Radial Tyre Maintenance

Special hints on truck radial tyre maintenance

The design of a radial tyre is completely different from that of a diagonal and so, consequently, are maintenance techniques.

The following recommendations will yield the best results from your tyres:

1. Good pressure supervision is more significant with radial than with diagonal tyres. Even though the radial is more flexible, it does not support under-inflation better than diagonal ply.
   For use on gravel surfaces, keep to the pressures recommended for the actual load being transported, but without going below 580 kPa. Flaking and chunking will thus be minimised.
2. Fitting radial truck tyres needs more care than diagonal ply tyres. Always apply a bead lubricant to prevent 'hang up' of the beads as this could cause bead failure and irregular wear.
   Only use approved bead lubricants. Avoid detergents and do not let water run into the tyre as it could be trapped between the tube and tyre and infiltrate the inner liner, rusting casing plies. After inflation, check fitting rings to ensure accurate seating.
3. Mixing radial ply tyres with diagonal ply tyres is permissible. Any axle combination is possible as long as each axle is fitted with one type only. Treat driven bogeys as a single axle. An example of an acceptable situation would be for an articulated rig to have radials on steering, crossply on driving and radials on trailing axles.
4. Steering wheel settings are of paramount importance in the prevention of irregular wear. Set alignment to zero and camber to as near to zero as possible.
5. Retreading
   Tyres must always be removed in good time for retreading as exposed tread ply cords are susceptible to rust and the casing will thus be rejected.
6. Rotation
   Under certain operating conditions, irregular wear can develop on steering and rolling tyres. Irregular wear can be reduced by early rotation with a consequent improvement to tread life.
7. Application
   Ensure that the correct tyre is used so as to achieve maximum benefits.
   The following factors are to be avoided: sidewall snagging, harsh gravel causing tread chunking and chipping, poorly aligned trailers and unbalanced drawbar trailers which can cause snaking and irregular wear.
8. Cambered tracking settings
   Any radial, whether it be a car or a truck tyre, has a strong directional stability. Settings for track alignment (toe-in, toe-out) should be zero. It is often difficult to adjust camber but this should be brought as near as possible to zero or the minimum manufacturer's specification.
9. Flaps
   Radial truck tyres, unless tubeless, need wider flaps as their bead construction is narrower than diagonal ply tyres. Always fit radial flaps.
10. Tubes
    Only fit tubes that are suitable for radial tyres.