Directional tires, mounted wrong? Help!

[M3Nick]

If you had to imagine these tires rotating:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/BigPic.jsp?sidewall=Blackwall&tireMake=Sumitomo&tireModel=HTR+Z+III

Which way should/would they be going?

I recently did my own tire rotation and noticed that the driver side tread pattern is going in the opposite direction of the passenger, then they should both be identical. I suspect my tires MAY have been mounted incorrectly on my wheels, but they all say "outside" on the readable part of my tire so this tells me they are mounted correctly at the same time. I'm confused :(

Right now, the tires on my driver side are (if you can imagine) rotating so that HTR Z III, the H would "hit the ground first". This translates to counter clockwise on the photo.

On the passenger side, the wheels are rotating so that the III "hits the ground first". This translates to clockwise on the photo.

The problem with this is that if left and right are both rotating the the same direction, one tire has to do a cross between passenger and driver, which means if its crossing sides, no matter what I move to an opposite side, its going to make the newly rotated in tire "correct", and the swapped out tire (which was correct before) "incorrect".

There is no obvious marking for rotation direction of the tire on these, otherwise this would be a no-brainer. I need a clear and definitive way to determine which way these should be rotating so that I can try to think of a rotation to correct my situation.

[CoreySprung]

how did you rotate the tires,?
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43
if they are directional you should have used the option D.

[M3Nick]

Yeah - well I went in to a Midas in London and an employee recommended forward cross, so I went home happily and did it.

I realized that after I did it, things were wrong and I should have used D.

I don't think I can reverse my rotation either, then do the proper one, because that still gives me a wrong set up, which leads me to believe they were on wrong in the first place.

[Xerox]

They are not directional. They are asymmetric. As long as the "outside" is mounted facing out (which by what you said is true), you are okay.

[RedRaptor]

they are not dirctional. Thy are asymetric. As long as the "outside" is mounted facing outside, you are okay.

Exactly.

[CoreySprung]

do all the tires have outside facing out ? becuase these arent directional tires, they are asymmetric tires. as long as outside is facing out you should be fine.

[Noisy Crow]

If they are directional tires, there will be an arrow on the sidewall indicating the direction. Also note the word "outside" is cast on them. Unless there is a left and right version, and there is no marking indicating left and right, then they don't look to be directional. But they should be mounted with the word "outside" to the outside....

[CoreySprung]

They are not directional. They are asymmetric. As long as the "outside" is mounted facing out (which by what you said is true), you are okay.

took to long. exactly what he said.

[M3Nick]

Oh my... I feel preeeeeetty retarded right now .... ! Please just forget I ever asked this question, lol.

I hope this one isn't as retarded, but in the future, should it be safe to continue doing a forward cross pattern?

[M3Nick]

Unless there is a left and right version, and there is no marking indicating left and right, then they don't look to be directional.

I assume left or right would also be blatantly printed on the tire as well? These don't have that so I assume they don't have a left/right version.

[Olestra]

Oh my... I feel preeeeeetty retarded right now .... ! Please just forget I ever asked this question, lol.

I hope this one isn't as retarded, but in the future, should it be safe to continue doing a forward cross pattern?

Nope, you shouldn't feel retarded. It's best that you asked because what if you were too scared to ask and they were actually mounted or rotate wrong?

Tirerack does sometimes make mistakes and may mount a tire wrong, which could be extremely dangerous for you. So it's best to be safe.

The forward cross pattern is exactly how you want to rotate them. I believe the owner's manual recommends you do this as well.

Nice tires btw.

[M3Nick]

Owners manual actually recommended front/back, but that was for the stock rims and stock tires, so I got a second opinion on the rotation pattern, and they had a look and actually recommended forward-x.

Thanks guys :)

[mit-gee-mui]

I am going to place this here as an FYI.
http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=8014&highlight=direction+tires



:)

[allen@simplytire.com]

I see worse than that everyday...


at least now you know... assymetric tires are re-inforced on the inside wall to help with comfort and handling... and a lot more reasons...

How do you like your HTRZ's?

[M3Nick]

They're actually the happiest I've been with tires in my lifetime. I was drawn to them because of the good reviews they had on tire rack, and seriously, they earned them. It's not a straight "you get what you pay for" with these ... you get more I think. It's like going to your friends brothers roommates grandmother's Italian restaurant and getting served like you were her grandson/granddaughter.

I posted about them a little while back, heres a link:

http://www.torontomazda3.ca/forum/showthread.php?t=24486

To continue the comment on tread wear (now that have have put 6000km on them) ... I noticed I still have a really healthy amount of tread left, and I have a "spirited" driving style. From time to time I will get aggressive on a corner (and the tires don't disappoint me) .. but I can say that I still have a lot of time left with the tread these babies :)