Tyre tread which direction

Unlike directional, symmetric tyres can be fitted and rotated in either direction as both halves of the tread pattern are identical. They are particularly quiet and provide good roadholding. Their lower rolling resistance reduces fuel consumption and extends the lifetime of the tyres. They are often used for commercial vehicles and provide — like our RainMax 2 - good value-for-money for those that mainly drive short distances.

Each side serves a different purpose. I like the 'loading up' explanation for why this is counter-intuitively true. Much appreciated. Right, and pictures of tractors show what you described. Generally, the arrows imply the direction of rotation. Yeah, that's right. This is a much debatable topic, but some "facts" should be considered.

Well, this is a lot of chatting, but the bottom line would be: In the front, always watch for the direction of the tire; In the rear, you can choose, depending if you traction more uphill or if you brake more downhill ; Don't believe in magic too much. Grigory Rechistov Full marks to Schwalbe for honesty: we just make them that way to look cool. Hendrix Hendrix 1 1 silver badge 2 2 bronze badges. It might slow you down, but I think the bigger difference will be loss of traction due to hydroplaning noticeable under hard cornering or breaking.

No, you really can't hydroplane on a bike. Tire's too narrow, speed's too low, and bike tires have a narrow pointy contact patch compared to a car's rectangular contact patch. The hydroplane limiting features on a car's tire tread are the width of your bike tires and you're going much slower. Some of the treads on bike tires are designed to limit how much water is picked up or to throw it in a less annoying direction, though.

I've found that with some directional mountain bike tires, fitting the rear tire backwards means that your back wheel slides out from under you when you turn sharply. I normally discover this when riding out from the drive and onto the road.

Mike Mike 31 1 1 bronze badge. Osman Isvan Osman Isvan 11 1 1 bronze badge. Hello, and welcome to bicycles. This question is almost ten years old and already has several good answers. There are plenty of unanswered questions, perhaps you would like to have a look at them.

Also, if you don't have any evidence for the point you're making, was it really necessary to post? BillyNair BillyNair 3, 1 1 gold badge 12 12 silver badges 20 20 bronze badges. Sign up or log in Sign up using Google. Sign up using Facebook.

Sign up using Email and Password. Post as a guest Name. Email Required, but never shown. Featured on Meta. Now live: A fully responsive profile. Version labels for answers. Linked Related 6. Hot Network Questions. Question feed. Bicycles Stack Exchange works best with JavaScript enabled. Tyres with symmetrical patterns provide the owner of the vehicle with the most flexibility for tyre rotation without affecting day-to-day performance.

They're also quiet, long-lasting, and fuel-efficient. However, they are less adaptable to changing conditions on the road. So even though symmetrical patterns deliver steady grip on a dry road, they won't be as effective in wet conditions as other tyres.

A tyre with a directional tread pattern is designed to roll forward in one direction only. It has lateral grooves that meet in the middle of the tyre tread, resembling the shape of an arrowhead. Its purpose is more than sporty aesthetic, however. The V-shaped grooves are more capable of resisting aquaplaning hydroplaning at high speeds by displacing water more efficiently through the tread pattern.

Another benefit of directional tread is extra traction, which provides excellent handling on snow or mud. For this reason, a good all-season or winter tyre is highly likely to have a directional tread pattern. The extra traction is also useful for performance tyres on high-performance vehicles. The point to remember about directional patterns, however, is that tyre rotation becomes a bit more complicated.

They can only be rotated vertically — for example, from the front of the car to the back — otherwise, the pattern will be oriented in the wrong direction when fitted to a wheel on the other side of the vehicle.

That would render the benefits of the tyre tread useless. You can keep track of the correct orientation using the arrow indicator printed on the sidewall of the tyre.

It's in the same direction as the pattern, pointing in the required direction of travel. A tyre with an asymmetric pattern features two separate tread designs, one on the inner half and another on the outer half of the tyre.

It looks unusual, but both halves serve a distinct purpose. In this post, we'll look specifically at what makes a tire directional, how it differs from tires with other tread patterns, and how some drivers can benefit from directional tires. The tread pattern on directional tires is distinct and differs from other tread patterns in that it is designed to rotate in only one direction.

This doesn't mean that the tire cannot drive in reverse. Rather, it refers to the direction that the tire must be mounted in relation to the car.

Directional tires are primarily engineered for high-performance vehicles. Directional tires, like the Bridgestone Potenza RE71R , are designed for increased traction, handling, and performance on wet or dry roads.

Thanks to the V-shaped tread pattern, directional tires excel at evacuating water, which provides their excellent wet traction and helps you avoid hydroplaning. Additionally, directional tread patterns can be commonly found on many summer and winter tires. At a glance, the tread will look like an arrow pointing in the direction the tire rotates, which should be toward the front of your vehicle.

Taking a closer look, you may notice that the tread pattern has a solid ribbed center with the tread moving up and away from the center of the tire, like a V or Y. Another way to check if your tires are directional is to look for the mounting direction. Since directional tires can only be installed facing a certain direction, an arrow or indicator is placed on the sidewall of the tire to indicate the direction the tire should be mounted.

When installing directional tires, they must be installed on the vehicle facing the correct direction. While tires with symmetrical and asymmetrical patterns do not require a specific direction when installed on a car, installing directional tires improperly can not only lessen the benefits of the tires, but it can also cause them to wear down faster than the manufacturer intended.

Once mounted on the wheel correctly, they can be installed facing any direction on the vehicle. Since directional tires are manufactured to be facing one direction only, they can't be rotated like symmetrical or asymmetrical tires.

With symmetrical and asymmetrical tires, a tire rotation normally consists of moving the front wheels to the rear, and the rear wheels to the front following specific procedures.