall ply elements permits these two key areas of the tire to function independently. Gone is the interconnectedness of the bias ply tire that means the tire always functions as one unit.
The advantages of radial tire construction include:
(With some exceptions – bias ply tires can be an advantage over particularly rough terrain at slow speeds.)
Tires develop heat while under load/in use, and more heat, as in the case of a bias ply tire means higher tread wear.
Bias ply tires were particularly limited in this department because of just how stiff the whole tire structure was.
Simply put, a vehicle with radial tires is just plain easier to drive and control, especially in the case of emergency maneuvering.
The advantages of radial tires were so overwhelming that it quickly became the predominant form of tire and grew in popularity in the 1970s.
A 1968 Consumer Reports study comprehensively documented the advantages of the radial tire and sealed the deal. In 1970 Ford fitted radial tires as original equipment (OE) for the first time on a production vehicle.
Yes, in certain applications. Bias ply advantages include:
But today, bias ply tires on automobiles have mostly been relegated to classic car/truck restoration projects and car shows. If the goal is to replicate the true classic look, then bias ply tires achieve that best.
When it comes to your truck though, radial tires are almost certainly the ticket. There are a few modern manufacturers of bias ply truck tires, but almost no matter where and how you drive, you’ll be at an advantage with radial options.
Every major truck tire category – mud-terrain, all-terrain, and all-season – is dominated by radial tires.
Have further questions on this topic, or need some help tracking down the right tires for your truck? We can help narrow your search. Gives us a call at 866-961-8668.
Tell us what you drive and we’ll show you all the best options.