Tires Mounted Backwards (Inside Out)

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He said they have a non-directional asymmetric tread design, which is correct. Inside must face inside. Yes they can be rotated. He is correct and the first shop "mechanic" was wrong. You're also wrong. Again.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
He is correct and the first shop "mechanic" was wrong.
Originally Posted by 92saturnsl2
A Mechanic gets on the phone and says it makes no difference which side is out.
No, the mechanic is not wrong.
 
Tires can be; directional or not - for directional there will be rotation arrow on sidewall asymmetric or symmetric - there will be inside/outside on the sidewall for asymmetric both sets of properties are independent of each other. If tire is both directional and asymmetric then there will be left and right flavour. OP has improperly mounted asymmetric tire. If one claims that it is ok than it means that tire engineers have no clue what they are doing. KrzyÅ›
 
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Originally Posted by krzyss
.....asymmetric or symmetric - there will be inside/outside on the sidewall for asymmetric both sets of properties are independent of each other.
Which would all be changed with a simple rotation. So it's meaningless. You have millions of tires on the road today, all safely rolling exactly as I described.
 
You just can't help but double down on stupid, can you? Asymmetric tires, when mounted properly, can be rotated at will and "outside" will always face outside. These tires are not directional. Directional tires can only be rotated front to rear without remounting.
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Asymmetric tires, when mounted properly, can be rotated at will and "outside" will always face outside. These tires are not directional.
Yes. My point is the "INSIDE / OUTSIDE" means nothing. Simply because if they were all mounted with "OUTSIDE" facing out, once the tires are criss cross rotated, (which they safely can be), you have achieved the exact same thing as the OP encountered with his original installation. It doesn't matter. And knock off the personal insults while your at it. Did I insult you?
 
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Asymmetric tires, when mounted properly, can be rotated at will and "outside" will always face outside. These tires are not directional. Directional tires can only be rotated front to rear without remounting.
approvedapprovedapprovedpopcorn2
 
Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by rooflessVW
Asymmetric tires, when mounted properly, can be rotated at will and "outside" will always face outside. These tires are not directional.
Yes. My point is the "INSIDE / OUTSIDE" means nothing. Simply because if they were all mounted with "OUTSIDE" facing out, once the tires are criss cross rotated, (which they safely can be), you have achieved the exact same thing as the OP encountered with his original installation. It doesn't matter. And knock off the personal insults while your at it. Did I insult you?
No. Wrong. If a tire is mounted with "OUTSIDE" facing the outside face of the rim, it will ALWAYS say "OUTSIDE" on the outside of the rim regardless of how it is rotated. The only way that can change is if the tire is removed from the rim and the tire is flipped around.
 
Originally Posted by tony1679
If a tire is mounted with "OUTSIDE" facing the outside face of the rim, it will ALWAYS say "OUTSIDE" on the outside of the rim regardless of how it is rotated.
And tell me exactly what will that accomplish, that won't be reversed with a criss cross tire rotation? Just the same as flipping the tire around. Think about this before you answer.
 
Interesting thread, not as familiar with inside/outside asymmetric as I am with directional tires. Not to be flip, but I'd say this an example of [censored] happens and the key is do they make it right after the error discovered. First shop is obviously one not to do business with again, and it worked out for the best going to the second shop. Along the lines of stuff happens, son's Q7 came from the factory with the directional tires mounted on the wrong sides. He noticed it, took it back to the dealer for correction and parlayed it into some other freebies from them.
 
Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by tony1679
If a tire is mounted with "OUTSIDE" facing the outside face of the rim, it will ALWAYS say "OUTSIDE" on the outside of the rim regardless of how it is rotated.
And tell me exactly what will that accomplish, that won't be reversed with a criss cross tire rotation? Just the same as flipping the tire around. Think about this before you answer.
Oh I've thought about it. It won't be reversed. You are completely misunderstood here. Pretend the tire and rim is a quarter. It doesn't matter which way you roll the quarter, it will always roll on the tread (unless it is a directional tire). Let's say the 'heads' side of the quarter is the pretty side of the rim facing outward. Attach a sticker or a piece of tape to the heads side that halfway overlaps the quarter and write an "O" on it. This is now the 'tire' that says "OUTSIDE". Now assume that quarter and sticker is on the driver front (LF) corner of the car. Heads faces left if you are at the 'rear' of the car. Now, pretend to rotate that tire to the passenger rear. Heads now faces right if you are at the 'rear' of the car. And guess what? So does the "O" sticker. The only way to make that "O" face the 'tails' side of the quarter is to remove it and stick it to the other side.
 
Originally Posted by tony1679
Oh I've thought about it. It won't be reversed. You are completely misunderstood here.
OK, one more time. And I'm really trying to be polite here. When you criss cross rotate a tire, you reverse it's direction. For example, when you move a tire from the left front to the right rear, you change it's rotational direction from counter clockwise, (left front), to clockwise, (right rear). Just visualize this in your head. You are accomplishing the exact same thing if you flip it. Now, knowing and understanding that, please explain what you think is happening differently if you flip it? The OP's tires can be safely criss cross rotated because they are non directional. Knowing that, once they are, the criss cross rotation has induced the same directional difference as if the tire was flipped. Follow? Use your coin example if it helps you. And just forget, directional / non directional / inside / outside for a second. It's confusing you.
 
Originally Posted by billt460
Originally Posted by tony1679
Oh I've thought about it. It won't be reversed. You are completely misunderstood here.
OK, one more time. And I'm really trying to be polite here. When you criss cross rotate a tire, you reverse it's direction. For example, when you move a tire from the left front to the right rear, you change it's rotational direction from counter clockwise to clockwise. (Just visualize this in your head). You are accomplishing the exact same thing if you flip it. Now, knowing and understanding that, please explain what you think is happening differently if you flip it? The OP's tires can be safely criss cross rotated because they are non directional. Knowing that, once they are, the criss cross rotation has induced the same directional difference as if the tire was flipped. Follow? Use your coin example if it helps you.
You're too caught up on mixing directional and inside/outside and not focusing on why a tire is asymmetric. Now that I know you understand outside will remain outside, let's go further into detail. A tire is asymmetric for a specific reason (the reason depends on the specific tire in question). Let's use this tire as an example, it's the second image under "asymmetrical tread": Link It's not about how the tire rolls forward or backward. This is not a directional debate. The manufacturer designed the tread this way for a reason. Let's assume the reason is for cornering grip. The outer section of tread on the left side of that tire is far wider than the section of tread on the right side. If this tire is mounted on the LF of a vehicle and a hard right turn at high speed is made, I know I wouldn't want to have the right side of the tire on the outside face of the LF... And I get it, you're saying 'that exact same tire is on the RF and the wider section on that tire is on the RIGHT side.' The difference is a high speed right turn doesn't stress the RF wheel, therefore your argument is void. There is a reason manufacturers label inside and outside on asymmetrical tread designs. They don't do it for giggles. Don't you think they would save a few pennies and not form those words into the tire if it didn't matter? That argument is like saying 5W-30 and 30W-5 is the same...
 
To better help visualize this. Let's take a directional tire mounted on the left front. The arrow will point to a counter clockwise rotation if the tire is mounted correctly. Agree? Now, let's take that same tire, dismount it and flip it. Now mount it on the right rear. Which way will the arrow be pointing? It will still be pointing the correct way as it rolls in a forward direction. Agree? Draw an arrow on a bottle cap and try it. You will immediately see what I'm talking about.
 
Originally Posted by billt460
To better help visualize this. Let's take a directional tire mounted on the left front. The arrow will point to a counter clockwise rotation if the tire is mounted correctly. Agree? Now, let's take that same tire, dismount it and flip it. Now mount it on the right rear. Which way will the arrow be pointing? It will still be pointing the correct way as it rolls in a forward direction. Agree? Draw an arrow on a bottle cap and try it. You will immediately see what I'm talking about.
duh Again, this is NOT a DIRECTIONAL debate... shrug edit: Use your bottle cap and write an "O" on the 'top' of the cap. Now apply that to my quarter analogy.
 
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Went though something similar with asymmetrical Goodyear Eagles mounted wrong at DT … noticed when we stopped for lunch. Hit the nearest DT (not same store) and they quickly flipped and balanced again for N/C
 
Why are you talking about directional tire when the issue is asymmetric tread pattern? They are not the same! https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=180 Please read "Asymmetric Tread Patterns" section. KrzyÅ› PS Imagine a tire mounted with "INSIDE" proudly displayed on the outside. Without dismounting the tire from the rim it will proudly display the same word on the left, right side of the car and in the trunk too.
 
Originally Posted by krzyss
Why are you talking about directional tire when the issue is asymmetric tread pattern? They are not the same! https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=180 Please read "Asymmetric Tread Patterns" section. KrzyÅ› PS Imagine a tire mounted with "INSIDE" proudly displayed on the outside. Without dismounting the tire from the rim it will proudly display the same word on the left, right side of the car and in the trunk too.
approved
 
Originally Posted by tony1679
The manufacturer designed the tread this way for a reason. Let's assume the reason is for cornering grip. The outer section of tread on the left side of that tire is far wider than the section of tread on the right side. If this tire is mounted on the LF of a vehicle and a hard right turn at high speed is made, I know I wouldn't want to have the right side of the tire on the outside face of the LF......
I understand the point you are trying to make. With that said, look at the photos of the OP's tire tread. They look identical across the entire tread pattern. If there is any difference in the tread from "INSIDE" to "OUTSIDE", it is hardly, if at all distinguishable. So in his case, how much difference can it possibly make? Especially from any kind of safety standpoint. Per your link: "Asymmetric Tread Patterns: An asymmetric tread pattern usually incorporates larger tread ribs/blocks on the outboard side to increase cornering stability on dry roads by offering greater contact area." This hardly seems to be the case with the OP's tires, regardless of how they are marked. Also, when you posted the below quote, I thought you were referring to direction. Which is why I pressed the issue. And thank you for being polite. Unlike some here.
Originally Posted by tony1679
Oh I've thought about it. It won't be reversed. You are completely misunderstood here.
Here is an example where it better proves your point as opposed to the OP's tires.

Asymmetric-vs-Symmetrical.jpg
 
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