[Rhythmaker]

per tirerack.com, "...As the tire's outer shoulder tread wears from hard cornering, the ADVAN A048's directional tread design and symmetric internal construction allows worn tires to be remounted "inside-out" on their wheels to help prolong their life..." :huh:

REALLY? Or am i retarded and missing something... :shrug:

 

[xxxotic]

It only works if you drive backwards!

 

[Chris Mackey]

Wow, that's a weird statement.

 

[apk919]

per tirerack.com, "...As the tire's outer shoulder tread wears from hard cornering, the ADVAN A048's directional tread design and symmetric internal construction allows worn tires to be remounted "inside-out" on their wheels to help prolong their life..." :huh:

REALLY? Or am i retarded and missing something... :shrug:

I assume they mean to take a tire that was mounted as a "right" to be flipped around and remounted as a "left"... it's not ridiculous, since that's all that's done originally to determine "left" and "right" with directional tread patterns. I'm just not convinced that if you've worn down the outer shoulder that there's much left of the rest of the tread anyway.

EDIT: To be clear, they mean taking a "right"... dismounting it from the wheel, turning it around, remounting it on the wheel, then bolting it to the "left" side of the car...

 

[tesprit]

Wow, that's a weird statement.

IIRC the OEM tires are directional so they have specified outer and inner sidewalls and can only be mounted to rotate in one direction. If you reversed them on the wheel, you would have to drive backwards.

I think this is what he is saying....:shrug:

 

[Notorious L.R.G.]

That is my standard rotation pattern for cars with fronts/rears of different sizes.

Some garages "get it", but they will all do it for you after some convincing.

I tell them to dismount the right tire and remount it on the left side, in the proper direction. I think I have head them switching wheels unnecessarily all these years. "Mount the right tire on the left wheel and the left tire on the right wheel, respecting the indicated direction."

Tires do not have a specified inner and outer sidewall, or we'd have to order a "right side" and a "left side" tire. Think about it.

 

[jordantii]

That is my standard rotation pattern for cars with fronts/rears of different sizes.

Some garages "get it", but they will all do it for you after some convincing.

I tell them to dismount the right tire and remount it on the left side, in the proper direction. I think I have head them switching wheels unnecessarily all these years. "Mount the right tire on the left wheel and the left tire on the right wheel, respecting the indicated direction."

Tires do not have a specified inner and outer sidewall, or we'd have to order a "right side" and a "left side" tire. Think about it.

I recall the original BFG R1 had left and right specific tires. The side walls left to right on each tire had different stiffness.

 

[Lotusmotion]

That is correct. You can flip-flop (rotate from side to side) for tires that have directional and symmetrical tread patterns...like the Yoko AO48. If you have staggered sizes with directional and symmetrical tread like the Exige (assumes AO48s), this is the only rotation pattern you can use.

You cannot do it with directional tires that have asymmetrical patterns, because each sidewall is specific to (and marked accordingly for) an inside or outside location per the manufacturers' mounting specs (for wet use / water evacuation, dry cornering, etc.).

If your car has negative camber, the inside tread will wear slightly faster. Rotating from side to side will help even out the wear.

It will require having the tires remounted and rebalanced. I usually mark the outside sidewall with an X in white chalk to make it easier to explain to the tire shop that I want the Xs on the inside once the tires are remounted. :huh: You'd be surprised at how some people don't get it at first.

I just completed this rotation on the street tires (Toyo T1Rs) for my Exige. At 15,000 miles of use, the inside of the fronts (-1.0 degree camber) had worn about 10% more than the outside tread, and the inside of the rears (-2.25 degrees of camber) about 20% more than the outside tread. With the rotation, I hope to maybe get to 25,000+ miles on the T1Rs. My track tires (AO48s) will likely get the same rotation so I can squeeze another track day or two out of them.

 

[tireshoppe]

The A048 and the R888 can be crossed for DRY track use. There isn't a difference in construction. The directional tread is for better wet traction. If you use it reversed in the rain you will pull the water inward and that would be bad.
Joe

 

[carl]

The A048 and the R888 can be crossed for DRY track use. There isn't a difference in construction. The directional tread is for better wet traction. If you use it reversed in the rain you will pull the water inward and that would be bad.
Joe

Joe is correct,I've been doing it for the last 3 years and there's no difference in track performance plus you get 1 or 2 extra days off a set. carl

 

[JWA]

The A048 and the R888 can be crossed for DRY track use. There isn't a difference in construction. The directional tread is for better wet traction. If you use it reversed in the rain you will pull the water inward and that would be bad.
Joe

If they are symmetrical then there will be no difference in dry or wet traction as long as they are mounted such that the rotation direction is correct. These are tires with a rotational direction but without a defined inside or outside (as they are symmetrical), at least for the A048s - I don't know about the R888s.

 

[apk919]

If they are symmetrical then there will be no difference in dry or wet traction as long as they are mounted such that the rotation direction is correct. These are tires with a rotational direction but without a defined inside or outside (as they are symmetrical), at least for the A048s - I don't know about the R888s.

Yep R888s are symmetrical too. One sidewall has "LEFT" molded into it, the other side "RIGHT". Whether it's a left or right tire is determined by which sidewall is mounted on the outside of the wheel.

 

[Bane]

The A048 and the R888 can be crossed for DRY track use. There isn't a difference in construction. The directional tread is for better wet traction. If you use it reversed in the rain you will pull the water inward and that would be bad.
Joe

So you're talking about swapping the tires without dismounting them off of their wheels right? So if someone looked at the track they'd see a "right" side tire on the left side of the car?

If you take them off and flip flop them then they retain proper water channeling (as much as they can anyway).

 

[Lotusmotion]

Further, per Bane's comment, if you put a right side tire on the left (run it "backwards") the inside tread would still remains on the inside, that would not promote an even tread wear pattern if the car has negative camber and you'd be pulling water in instead of ejecting it.

Removing the tire and remounting it on the opposite side of the car, while retaining the same rotational direction for proper water channeling, would promote even tread wear because the inside tread would be remounted on the outside.