Truck manufacturers spend untold millions on the design of their trucks. So why does all their work get ruined by the fitting of super (oh the irony) single tyres to the steering axle. They look rediculous, especially when hauliers spend 70k on a new Scania Topline or Globetrotter and then ruin it all.
There are some very valid reasons for having super singles on the front
One is the higher weight tolerance on your front axle, especially handy for drivers with diminishing loads, front heavy containers, heavy haulage etc.
Also wear on front super-singles has been shown to be far better. (This only applies if proper steer-treaded tyres are used, not old, cut, trailer tyres, as I have seen some numptys using 
Biggest drawback that I have found is running in wet weather despite the extra rubber footprint the super-singles don’t seem to have the same grip, as the weight is spread over a greater area.
All that said I have run with super singles on the steer for a number of years and never encountered any serious problems.
For some trucks fitting super singles is a great idea - on certain Volvos, for example, factory fitted singles can result in a steering axle upgrade to 9 tonnes, which is ideal for certain jobs.
I know what you mean about others, just fitting super singles to look macho. Admittedly you normally get better tyre wear but the tyres are usually more expensive, and like most aftermarket mods it costs extra diesel.
Just horses for courses I guess, on some trucks, like the original Megaspace Actros the wide tyres actually sharpen up the handling, but they’re not all like that. Hard to apply one hard 'n fast rule to the subject.
You should see the supersingle tyres they put on the drive axles here, some trailers have them, but they are NOT popular. The American drivers are all stuck in there ways, it will never change.
The ones we have here are about 1 1/2 feet wide…!!
Stuart
Munchman:
You should see the supersingle tyres they put on the drive axles here, some trailers have them, but they are NOT popular. The American drivers are all stuck in there ways, it will never change.The ones we have here are about 1 1/2 feet wide…!!
Stuart
You got that right Stuart, I PMSL when I first saw 'em over here, these Colonials can never quite seem to get it ‘right’, Bless 'em 
we ran our two previous tractors with super singles on the front axle and we got over twice the mileage of 295/80’s, but they were both 6x2 twinsteers, i have super singles on my 4x2 scania now and theres not a lot of difference.
i can only assume that being 6x2, some of the weight was taken off the front axle by the middle axle which obviously meant the front wear was slowed down.
i wont have supersingles on a 4x2 in future, and anyway i dont think you can get them to fit my new truck ( running on 60 series )■■
regards
paul
Another example of being behind the times. I pulled into one of my regular drops a few months back to find everyone gathered around a trailer with these new fangled wide tyres on
Scuse the ignorance, but what is a super single? 
If you ain’t taking the mickey Lostpup, I’ll illuminate 
Trailers used to run on twin wheels, just like drive axles still do. Some bright spark somewhere had the idea that they would be better on an extra wide single tyre. The bright spark was probably employed by one of the tyre companies. That company started making these tyres, having got a wheel company to knock up some suitable rims, they caught on and became known as super singles. 
Simon:
Trailers used to run on twin wheels,
USED TO
I take it you have never seen a US truck
Lol…Nice one Pat
Super Singles - Thought you were starting a Trucknet Dating Agency 
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placidcasual:
Truck manufacturers spend untold millions on the design of their trucks. So why does all their work get ruined by the fitting of super (oh the irony) single tyres to the steering axle. They look rediculous, especially when hauliers spend 70k on a new Scania Topline or Globetrotter and then ruin it all.
I agree with you in that they look stupid,especially when it a 6x2 and only the steering axle has it and not the mid lift of the tag.
And they have the tendency to pull Toplines into every ■■■■ and cranny in the road 
Cliff Warby:
these Colonials can never quite seem to get it ‘right’, Bless 'em
OOhhhh and Patrick, since marital issues are prohibited on the message board… I’ll deal with your american sarcasm later… 
I first had them on the V-plate Premium i drove from new. Personally i prefer the look of them to conventional rims now, but looks aside, as others have said there can be financial gains too if done properly. The only problems i had were aquaplaning when empty in very wet conditions, but nothing too bad. Also before we had ‘Spatz’ fitted (or ‘Fruntz’ as i believe the steer axle ones are called!) we had to take them off for MOT. After driving the motor for a year with the super-singles fitted i noticed how much lighter the steering was when the original rims were put back on. But i believe this can be solved too on most motors by beefing-up the steering pump. Obviously this is where you start spending money and the savings of fitting super-singles begin to get smaller and smaller!
Still, i couldn’t really care less now, i’m off the road after 8 years LGV driving and another 21 years of my life spent travelling up and down the country with my dad and grandad, i’ve had enough of the long hours and inability to plan anything in my personal life and i’m now shunting trailers in a busy factory for 37 hours a week for the same salary as 65+ hours and nights away was earning me. Not everyones cup of tea but five weeks in and i’m loving it! Wish me luck! (By the way, i don’t mean to go off topic, but… i guess i have done )
Another consideration with super singles on the front axle is what happens when one blows. An OD who used to work where I do fitted them to his Scania a few years ago, not for any extra weight on the axle reasons but because he said they would save him fuel , he got a lot of things like that wrong.
He had one blow and as well as the cost of the new tyre it cost him well in excess of £500 for the damage the force of the explosion did to his unit, it was also of the road for a couple of days.
Good point Neil - a big 385 is definitely going to make a bigger bang than a 295 or 315
Kate Hasler:
Cliff Warby:
these Colonials can never quite seem to get it ‘right’, Bless 'em
OOhhhh and Patrick, since marital issues are prohibited on the message board… I’ll deal with your american sarcasm later…
OOoooo! now you’re in trouble Pat …LMFAO!
My original unit with the company I’m at now has super singles on the front on alloy rims and the drive, handling and look was all superb, wet or dry and that’s a 4x2.
The unit I’ve got at the moment is a 6x2 with super singles on the front but with low profile tyres (and the suspension looks lower too, not just from the tyres) and the handling and steering of it closely resembles trying to drive a barge made out of jelly. I checked all the pressures yesterday as I suspected some surprises but they were all well within tolerances at 125/110/100 front to backs. Even though I like the look of the low stance I don’t like it to drive.