an amount proportional to the final diameter divided by the diameter of the tire preform prior to expansion this stretch is responsible for the reduction in the gauge of the plies 24 25 typically during expansion of preform tire 10 there is no substantial meridional i e bead to bead stretch of the plies it is preferred that the amount of overlap x u2032 after expansion of the preform extends across crown 20 and to the breaker or shoulder regions 14 and 15 as illustrated in fig1 referring now to fig4 and 6 an alternate embodiment of the present invention is illustrated a typical automotive tire preform 40 in cross section is again shown as it exists after expansion of the tire preform but prior to complete vulcanization tire preform 40 generally comprises beads 42 and 43 side walls 46 and 47 a tread or crown region 50 and an inner liner having three distinct plies 54 55 and 56 for improved clarity of the present invention the typical carcass reinforcement extending between the beads 42 and 43 i e the belt structure in the crown area under the tread and the bead ring structure are not shown the preform 40 has an inner meridional width m extending about the inner width of surface 49 from the outer edge of bead area 42 to the outer edge of bead area 43 as illustrated in fig5 and 6 and in accord with the present invention the tire inner liner in the uncured stage comprises three separate and distinct plies 54 55 and 56 which are shown with a reduced width as compared with fig4 ply 54 has a width w which is less than inner meridional width m.