radial vs bais & TSL

[sk1er17]

1) what exactly is the difference between radial and bais ply tires?

2) What does three-stage-lug mean?

 

[Alec]

If you're ever gonna drive on the street get radials. I'm sure info can be found at goodyear, michelin, howstuffworks.com, etc.

Probably has to do with the tread pattern.

 

[Ford_Racing_Guy]

difference between Radial and Bias is that Radial's are a lot rounder and the plys are composed of different materials, they also wear better


you got me on the tsl's though

 

[JDraper]

1. Radials have the belts across the tread (the belts are "radially" wound), and the bias ply are along the lenght of the tread. The bias ply tires will deform if they sit in one place for more than a couple of hours and they will "thump" as the flat spots hit the ground when you first start driving. Karol (ExplorerEB96) has 'em on her truck. After I did the lift install, I drove her truck around on them for a while.....

2. TSL stands for three stage lug. The lugs around the tire stick out three different amounts, i.e. the outer lugs on the tire aren't even with each other all the way around. It's supposed to help with digging in mud. They have an extremely soft compound and grip well, but won't last very long. They are EXTREMELY noisy.

If you're just gonna use 'em off road, they are great, but if you want to use them dual use....don't...you'll regret it. Karol went out and bought a set of BFG radials for road use.

 

[XplorerKid]

Im running TSL SSR's, its a Super Swamper TSL Radial.... they are ok on the street, jsut dotn hit big water puddles, without a swaybar

and THey arent nearly as loud as a regular TSL, but they still hum quiet nicely, which doesnt really bother me, i kinda like the noise of the tires... But thats just me

You already switching tires again Sk1er ?

 

[sk1er17]

You already switching tires again Sk1er ?

not not at all. i was just looking for some general knowledge here. I always knew that radials = better for street and bais = off-road only, but never knew why.

and i wasnt lookin for info on all the super swamper tires, just wondering what the "three stage lug" actually means (ie: tsl).

and if i was going to change already id probably get the STS


Draper, nice explanations- always there to answer my questions