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A study was conducted to quantify the cornering characteristics of radial truck tire rib and lug tread designs. A Calspan Tire Research Facility (TIRF) machine was used to measure tire force and moment responses to load. inflation, slip angle, and camber. The study condudedthat although tread design parameters are a factor, tire comering characteristics are strongly dependent on load. The cornering performance of lug design tires was not necessarily different from rib tires; the key tread design parameter was non-skid depth. An empirical model was developed for cornering and self-aligning toque stiffness as a function of tread design parameters, load, and inflation.

A tire contact pressure study has been conducted to determine how different truck tire types respond to load and inflation parameters. The combination of tire type/size, loading, and inflation pressure determines the shape of the vertical contact pressure profile and the maximum contact pressure. Radial-ply truck tire contact pressures were generally higher than the bias-ply truck tire. Tire loading influenced shoulder region contact pressures whereas inflation pressure influenced center region contact pressures. The maximum level of vertical contact pressure was found to be as high as twice the tire inflation pressure.