whats the differance in all the rubber.4 ply 6ply.whats the best and why.thanks

 

From what I gather there certain tires thay are accually built with ply's and then there are some that are ply rated. I believe Bias it the thinner and most comfy ride. Maybe we will get an expert opinion.
I'll say this. I know fellas with Grizzlys and Kodiaks that ride in Tellico and Wind Rock to name a few that have worn thier OE Dunlops out without a puncture of anykind. However this is not like riding out West where rocks are more in the picture.
I know a fella that has had 2 out of 4, 6 ply Black Waters cut the sidewall.
I run ITP Holshot ATR's and have to run them under inflated @ 3.5 psi to get only close to the ride of the OE Dunflops. But that is for slow rough trail riding only.

 

Thats a good question, I wish I could find an answer...

generally a ply is a layer of fabric inpregnated with rubber during the tire molding process... some times this fabric is polyester, nylon, kevlar, & even steel ( steel belted radials ), they may be different fabrics layed on top of each other, i.e. 2 nylon plys & 2 kevlar plys in a 4 ply tire... most tires contain at least 2 plys, some may be 2 plys on the side wall, & 4 plys on the tread area... some of the ATV tires are 6 ply... plys make the tire more resistant to cuts... appearently some manufacturers have been putting thicker rubber, with no fabric in it, they may be calling it equal to a ply ( ply rated, as THEROCK suggested ), however it will not carry the cut resistance offered by the addition of a layer of fabric to that same thickness of rubber...

the radial tires are constructed basically the same way, however the fabric ( plys ) run radially around the tire, rather than strips of fabric layed accross the tire as in a bias ply tire...radial tires generally have less rolling resistance, because of how the plys are layed

unfortunatly the ATV tires don't offer as much information on the sidewall as passenger car & light truck tires, so it gets a little unclear as to how many plys there are on the side wall of the tire... the thicker ( & normally the more plys ), on the side wall, the stiffer the tire will ride, & the heavier it will be...

IMO... there is not a set standard concerning ply thickness...i.e. Maxxis All Traks are listed as 2 ply tires, however they are widely used by racers, where as the 2 ply Dunlops ... well we all know the names we have for these tires... it may be possible that the plys are thicker, more dense fabric, different material ??? than the Dunlops, but these are appearently much different tires, even though they are both listed as 2 ply tires...

there are alot of new tires on there way to market right now, & they are all trying to improve on whats already out there... some manufactures are making the sidewalls thinner to make the tire ride more smoothly & weigh less... some manufacturers have been hollowing out ( cupping )the lugs on the tread, which gives more biting edges, & uses less rubber ( however this also results in a faster wearing tire, unless also coupled with a much harder rubber compound ), resulting in increased traction & a lighter tire...some manufacturers have begun to use lighter rubber compounds ( these are generally softer, resulting in increased traction, but a faster wearing tire )...

Hope this information helps, & if there is someone that can offer more, let me know... I love tires...WAM

 

If it means anyting, I would never buy a tire unless it was 6 ply rated or a radial. I have some ITP mudlite tires that are supposed to be 6-ply, what a joke, they fold like 4-ply tires. An example of ply tires would be:

2-ply -- OEM tires, dunlops on a P650 for example
4-ply -- OEM tires, such as the Rawhides Polaris uses on their Sportsman models
6-ply -- Mud tires, such as the Outlaws, Mudzillas, Vampires, etc. Most of them are 6-ply
Radial - ATRs, Big Horns.


2-ply seems to be easily punctured from rocks, sticks and even tough field stubble.
4-ply is more puncture resistent but can be easily cut still
6-ply invincible basically, I have cuts on my outlaws but they still hold air, I currently have no valve stem on my back left tire and it still stands up and works well

Take a true 6-ply tire, stand on it with no rim mounted to it and it will not collapse! Try that to any other ply, it will fold.

The main disadvantage to the 6-ply tires is that they are usually a rougher ride and are heavier. Heavier tires tends to be hard on drive train components such as axles and CV Joints.

I have my outlaws mounted my C-Series rims and I can't complain at all, they are a tad rough going slow but I love them. I would only switch over to the Radial outlaws and would if given the oportunity.

 

Brent... you should install a set of the stemless valve stems on those Outlaws, if you are finding things in the mud that are munching your valve stems... WAM

 

It was my fault, I was busting up a beaver dam. It was fun though, I made a big quad size hole in two of them. I broke them so I could drain some of the water out so I could cross the river. That was a fun day.

 

THANKS FOR ALL THE INFO I could now be the president of goodyear,or definatly firestone.i was looking at maxxis razers 6 ply for my kfx 400.are these going to wear down quicker than a 4 ply.and why are they cheaper.119.00 canadian,compared to 190.00 holeshots.thaes are the rear tires.any idea thanks again.

 

Not to sure why they sell for more, I would guess because they are more popular or one is heavily discounted because of to much stock maybe? I hear the razers are a fairly good tire. I have 6 ply holeshot xcrs on my V-Force and they are holding up well, I would probably need new tires in 2005 though. For the difference in money I would get the razers, its not like they will wear twice as fast or give you half the traction or anything. They will be very good still.

DO a search for these two tires on this forum and see what you can come up with, people with more sport quad experience will be able to tell you more.

 

THe Razr's are sold by Maxis... the Hole Shots are sold by ITP... now comes the tricky part... what model ( type ) of each tire are you looking at i.e. Razr or Razr 2's... the difference here is the Razr's are a 4 ply tire... the Razr 2's are a 6 ply & the tread depth is deeper on the Razr 2's... there is typically about $30.00 difference between these tires...

I count 6 different styles of Hole Shot tires... some are 4 ply, some are 6 ply, some are radials...they can vary about $30.00 as well...

If the rubber compound is the same on these tires, there should be very little difference between them... just make sure that you are comparing the price of the 4 ply to the 4 ply or 6 ply to 6 ply when pricing them... If you do a search, I think I remember several threads in the tire section asking for comparisions between these 2 tires...

as a side note, I won't run 6 ply tires on the rear, when I hare scramble race... & I only use 6ply tires on the front... I have a set of 22" X 11" X 9" Schredders ( 4 ply ), that I run on the rears for dry hare scramble courses, & a set of 22" X 12.5" X 9" Super Swamper TSL's ( 4 ply ) that I run for wet hare scramble courses... I don't have enough expirience with the Schredders to say anything yet, but the TSL's I have beadlocked & slimed, & run about 3.5 psi in them... they have been awesome so far any where I've taken them... I'll be running the Schredders pretty much the same way, & as of yet, haven't had a flat ( I like the softer side walls, of the 4 ply tires & lower air pressure on the rears to help slide through corners & ad a little more suspension give on the jumps )... on the fronts, I run the Hole Shot radials ( ATR's ), or a set of 489 XT's, both 6 ply... use depends on course conditions...

Hope this helps... if you are trying to decide between the Hole Shots & the Razr's do the search, as there was alot of opinions out there...WAM

 

thanks alot guys ill do a search i owe you one.