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Unidirectional tire rotation?

P

pferd

CEG'er
Joined
Sep 14, 2009
Messages
160
Location
Detroit, MI
I have a set of Yokohama AVID 4s on the car, so I go to rotate them this evening in the standard criss-cross pattern, get it all set and then lo and behold, i notice the tires are unidirectional and my fronts are rolling in the opposite direction as indicated on the tire. :blackeye:

My fault for not looking more closely, but the question for the tire experts is....do I need to go out RIGHT NOW and change them around again, or will they work for a few days on the road till i get back in town and switch them back at that point?
 
the tread pattern is made unidirectional so they will get the best performance, grip, and move water out of the way. It is best to change them around ASAP. They will work backwards and won't wear out faster, but you will notice increased noise, and if you encounter bad weather, you will have far less traction than you normally would have.
 
I would question the internals on a directional tire. Do the belts and such lie differently or in a manner that would be unsafe to use in the opposite way they were engineered/woven for? As always, I'm curious :eek:
 
For some reason, I don't know. Then again, it has been 4 years since I have sold tires, and even then I mostly sold truck tires (you know semis).

I'm just a diesel mechanic after all.

But then again, they are radial tires. It's not like we are talking about bias ply. AFAIK the only real difference between a directional and non-directional tire is the tread pattern.
 
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