CapriRacer wrote:
FastEagle wrote:
I do a lot of research. But just for you I went and downloaded the newest information for belts on popular tires. Michelin has the newest data book - May 2011 - and they still have the third belt on their commercial grade 16” truck tires.......
First, commercial grade LT tires aren't the popular tires.
The popular LT's have 2 polyester body plies and 2 steel belts - and may have a nylon cap ply (or 2). A nylon cap ply is a circumferential ply that restricts the growth of the tire at high speeds. Inessence it raises the speed rating of a tire.
All steel - that is, tires with steel body plies and commonly referred to as commercial grade - also have 2 steel belts, plus sometimes a third protector belt. This third belt is not like the nylon cap ply. That steel belt is at a lesser angle to the "working" belts and provides a layer of protection against penetrating objects. The less damage to steel belts, the less likely they are to fail - and this is more true for tires with higher loadings.
FastEagle wrote:
.....Maxxis has changed their data book to include a nylon cap vice a third steel belt. (I wonder if they had problems)?......
Like I said before, nylon cap plies serve a different purpose than a third steel belt. I really, really doubt that Maxxis made that change. If anything, they added a nylon cap ply where there wasn't one before.
Oh, and they can add a nylon cap ply to tires with 3 steel belts and it has the same effect.
Not all LT tires billed as "commercial" have the all steel carcass. Two I can mention off hand are the BF Goodrich Commercial T/A (BFGCTA) and the Maxxis UE168 Bravo. For trailer use, the commercial tires are popular, with the Michelin XPS Rib and BFGCTA leading the pack.
