Why do heavy trucks have wide tires in large numbers?

Commercial trucks and heavy loads are the main nerve in the global economy, as they transport more than 70% of the world's goods through highways. In many countries, commercial transport depends on trucks only. This makes the importance of truck tires increasing daily for the whole world. As a result of these data and needs, it is necessary to design tires dedicated to these difficult tasks. This has been carried out by tire industry engineers who have spared no effort in providing everything they have to develop this field surprisingly over the past years. One of the most important features of tires trucks It is the width of the large tread and the multiplicity or the duplication. Let us know what is the benefit of these characteristics? What drives engineers to develop tires for trucks with these repeated specifications? All these questions will disappear after reading this article in which we have summarized the answer to you in a way that saves you time and gives you more experience that both drivers, logistics fleet owners and light vehicle owners need.

What distinguishes truck tires from other tires?

Heavy truck tires are designed based on the unique and significant challenges they face in the workplace. This is a major challenge for many tire manufacturers. Truck tires must withstand huge weights, be able to deal with extreme weather conditions of all kinds and can work intensively for long times without rest. These difficult needs require creating designs that focus on distributing the load and stabilizing vehicles on the road, while the greatest effort is focused on the internal and external engineering design of tires, which determines whether the next tire is the right choice for this category or not. We show you the most prominent characteristics that distinguish between truck tires and regular car tires.

1. Enhanced structural design

Structural reinforcements consist of developing thick and reinforced sidewalls that contain additional layers of nylon or steel in order to withstand heavy weights and resist deformations that are expected to occur due to great pressure. On the other hand, the inner layers are reinforced to more than 10 layers compared to 6 layers in car tires as a maximum, which increases puncture resistance and reduces unwanted wear levels. Finally, tires are reinforced with a spiral steel belt that enhances stability at high speeds and withstands severe impacts and bumps.

2. Ability to carry huge weights

According to the European Tire Manufacturers Association (ETRMA), tires designed for heavy trucks are able to withstand ten times that of regular car tires due to the huge difference between the endurance and internal air pressure of the tires.

• Load index: in trucks (between 120 and 150) while in cars (between 70 and 100), the difference between them is a good number of tons.
• Internal air pressure: in trucks (between 100-120 psi) compared to (30-45) psi in normal cars.

3. Specialized tread patterns

Due to the variety of internal shapes and manufacturing structures, tires also require special engineering techniques to design the tread patterns according to the environmental conditions in which these tires operate. What distinguishes truck tires from others in terms of the tread is the deep and winding grooves that drain water and mud quickly, providing a greater area of contact with the road to stabilize tires and prevent the phenomenon of aquaplaning, while these engravings consist of very hard rubber blocks to withstand bumps and shocks with full force and flexibility.

The bottom line is that truck tires are radically different from regular car tires, depending on the different needs that each of these tires requires, in addition to focusing on expanding the contact area with the road and strengthening the inner walls of the tire to provide sufficient strength to withstand the pressure on the tires while transporting cargo.

Also read: 5 differences between truck tires and car tires

Engineering and mechanical reasons for using wide and multiple tires in trucks

Truck tires are characterized by the needs they meet, because they are a functional part of trucks that cannot be dealt with individually without regard to the environment in which they operate and the climate that affects them. However, in this article, we will focus on understanding the engineering and physical reasons that require tires to be wide and multiple.

Weight distribution and infrastructure protection

When a truck carries a load of 50 tons or more, the force generated by the weight of the cargo is subject to the following physical equation (pressure (P) = force (F) /surface area (A).) To explain this equation in a simple way, pressure is directly proportional to the resulting force while it is inversely proportional to the surface area. As the surface area on which pressure is applied, the lower the total pressure level and the lower the force resulting from this physical interaction. The process of increasing the area is achieved through two characteristics of tires, namely the width of the tire and the multiplicity of tires. When we put more tires with a wide tread, the pressure on all tires becomes lower than if it were the other way around. This process contributes significantly to improving the driving experience and extending the life of all tires. The difference that this distribution makes to infrastructure is very significant The following two points:

• Reducing road maintenance costs: Thin tires have a significant impact on asphalt due to the concentration of pressure on a small area, creating potholes in roads. As a result, the EU incurs 3.5 billion euros annually on the maintenance costs of commercial roads.
• Geographic variation: In countries such as Sweden and Finland, where icy and snowy roads prevail frequently throughout the year, wider tires are used up to 50 cm in normal conditions. All this difference in tire width changes depending on the type of road and its ability to withstand pressure.

Dynamic stability against the climate

The broad and multiple design of truck tires does not stop for one reason, but rather includes dynamic effects that deal with natural factors such as heavy lateral winds that cause lateral shear forces that threaten to roll over the truck, or sharp turns in which centrifugal force increases with increasing speed and mass. These effects, which cannot be avoided in the context of business or logistics, make wide tires a must have for all heavy commercial truck drivers.

• The role of static friction and kinetic friction:

The static friction force increases with the increase in the contact area between tires and asphalt, preventing tire slip when accelerating and sudden braking, while kinetic friction plays a role in dissipating and dissipating heat energy resulting from movement. Many tire manufacturers add a combination of silica and synthetic rubber to achieve a balance between flexibility and heat resistance.

• Recent tire fastening developments:

With the increase in traffic accidents caused by tire skidding due to wet roads or rainy weather, new systems and techniques have been adopted in tire tread design that enhance slip resistance, such as deep grooves that provide a space for water, mud and other obstacles to drain faster, giving tires a greater area of contact with the road. This is all a means of keeping pace with developments in roads, trucks and manufacturing materials, which require continuous improvement.

The temperatures in the tires

When tires rotate at different speeds on asphalt roads, heat energy is produced as a natural result of internal friction between rubber and the road, and laterally with air. This temperature can rise to high levels, especially if the tire tread area is narrow or the number of truck tires is small and not double, which in some cases leads to a very bad tire explosion. Therefore, the presence of a large number of tires contributes to the distribution of total heat output because the area of contact between the truck and the road has increased, reducing the load on each tire and increasing the life span of all tires. Manufacturers confirm that increasing The number of frames reduces the likelihood of tire explosion by up to 35%. This is for a calculated increase of 20% of the total number of frames.

Provide safety and support in emergency situations

Heavy trucks have 10 to 18 tires in some models and types. This large number of tires provides an additional layer of safety on the truck, especially if the tires are of wide and multiple types. This gives the truck the ability to continue traveling even with a failure in one of the tires, without the driver losing total control over the truck. This unique feature gives trucks a high possibility of avoiding continuous stops due to faults, which pose a danger to other drivers, because broken trucks will be taken aside from the highway, which is characterized by a lack of maintenance spaces.

Automatic compensation mechanism: when a tire is lost, the load in the truck is automatically distributed to the adjacent tires thanks to the presence of the following systems:

• Air Suspension Systems (Air Suspension): This is a means of adjusting air pressure inside healthy tires.
• Electronic pressure sensors (TPMS): They are sensors that alert the driver in the event of a sudden imbalance in air pressure inside the tires, which contributes to the problem immediately.

What is the impact of using wide tires on truck operation?

Wide tires, as their name suggests at first sight, are tires with a larger contact area than others. Measuring the width of tires is directly related to different stability and performance characteristics. For trucks, wide tires have a significant impact on truck performance on different roads and loads. Next, we explain to you, reader, the different effects of wide tires according to different roads.

On dry asphalt roads: When the asphalt roads are completely dry, this means that we have bad and good news. The bad news is that the temperature of the tires will rise more and the good news is that the tires will be more stable on the track. Between these two news, the effect of wide tires will provide the truck with greater acceleration and a distinctive start due to the expansion of the area of friction on the road, which means greater torque, in addition to enhancing the level of stability. Heavy trucks can turn at greater speeds without worry because wide tires provide high stability on the road, which increases centrifugal resistance.

On winter and snowy roads: Wide tires have a larger surface area in the tread, giving grooves a greater possibility to drain water, snow and obstacles more smoothly. On wet or snow-accumulating roads, there is an urgent need to provide sufficient friction force to stabilize the truck. Since wide tires come with larger cracks, they are able to meet this need. Therefore, providing your truck with wide tires enables you to drive on dry, wet and snowy roads in all circumstances and in the face of all challenges.

On rough and mountain roads: For trucks that operate in mountainous and rugged roads, construction areas and the like, wide and multiple tires are an excellent choice, as they are thicker than regular tires, which means greater resistance to puncture and cracking, with the possibility of dealing with emergency situations thanks to the presence of multiple and double tires.

Possible challenges and disadvantages

With every advantage in any industry, there must be challenges and negative points on the front. In order to do the right article, we will show the challenges and possible negatives that you may face when using wide and multiple tires on your heavy and medium truck.

Increased noise:

Wide tires make more noise than the usual standard tires. This is not a big problem, but it is annoying for drivers who travel long distances and can cause increased fatigue among drivers.

Wheel compatibility:

In some cases, sizes that are properly adjusted to the size of the wheels are not selected, making the tires highly ineffective at turning angles and maneuvers in particular, in addition to increasing levels of uneven wear.

FUEL CONSUMPTION:

Naturally, an increase in the number of tires and the area in contact with asphalt leads to an increase in fuel consumption, but this can be avoided by choosing high-quality tires such as those offered by Saudi Derbek Tire Company.

Comparison of traditional wide and double tire trucks in terms of performance and consumption

Benchmark

wide tires

Conventional normal (double) tires

fuel efficiency

2.9% improvement in fuel consumption with the possibility of saving about 728 gallons per year per truck

Higher fuel consumption due to increased weight and rolling resistance

weight

It is lighter by about 70 pounds per tire

It is heavier, which reduces the permissible load capacity

Payload capacity

Increase in load capacity due to lower weight of tires and rims

Lower load capacity due to increased tire weight

maintenance

Less maintenance and easier as there are fewer tires to check, and easy access to air valves

It requires a longer maintenance time with the need to match the pressure of the internal and external tires

Stability and stability

Improved stability due to a lower center of gravity, with the possibility of expanding the trailer frame by 6 inches

Lower stability especially at cornering and high speeds

traction force

Better grip on dry roads due to increased contact area with the road

Less grip on dry roads

Braking and braking

Superior braking capacity and shorter stopping distance due to increased friction during braking

Relatively longer braking distance