Bias ply question

[morgan85]

I am thinking about running bias ply tires on my truck. I have a few questions.

How do you tell the over all size of a tire ie 7.50 15= lets say a 30x10.50r15.

Would like to get one that is between 33-36 and 9.50-10.50 15.

Who makes a good bias ply tire.

I will be putting these on stock fj60 rims.

Web address or numbers for supplyers in north carolina.

A brand that has tires for around $100-180 a tire.

And any ones personal experince with bias ply tires.

 

[george_tlc]

Bias tyres suck ON ROAD - I ran them for years in oz. 7.50r16 size. They typically have a flat spot when parked overnight or longer. So each warm up/drive you're bounce-bounce-bouncing along till they become round again. They often don't track well on pavement at speed.

They are nice for doing repairs since there's little chance of a 'broken' steel belt to deal with if you get a serious puncture (off road) requiring large patches etc. They were a nice tyre offroad, but if you spend any time driving on pavement/highway/freeway etc - I personally would never choose to run them.

The 7.50r16 basically means a tyre that is 7.5" wide. Crossply tyres are typically 100% aspect ratio, so 7.5" side wall x 2 + 16" rim = 31" nominal diameter. Obviously to get the 'real' width/height you need to check the specific tyre manufacturer's datasheet.

So, unless you're after some 'period' authenticity with your tyres or it is a trail only vehicle, stick with a modern radial design.

cheers,
george.

 

[DrivingMissRosey]

In my experience, I don't mind the flat spotting in cold. It only takes a couple of minutes, even in winter. Tracking at highway speed is about the same between radials and bias ply, when the size is the same too. I've used both radials and bias ply in 7.50 R 16.

For the size you are thinking about, check out TSL. I think they make a 34" tall in 15" diameter. There is also a 36" tall made by the same company that makes the super traxion, but I forget what the name of the company. Good luck, there are not many good bias plys still out there.

 

[Josie'sLandCruiser]

Hi all,

I have been running bias ply Interco Super Swamper TSLs on my FJ40 for the last few years. Far better off-road tire then the radials that I used before, but like George-TLC wrote, bias ply tires are not great on the street or highway (the reason that radial tires were developed!)

My FJ40 is used mainly as a trail basher, where traction and durability is most important; I drive to the trails so I have to put up with the flat spotting and road manners. It is a compromise that I have made.

So, for a rig that does not see a lot of hard off-road action bias ply tires are a poor choice (IMHO.)

Regards,

Alan