Question, radial tire vs. bias ply tires life span
11-06-2016, 09:37 AM
#1
Question, radial tire vs. bias ply tires life span
Question about radial vs. bias ply tires. I know that modern radials are supposed to be good for about 6 years from the date code before they become at risk for coming apart inside and blowing apart. But I read in a couple places that that doesn't apply to bias ply tires, and they are good for more like 15 years from date of manufacturer because they are constructed differently.
My coker redline radials that came with the car appear to have been manufactured the 42nd week of 2009 (date code 429) and even though they literally have about a few hundred miles and look brand new I'm playing it safe and dumping them. I think I could deal with bias plys if it would get me the extended life since this car is a hardly driven garage queen, but wanted to confirm that the bias plys will have the longer life.
Also how much of a difference will I see from radials to bias ply with the way the car handles and drives? Car is a 68 L68 4pd coupe.
My coker redline radials that came with the car appear to have been manufactured the 42nd week of 2009 (date code 429) and even though they literally have about a few hundred miles and look brand new I'm playing it safe and dumping them. I think I could deal with bias plys if it would get me the extended life since this car is a hardly driven garage queen, but wanted to confirm that the bias plys will have the longer life.
Also how much of a difference will I see from radials to bias ply with the way the car handles and drives? Car is a 68 L68 4pd coupe.
11-06-2016, 09:42 AM
#2
Le Mans Master
Question about radial vs. bias ply tires. I know that modern radials are supposed to be good for about 6 years from the date code before they become at risk for coming apart inside and blowing apart. But I read in a couple places that that doesn't apply to bias ply tires, and they are good for more like 15 years from date of manufacturer because they are constructed differently.
My coker redline radials that came with the car appear to have been manufactured the 42nd week of 2009 (date code 429) and even though they literally have about a few hundred miles and look brand new I'm playing it safe and dumping them. I think I could deal with bias plys if it would get me the extended life since this car is a hardly driven garage queen, but wanted to confirm that the bias plys will have the longer life.
Also how much of a difference will I see from radials to bias ply with the way the car handles and drives? Car is a 68 L68 4pd coupe.
My coker redline radials that came with the car appear to have been manufactured the 42nd week of 2009 (date code 429) and even though they literally have about a few hundred miles and look brand new I'm playing it safe and dumping them. I think I could deal with bias plys if it would get me the extended life since this car is a hardly driven garage queen, but wanted to confirm that the bias plys will have the longer life.
Also how much of a difference will I see from radials to bias ply with the way the car handles and drives? Car is a 68 L68 4pd coupe.
BTW, I think that 6 year life span is a bunch of BS put out there by the tire manufacturers in order to sell more tires.
11-06-2016, 10:17 AM
#3
Le Mans Master
It's probably also a CYA move on their part from the firestone blowout days. I base it on how I use the car. If it regularly see's hard use/high speed then the change interval is going to be sooner, on a dd it will be later.
11-06-2016, 12:06 PM
#4
Le Mans Master
6 years is total BS!.....10-12 years for tires with no signs of dry rot and not subject to constant Ultra violet sun....If the cars sits in the garage, covered most of the time with little direct sunlight exposure...even longer.
11-08-2016, 01:45 PM
#5
Team Owner
Friend with a Ford 3/4 ton work van 6 lug 2500 lbs rating....he had new CHINA made tires on it when bought about 3 years ago and sure enough, almost no tire wear, and the things started delaminating/coming apart he put on heavy duty tires 50 lbs pressure......from Thailand....
one in back 250 bux thanks for a pair....then 2 months later one in front...make that 500 bux, and NO thanks....
one in back 250 bux thanks for a pair....then 2 months later one in front...make that 500 bux, and NO thanks....
11-08-2016, 01:51 PM
#6
Even Longer?
I met your criteria of sits in the garage covered most of the time... etc. I waited till 15 years, TA Radials, maybe a 1,000 miles per year. When I replaced them after that 15 year period with the same tire I could tell right away that 15 years was too long, the ride was so much softer with the new tires which told me the old set had severely hardened. I now set my limit at 10 years since the consequences of waiting longer are just not worth it.
11-08-2016, 03:47 PM
#7
Team Owner
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St. Jude Donor '05
4-5 yrs max for me learned the hard way a few times and they werent cheap tires, stored/looked fine. They usually rot from the inside out so whats "looks fine"? It made it to cruise night?
Why risk an expensive car, lives on tires or say cheap brakes, my god. Not directed at OP just in general. How much are 15 in tires, not much!
Why risk an expensive car, lives on tires or say cheap brakes, my god. Not directed at OP just in general. How much are 15 in tires, not much!
11-09-2016, 07:34 PM
#8
Thanks for the feedback, but nobody really answered my original question, which is do bias ply tires have a longer life because they are constructed differently and less prone to come apart? I've got no problem replacing the tires but if bias plys will last longer on my hardly driven car then I'll go that route.
11-10-2016, 07:20 AM
#9
Racer
Have you driven a car with bias ply tires? If you had, you would not want them, ever again. For shows and such maybe. To answer your question though, the rubber type is basically the same for both tires. What would cause a radial to rot out would also cause a bias ply to rot out. IMO though, a bias ply tire would last for a very long time, because you would not want to drive on it. HUGE difference in the way it handles and drives between the two.
11-10-2016, 08:27 AM
#10
Le Mans Master
I met your criteria of sits in the garage covered most of the time... etc. I waited till 15 years, TA Radials, maybe a 1,000 miles per year. When I replaced them after that 15 year period with the same tire I could tell right away that 15 years was too long, the ride was so much softer with the new tires which told me the old set had severely hardened. I now set my limit at 10 years since the consequences of waiting longer are just not worth it.
BTW-I would not go more than 8-10 years with the typical C3 15 inch tires since they are mostly S (112 MPH speed rating)/T (118 MPH) rated and are just standard passenger car tires of moderate tire carcass construction (NOT very strong) versus the 17 ZR ultra high performance summer only tires on my C3 and the Mustang GT mentioned previously. The ZR (W (168 MPH)/Y (186 MPH) sub rating) is more relevant for tire strength.
Last edited by jb78L-82; 11-10-2016 at 08:32 AM.