Tire ply ratings

take his advice it's all true.

 

I wouldn't agree with all that. No doubt 16ply is better and I'd recommend it. I run 16 ply steer. But I never get any more trade in or caseing credit for them over 14ply.
And I can't see them lasting longer unless your comparing to running heavy all the time. Then 14ply will break down faster but not under normal conditions.

 

I run heavy and use 18 ply on steer and 16 ply everywhere else.

 

We need to remember that it is the air contained within the tire that carries the load, not the tire components. If a 16-ply tire and a 14-ply tire of the same size are run at the same PSI, they have the same load capacity.
You can increase the load capacity of a tire in two ways: (1) Increase the volume of air in the tire (increase the tire's size) for a given air pressure, or (2) increase the pressure of the air in the tire (increase PSI) for a given volume (size).
In the "old days," tires were constructed using cotton cord material. When designers needed to add air pressure capability to increase the load a specific size tire could carry, they would simply add more plies of cotton cord. Therefore, a 16-ply tire had 16 actual plies of cotton cord, while a 14-ply tire only had 12 plies of cord. This enabled the 16-ply tire to be run at a higher PSI and thus carry more weight.
Of course tires are no longer made with cotton cord. Modern truck tires only have one casing ply of steel. This is the reason the industry prefers to use "Load Range" rather than "Ply Rating." But since old ideas die hard, ply rating is still with us today.
Now for the first part of your question regarding the differences between a 14- and 16-ply tire. There is not a hard and fast answer to this question, since tires of different brands or pattern may use different means to enable the extra air pressure to be used, and thus gain extra load capacity.
While one tire pattern may use a cord body cable with a higher wire count in the 16-ply than in the 14-ply, another may have the same wire count but use a heavier wire. Some tires may use identical wire cables in the casing but use different rubber compounds in some components to help dissipate the increased heat generated by the higher loads of the 16-ply tire. And there are other possibilities as well. So, the only way to really answer the question is that the designers did whatever they thought was needed to a particular tire to allow it to function properly at the higher PSI and load capacity.

 

depends where your at. in my neck of the woods i get $35 to $49 more for my 16 ply casings. 16 ply wont flex as much as 14 ply at the same air pressure so fuel mpg will increase some. plus the 16 ply has a little more load rating for the same air pressure as a 14 ply. doesnt really matter if you dont haul heavy like me.

 

With this info, my decision would be made by the flip of a coin.

 

This also depends on the tire and rubber compound. Go buy a Michelin 16ply tire and you will rethink the whole flex issue. Although they wore like iron they flexed a great deal but was a great tire.

All my 16ply tires are rated at 120psi and my 14ply are 100/105 psi.

 

yeah michelin always has to different. and they are proud of their tires when it comes to price. used to buy them all the time. but not anymore, to poor for their prices!