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Not entyrely

I was looking round a nearly-new-used-car showroom yesterday and could only find one car with a pair of tyres on the same axle that matched. These were ‘Sunny’, made in China. By “matching”, I mean that the tyres on opposite sides of the car were a mirror image of each other, as for example the wings of a butterfly or any flying object (bird or plane). All the other tyres I looked at, like those on my own car were non-matching, i.e. the treads faced forward on one side and backward on the other. I imagine that this cannot be good for road holding, braking, steering and aquaplaning behaviour. I did notice, however, that some Conti tyres were marked “outside”, even though the treads on either side ran in opposite directions. The “Sunny” tyres I mentioned had arrows on them to ensure correct mounting, and were the only directional tyres I encountered. I think this is an important issue that could also result in uneven tyre wear. Do you not agree and should this matter not be raised with the tyre manufacturers, the motor industry and ROSPA?

Asked on 5 October 2011 by PS, via email

Answered by Honest John
Yes, directional tyres is an important issue. Kwik Fit fitters are well aware. But on fleet cars, wheels and tyres are often swapped around with the results that you have seen.
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