radial vs. bias ply tires

educate me please. I'm looking at 33x13.50r15 Rockers and folks keep mentioning "its a bias ply tire, not a radial". Is that a bad thing?

Quote from "04TJguy"

educate me please. I'm looking at 33x13.50r15 Rockers and folks keep mentioning "its a bias ply tire, not a radial". Is that a bad thing?

I really don't recommend bias ply tires for a daily driver.

Firstly, a bias ply tire (typically) does not have any steel belts to aid the tire in being 'round'. The bias ply tire is going to get some pretty bad flat spots after sitting for more than about 10 minutes. These flat spots are going to take approx 5 miles (based on the weather) to 'warm out' of the tire. During this time, the tire will 'not be round'. This will cause uneven wear just as though the tires were out of balance.

Secondly, I've had a bias ply tire (all 4 actually, within 100 miles of eachother) come apart. They fly apart similarly to a retread. If you want to see pictures, check out http://aardvark.randallman.net/pictures/badtires/.

Lastly, a bias ply tire *will* be better off road. It is more flexible and generally will be made of more material and as such will be less succeptable to sidewall gashing and other 'hazards' of driving on rocks

This is just my $0.02. Im sure someone will come on here and disagree with me, so take it with a grain of salt from someone who had some bias ply tires (TSL Q78LT15 Super Swampers).

--Randall