Cross Ply Or Radial

[steve88]

Hi have recently purchased an OMS 2000M which is running on radial tyres which i have yet to try out. Have only ever ran on cross ply tyres before which i have found perform well. Can anyone advise the difference between the 2 types in performance and driving style as i am going to have to put some new rubber on the car on its first out.

[tristancliffe]

Crossplies - Less tolerant of camber (stiffer sidewalls), but more forgiving of mistakes. Less dimensionally accurate, so ride heights, corner weights and gearing will be less accurate. Generally lighter. More vertical stiffness.

Radials - More camber tolerant (in fact PREFER camber), slightly less forgiving. Much more accurately made. Generally heavier. Less vertical stiffness.

Last year I was racing on crossplies. This year I'm on radials. Had to upgrade springs and roll bars to counteract the softer sidewall, and maintain the same effective wheel rate in heave and roll. Only slightly quicker (but that might be a host of other factors at play - better driving, more power from better cooling, better setups etc), and I've not noticed that lack of forgivingness in either the wet or the dry.

If you can put enough camber on the car (we can, but only just) then I'd say go with radials.

[DJ Racecars]

We run more or less identical cars on both cross plies and radials, I personally don't believe that either is the better option, but that you should run with what ever you feel more comfortable with.

Whilst many people believe radials to be the better tyre in terms of overall performance you have to be a very commited driver and have complete faith in both your car and your own ability to get the best from them and I mean this with no disrespect, especially if you are new to single seaters the driving experience is likely to be vastly different to any other type of car (especially if you are trying to learn what its like to drive with a proper aero package).

The need to be more committed is in part due to the more rigid construction, which makes them harder to "load up" and get up to temperature. The other reason complete faith in the car is needed is because they tend to give up there grip very suddenly, unlike crossplies which are a much more progressive tyre allowing you to comfortably explore the amount of grip available.

If you want a brief summary I'd say:

Crossplies for a somewhat ragged / tail happy driving style.
Radials for a clean commited driving style.