Directional tyres wrong way round

[MoreWellie]

A friend called round and asked me to listen to the noise from his front tyres. Whilst looking at the car we found the front tyres were fitted on the wrong sides and must have been that way for around 8 months (disclaimer: I haven't ever touched this car so not my fault!)

Obviously their performance in the wet will have been rubbish in comparison to running the right way round but are they likely to have been damaged by this?

 

[slim_boy_fat]

I doubt it, but I'm no expert - however, I know a man who is......

http://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/safety/directional-and-asymmetric-tyres

 

[cumbriasteve]

At least they worked perfectly when he was reversing

We used to see this all the time and even saw it straight from the fitting shop, many people had no idea directional tyres existed, in fact I bet a lot of todays drivers still don't know.

 

[PhillipM]

To be honest it doesn't make as much difference in the wet as you think until you get to heavy standing water - it can be better under heavy braking, we often fit the tyres on the front of the buggy the 'wrong' way around at wet events where there's a lot of braking in the muddy area's for that reason.

 

[gaz1]

tyres must face the right way otherwise they arnt doing there job right

its the same with having all 4 same tyres on the vehicle all matching and also by the makes

its also the same with there treads also have to be as matching to the rest of them otherwise a tire can grip the rd much better than the others therefore possible spin outs and also different bracking per tyre if different treads and tyres are used

 

[PhillipM]

Well, given some supercars use differing treads front to rear how does that sit with your theory? Plenty of normal cars run different construction/carcasses front to rear out of the factory too.

Tread patterns make much less difference than the actual compound until you're near aquaplaning conditions.

 

[Wozzaaah]

tyres must face the right way otherwise they arnt doing there job right

its the same with having all 4 same tyres on the vehicle all matching and also by the makes

its also the same with there treads also have to be as matching to the rest of them otherwise a tire can grip the rd much better than the others therefore possible spin outs and also different bracking per tyre if different treads and tyres are used

So you're saying if the fronts are worn out but the rears are only 1/2 worn then you'd change all 4?

 

[colnerov]

So you're saying if the fronts are worn out but the rears are only 1/2 worn then you'd change all 4?

Hi, You should try looking on one of the Saab forums, some can get very agitated about tyres, always full sets and summer and winter tyres.

Colin

 

[optima21]

I buy tyres in sets of 4 and rotate them until they get down to 4mm tread depth, then get a new set. Ive even swapped front tyres on the front rims to equalize wear (as they were directional), as the outside on the front left always wears most on my tyres. a few years ago I had to use a spare tyre near the legal minimum and I was driving in torrential rain on the motorway, and every time the spare tyre hit water,my car veered to one side and wanted to change lane....
....but then again I can spend more on a set of tyres than my car is worth (the car is only worth scrap value), but then again when the tyres get to 7 or 8 years old I'll replace them due to age rather than wear.

 

[normspanners]

Some tyres are constructed differently it is the lapping of the cores that is the requirement for direction and even some slicks can be directional and when on the front they where usually
fitted the opposite way !

but are they likely to have been damaged by this?

no I would not say so on standard road tyres run at normal speeds /loads .

 

[nick952]

Would the car fail the MOT, just as a motorcycle would, if the tyres are fitted with the rotation direction arrow in the wrong direction ?

 

[normspanners]

Would the car fail the MOT, just as a motorcycle would, if the tyres are fitted with the rotation direction arrow in the wrong direction ?

yes

 

[rtbcomp]

I've just passed an MOT and got a couple of advisories on tyres (wear close to limit). I'll change all five when I've finished my scrapyard runs, they're different makes and at least 7 years old. I'll be a lot happier when I know they're all in good condition.

Trouble is when you buy a car with odd tyres on you don't know the history of the tyres, even if the car hasn't been in an accident, the tyres might have.

 

[gaz1]

I buy tyres in sets of 4 and rotate them until they get down to 4mm tread depth, then get a new set. Ive even swapped front tyres on the front rims to equalize wear (as they were directional), as the outside on the front left always wears most on my tyres. a few years ago I had to use a spare tyre near the legal minimum and I was driving in torrential rain on the motorway, and every time the spare tyre hit water,my car veered to one side and wanted to change lane....
....but then again I can spend more on a set of tyres than my car is worth (the car is only worth scrap value), but then again when the tyres get to 7 or 8 years old I'll replace them due to age rather than wear.

ive run with different tyres and thicknesses but ive put on 2 then bought the other 2 tyres soon after to match from then on my rears go onto my fronts and the new ones go on the back

ive worked at tyre places and seen some of there practices with second hand tyres theres no way id buy from a scrap yard or tyres that have been used

 

[Wozzaaah]

Some tyres are constructed differently it is the lapping of the cores that is the requirement for direction and even some slicks can be directional and when on the front they where usually
fitted the opposite way !

no I would not say so on standard road tyres run at normal speeds /loads .

As someone with more than a little knowledge of how tyres are made I'm curious as to what makes you think the construction dictates the direction of rotation?
What sort of tyres are you talking about?

 

[normspanners]

When using directional slicks the manufacturers stated, it was the direction of the lay over of the plys as to decide the for the direction of the tyres forces ie when fitted incorrectly the plys could tend to 'loosen' hence fitting the fronts the opposite direction

 

[Wozzaaah]

Ah, I thought you were talking about road tyres.

 

[normspanners]

Ah, I thought you were talking about road tyres.

No competion slicks we suffered a few fails years ago by having to fit slicks the wrong way ( because time restraints or spares fitted due to punctures, they nearly always occurred on the 'wrong side' ) and you could see the de-lam of a very hot abused slick, sometimes as a line appearing across the tread. In fact I think pirelli had a big issue with f1 teams fitting tyres wrongly at silverstone a few years ago

 

[julianthegypsy]

Makes a massive difference on tractors. In Indonesia they thought I was a god, because they took me to see a tractor ploughing as apparently it had huge problems andwas getting huge wheelslip. When we got half a mile away I could see it, with several others, ploughing a huge field. I said that one and pointed at it but it was too far away to see its number. When we got closer they saw the number and yup, that was the one. I said you have the left hand rear tyre on the wrong way round. How did you know they gasped! Easy, you can see it a mile off. Going the right way, tractor tyres are self cleaning. Going the wrong way they will clog themselves up and lose almost all their grip.

 

[Bill Edwards]

Makes a massive difference on tractors. In Indonesia they thought I was a god, because they took me to see a tractor ploughing as apparently it had huge problems andwas getting huge wheelslip. When we got half a mile away I could see it, with several others, ploughing a huge field. I said that one and pointed at it but it was too far away to see its number. When we got closer they saw the number and yup, that was the one. I said you have the left hand rear tyre on the wrong way round. How did you know they gasped! Easy, you can see it a mile off. Going the right way, tractor tyres are self cleaning. Going the wrong way they will clog themselves up and lose almost all their grip.

Funny one to get wrong.
It's a known trick to switch the front tyres round on a 4WD loader tractor so you have some grip from the front wheels when reversing, such as loading muck from a heap.
I've also known it done back in the days of 2WD machines for using a buckrake on a silage clamp. As you say, easy to spot - it jumps out and hits you. Mind, I do do tractor tyres as part of my work