Bias Ply Versus Radial Tires #MuscleCarTech

I can honestly say that many young car enthusiasts don't really talk about bias ply versus radial tires because radial tires are the main construction type of tire seen on road vehicles today. It could be beneficial to talk about both and which one is better for you...

Bias Ply Tires

If you see an old school hot rod with tires that look like a pie crust, chances are they’re bias ply tires, but what does that mean? I means that the ply cords that make up the structure of the tire wrap around the carcass diagonally allowing the tire to flex more than a radial tire. Expect to see these on old cars and dedicated off roaders and drag cars.

Radial Tires

The radial tire is the newer kind of tire construction compared to bias ply. Many American car makers switched from using bias ply tires to radials in the 1970’s; however, radial tires were used as early as the late 1940’s on European sports cars.

Which Type Of Tire Is Better?

Bias plys tend to follow ruts in the road so your car will tend to wander more compared with radial tires. One upside to bias ply tires are that they are good for drag racing and off road applications and have a smoother ride on rough surfaces

Radial tires have a longer tread life than bias ply tires, have less rolling resistance leading to better fuel economy and run at cooler temperatures on long trips.

Overall, radials are better tires especially for your daily driver. However, in drag racing applications bias ply can help you hook hard during launches due to the bias ply wrinkling under load.