To sipe or not to sipe KM2s?

[john101477]

The ply rating does not equal the actual number of plies used in the construction of radial tires.

the number of plys is how it gets it's load rating in the first place hence why a C rated tire is a 6 ply tire etc. there is not a chance in heck that you are going to fill a 2 ply tire with 70psi of air.

http://www.tireteam.com/Tires/Goodyear/Wrangler+DuraTrac/2756520/312025142.html

 

[Hedge]

Radial tire ply ratings are supposed to be a rough equivalent of what the old bias ply tires could support with an actual construction of 6, 8 or 10 plies.

Per http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoSidewall.do:www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoSidewall.do:

Plies - "E"
This letter indicates the load carrying capacity of the tire in terms of its construction. A "C" indicates the tire has a 6-ply load carrying capacity. The tire is not actually built with 6 plies, but contains one or two plies of equivalent strength. A "D" is an 8-ply rating, and an "E" is a 10-ply rating. If there is no letter, the tire has a standard 4-ply rating.

 

[Climber Rob]

Radial tire ply ratings are supposed to be a rough equivalent of what the old bias ply tires could support with an actual construction of 6, 8 or 10 plies.

Correct!

 

[john101477]

I stand Corrected
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=55&

Today's load range/ply ratings do not count the actual number of body ply layers used to make up the tire's internal structure, but indicate an equivalent strength compared to early bias ply tires. Most radial passenger tires have one or two body plies, and light truck tires, even those with heavy-duty ratings (10-, 12- or 14-ply rated), actually have only two or three fabric plies, or one steel body ply.

So the KM2's are 3 ply, but I was unable to find any specs on the duratrac indicating they were 2 ply. other than that there is always the Kevlar reinforced sidewalls from good year to lol.

 

[Buliwyf]

I generally rate a tire by it's weight rating and recommended pressure. Then take into account that aggressive tires wont like crossing Death Valley at noon either.

I'd imagine the 315/70-17 Duratracs rated at 3100@50 are going to be squishier than smaller Duratracs rated at 3200+@70psi.

I don't really pay attention to plys.