Radial tire

In this design, the cord plies are arranged at 90 degrees to the direction of travel, or radially (from the center of the tire).

[7] There is no evidence that the former accountant turned researcher Mignol had knowledge of Hamilton or Savage's earlier work when he began his experiments in 1941.

[7][11][1] In 1968, Consumer Reports, an influential American magazine, acknowledged the superiority of the radial tire design, documenting its longer tread life, better steering characteristics, and less rolling resistance, which improves fuel economy.

Despite heavy criticism at the time, Pilliod invested heavily in new factories and tooling to build the radial tire.

[1] Bias tires are still used on trailers due to their weight carrying ability and resistance to swaying when towed.

Since the 1960s, all common tires have a carcass of cords of polyester, steel, or other textile materials, inlaid with several layers of rubber.

In the past, the fabric was built up on a flat steel drum, with the cords at angles of about +60 and −60 degrees from the direction of travel, so they criss-crossed over each other.

To add further stiffness, the entire tire is surrounded by additional belts oriented closer to the direction of travel, but usually at some "spiral" angle.

These belts can be made of steel (hence the term steel-belted radial), polyester, or Aramid fibers such as Twaron or Kevlar.

Ford Motor Company engineer Jack Bajer experimented in the 1960s on a Ford Falcon, by giving it less tight steering, and adding both isolators to the drive shaft and bushings to the suspension, the latter being to absorb the thump of riding over asphalt expansion joints in a concrete roadway.