Cross ply tyres

Gday

I have posted this link in the 4wd section as well, but thought the subject of Cross ply tyres may be as interesting to other members as it is to me, I have been researching various tyre types due to having managed to stake 3 of my 4 newly fitted tyres, on the last three away trips.

The section describing the construction of the sidewalls of cross ply tyres versus steel belted tyres is of particular interest.

http://www.beadelltours.com.au/tyre_construction.html

cheers

stayyerAU

Thank you for posting this
it clears up a number of misconceptions.

Great post stayer , I have been looking for cross plies for my truck after too many side wall stakes .
On dual rear wheels a stake on an inner wheel is a time wasting pain in the ### !
I didn't know about " all steel radials though " , another alternative .
If you find a good buy in one of the above could you post it up also ?
Cheers
DB

Stayer comrade--what type of tyre r u running--its horses for courses. Not recomended to go through spinny with a petrol vehicle.
Maybe I can enlighten u.
265/75r16 are a complete waist of time up here
Anything less than a 14ply tyre then u wasting your time coz u will get flats especially side wall stakes.....16 ply are the best.....max speed is 110ks
As i said horses for course.
If u dont go of the beaten track most 10ply tyres on solid rims will surfice.....if u make your own track through snake root and schist country then 14 - 16ply.
U cant put 14ply tyres on solid rims unfortunately--(can't stretch the bead far enough)
Problem to is that people want the cheapest tyre.
Regards
Oneday69

Been using these for years with good results!

tyretraders.com.au/light_truck_tyres_bias_ply.php

Funny thing is, when I was an apprentice mechanic, cross plies is all we had. Suddenly the morris 1800 arrived with radial tyres on it. We were all fascinated by these things. Sadly the roads back then were not friendly to radials and we actually had some folk fit cross plies back on their 1800s. uuurrgh. They looked strange.

This interesting too. http://www.michelinag.com/agx/en-US/products/advantages/bias_radial/bias_radial.jsp

I have been running crossplys for over 15 years i tryed them brigestone duelers but sick of having to fix puntures all to offten. Will never use them again, yes crossplys dont handle as well as a radial tyre but hey iam driving a 4x4 not a sports car

You guys that are suffering tyre damage need to do 3 things.....

1. buy a small but good quality air compressor from ARB or the like..

2. while you are at ARB , buy yourself a "Tyre Deflator"

3. Air down your tyres

Let me explain.......
I have been involved in 4wd and 4wd competition for years and years so this is coming from common experience.
you have to let some pressure out of you tyres and they will survive much better in the bush under all conditions.
Your tyres behave a bit like a ballon........
Now if you blow a balloon up to really pumped up condition and push a fork into it, it will almost pop before you touch it !!
Now do the same thing with the Balloon but only blown it up half way....now push the fork into it......you will find it very hard if not impossible to burst it....
Your tyres will behave the exact same way....you have to let air out of them to allow them to flex and form over the sharp rock and things without bursting.
I would say if you run them down to say 25 psi or even down to 18 psi........ this is very very easy to do quick with the ARB easy Deflator.
his will also give you better grip on all surfaces including sand and will stop you getting bogged in a lot of cases.
Make sure you pull up and air back up before you hit the bitumen ..... thats where the air compressor comes in, and the better you buy the faster this will happen.

Before you decide on rushing out to get a set of Cross Ply Tyres, I suggest that you consult the Tyre Placard on your vehicle for the correct rating of tyre allowed to be fitted. There are limits/restrictions.
If you have never driven on Cross Ply Tyres you might be in for a bit of a shock. They can be notoriously unpredictible and the steering can seem vague at most times resulting in the vehicle wandering a bit.