All tires can be classified according to different criteria. If we take, for instance, the season the tire is intended for use in, there are winter, summer and all-season tires while taking into account the type of vehicle it is designed for there can be passenger, SUV, truck, off-road and racing tires.
According to the tread picture all tires are classified into asymmetric, symmetric and directional. There also can be low-profile and high-profile tires, radial and diagonal tires. It the latter case the criterion of division is the arrangement of cord thread layers.
Radial Tire Construction
Nowadays radial tubeless tires are the most widespread on the market. This construction was worked out and patented by Michelin company and has been used since 1946 by different tire manufacturers.
Cord threads in casing layers are directed against the driving direction, in other words they have radial arrangement. The main element in tire casing is belts made from several layers of steel cord; usually there are 2 or 3 layers all in all. The quantity of cord layers depends on different factors such as tire size, type, purpose and load rating. Radial tires can be both tubed and tubeless.
The tire casing is made of nylon threads while a belt can be made of either steel cord or textile fibers. Steel cord and nylon in tire construction prevents the casing from damage, adds to the tire durability as well as helps avoid cuts and chins in the tire tread.
Radial Tires – Advantages
- Casing threads in radial tires take only radial loads, which reduces thread tensity. It allows making more lightweight tire casing featuring fewer layers of cord, which improves heat removal, and in turn prolongs the tire life span.
- Every cord layer performs its task all by itself, that’s why the number of layers can be both even and odd.
- Radial tires features better traction in comparison to diagonal tires, which became possible thanks to the increased contact patch area as well as to the use of super-modular cord types for the tire belts, for instance steel belts.
- Radial tires have hard belts as a rule. They aren’t subject to deformation, so the shape of a contact patch area remains the same in different driving situations. Such tires resists lateral skidding very well and retain the shape of their tread grooves very well.
- Radial tires offer better performance than diagonal tires do. They show 20-30 per cent less heat build-up, 15-20 per cent more carrying ability, 20-30 percent better radial resilience and are 3-4 percent more lightweight that diagonal tires.
- Radial tires help increase your safety by delivering enhanced traction on both wet and dry roads alongside with predictable handling and stable course-keeping ability. They are also more resistance to various kinds of road damage.
Radial Tires – Disadvantages
- The tire’s sidewalls are not that durable due to radial arrangement of cord threads. When you drive in deep ruts especially on underinflated tires or in case of accidental curb hitting radial tires are more subject to damage than diagonal tires.
- Increased lateral resilience
- High price tag
Diagonal Tire Construction
Diagonal tires differ from radial ones by another arrangement of cord threads. They go diagonally from one bead to the other. The cord threads intersect in adjacent layers, that’s why the number of layers should be even.
Diagonal Tires –Advantages
- They have rather a simple construction, which results in a lower cost and less complicated repairing process.
- Diagonal tires feature more durable sidewalls as compared to radial tires.
- They come with higher speed ratings.
- Diagonal tire provide for excellent cushion effect when driving on irregular roads or when driving over obstacles.
Diagonal Tires – Disadvantages
- The tread of diagonal tires is more subject to deformation under high stresses, which results in tread grooves contraction and thus opens a way to skidding.
- In terms of overall performance diagonal tire is not as good as radial tires.
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