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Hanksugi Tyres - Well known truck tyre manufacturer has built a reputation around the globe.
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Hanksugi Tyres - Well known truck tyre manufacturer has built a reputation around the globe.
Radial tires and non-radial tires, as indispensable components for vehicle driving, have significant differences in structure, performance, durability and application. Today we're going to explain the difference between radial and non-radial tires with a few excellent options to help make the best decision for your situation.
Radial Tires Vs Non-Radial Tires
Let's define radial tires, the most common version found on today’s vehicles.
Radial tires are manufactured with cords laid bead to bead at 90 degrees that run perpendicular to the direction of travel.
So, why would you care about a tire's cord configuration? It's simple. The cord design prevents internal friction by stopping plies from rubbing against each other. This means less friction and reduced heat build-up, which in turn helps facilitate a softer and more comfortable ride.
Next, steel belts are built into a radial tire's tread to increase stability. The steel belts hold a tire's tread flat, creating a consistent contact area with the road.
Radial tires deliver a softer ride because of the layout of the tire's plies and the flex of the sidewalls, ensuring more stable contact with the road's surface and a smoother ride. You'll also feel less vibration as you drive.
Radial tires:
The radial tire is named after the arrangement direction of its cord layer is consistent with the meridian (i.e. warp) of the tire. This design gives the tire unique advantages:
1. Strength and stability: The carcass of the radial tire uses a steel cord layer, which provides excellent radial strength, making the tire more stable when carrying heavy objects or driving at high speeds, reducing the risk of partial wear and tire blowout.
2. Wear resistance and life: Due to the reduction in the number of cord layers and the high-strength steel belt layer, the wear of the radial tire is more uniform, greatly extending the service life.
3. Fuel economy: Lower rolling resistance is another major advantage of radial tires, thanks to its lighter weight and lower deformation, which helps save fuel.
4. Handling and comfort: The increased rigidity of the tire makes the steering response more sensitive, and at the same time, the better shock absorption performance improves the ride comfort.
5. Wide range of applications: Radial tires are widely used in trucks and various high-performance vehicles, especially suitable for high-speed driving and heavy load conditions.
Non-radial tires (bias tires)
Non-radial tires have plies arranged in a biased manner, forming a certain angle with the circumference of the tire. Compared with radial tires, they have the following characteristics:
1. Structural characteristics: The plies of bias tires are cross-stacked and overlapped, and the structure is harder but the deformation is larger, which makes it inferior to radial tires in load-bearing capacity and high-speed stability.
2. Wear resistance: A higher deformation rate means that bias tires wear faster and have a shorter overall life. 3. Fuel efficiency: Due to the relatively high rolling resistance, fuel economy is poor.
4. Handling and comfort: Bias tires have better grip on wet roads, but are inferior to radial tires in dry handling and high-speed stability, and the comfort is relatively low.
5. Cost and application: Although the performance is not as comprehensive as that of radial tires, bias tires have a lower cost, so they are still used in some light vehicles, agricultural vehicles and occasions where high-speed performance is not pursued.
How to know If you have radial or non-radial tires
Finding out whether your vehicle has radial or non-radial tires is super simple. You just have to look at the numbers, letters and symbols found on the tire's sidewall.
For example, 315/80R 22.5 Tyre is a very common tire. The letter R refers to the construction of the tire: R for radial, D for diagonal, and RF for run-flat. Most likely, your tires have an R on the sidewall, meaning they are radials.
If you're looking for tires that are good on the trail and exceptional on pavement, stick with radials. But if you're a hardcore weekend warrior with an off-road vehicle looking for some extreme fun, you might want to check out some bias-ply tires.
More FAQs about radial tires
1. What's the difference between radial tires and regular tires?
Radial tires are regular tires unless you drive a truck or heavy equipment. Since the early 1980s, radial tires have been a standard issue on cars sold in the U.S.
2. What is the difference between radial tires and run-flat tires?
Run flats have built-in designs that allow you to drive for a short distance -- preferably to a tire shop -- if your tire is punctured or loses air. You can't drive on them indefinitely; they offer limited support to get you off the road safely, usually about 50 miles. Radial tires do not have this feature, and typically vehicles with radial tires include a spare tire in case of flats.
Conclusion
In general, radial tires have become the standard configuration for commercial trucks due to their excellent comprehensive performance, especially in the field of pursuing efficiency, safety and comfort. Non-radial tires, on the other hand, have a place in specific economic and specific use scenarios. The choice between the two depends on actual needs, cost budget and expected use conditions.
Truck tyre supplier specializing in the tyre manufacturing industry for many years.
