16 ply vs 14 ply on steers

That's impressive for steers.

 

The spring packs are different.

 

Had a guy at Beasley Tire in San Antonio tell me that. Funny thing is, he wouldn't give me 16-ply steers at 14-ply prices when I asked. I mean, they're the same tire, right??

 

I've ran 16 ply Michelin XZE's for years. I found l didn't get as much irregular wear as 14 plus tires. My truck carries 11 and change on the front axle when loaded. Bitd Michigan gave you a little extra weight allowance for 11R24.5 16 ply steer tires be regardless of axle or spring rating. So it was cheap ins imo.

 

I put a whole new set of 16-ply drives on the truck about 6 months ago. Even though they say to inflate to 120 psi cold, I keep them at 110 because I run the desert a lot. The same with the steers. I'm not sure if this way of thinking is valid. What do you guys say?

But I've always wondered...in cold weather, we know that air contracts and the pressure is lower. So here in Vegas, the whole winter my tires were at 100-105 psi in the morning due to the cold. But I never put air in them because I was worried that when the temp warms throughout the day the pressure would rise naturally. So the extra air I put in would expand too. Is this logical? I'm glad this thread was born because right now I'm getting ready to go to the yard to air them up to 110 again. So I figured I might as well ask you guys to see what you guys do in the cold weather.

 

The more air you put in the less sidewall flex you get. Less flex generates less heat. Heat is what makes the pressure rise.

so it not linear. Say at 105 you may reach 115 pounds as the day progresses. Gaining a 10 pound increase in pressure. Where as if you inflated to 120 cold you may only see 128 hot. Gaining only 8 pounds.

my numbers are purely hypothetical I don’t know what the actual increase is.

Heat is the number one killer of tires, so the cooler they run the better.

also the 120 air pressure on the tire is cold inflation. You could run 130 and they won’t increase to the point of exploding at higher air temperature

 

120 psi is to carry max load rating your fine with 105 on drives..

 

I put some on mine back in January. Never heard a bad word about them so I figured I’d give them a shot. My only gripe thus far is that they tend to follow grooved pavement.

 

That 120psi depends on the specific tire. Both the 275/70 and 295/60 sizes I've run on carhaulers required 130psi for maximum load.