Re: ihc-digest V5 #166 Wandering Scout

[Steve Stegmann <stegmann@domain.elided>]

Bias ply tires 

Oh man if you go from radial to bias ply tires on some of our rutted 
highways it will drive you crazy.  Bias ply tires follow EVERY 
irregularity in the road.  Only by switching back and forth will you 
notice it.  

This tendency to follow cracks and ruts is called "nibble" by tire 
engineers.  It was talked about quite a bit in auto mags when the world 
switched to radial tires back in the '70s.  After everyone was switched 
to radials nobody mentioned it anymore.  Maybe we should again.

For tires to be used on the highway, please use radials.  Our highways 
are so rutted by the big trucks that bias are not really a good idea.  
Off road, or a low speed, this is not a factor.  BTW when our current 
highways were designed and built trucks didn't weigh anything like they 
do now.  This is the main reason why the highways are rutted.  Just look 
carefully at the road surface during a rain.

In the old days everybody was always "sawing" the steering wheel all the 
time.  Ball joints & tie rod ends are better now but the main thing is 
the bias ply tires.  Watch the other drivers, you don't see the sawing 
any more.

Steve

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Steven A. Stegmann
     _/_/_/    _/      _/_/_/ "'Necessity' is the plea for every 
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 _/    _/ _/    _/ _/    _/          William Pitt, 1783
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