A pneumatic tire has a carcass structure extending through a pair of opposing
bead
portions and an inner liner located inward of the carcass structure, each bead
portion comprising a bead core about which is wrapped the carcass structure and
a toeguard. Each bead portion has a bead toe, a bead base, and a bead heel, the
bead base extending between the bead toe and the bead heel. The bead heel has a
profile corresponding to a sector of an ellipse or approximates a sector of an
ellipse by having a dual radius structure. The bead base may have a dual taper
configuration. The bead core may be substantially centered in the bead portion,
as determined by the material thickness at three locations about the bead core.
