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Thread ID: 124754 2012-05-17 09:43:00 Directional tyre treads mzee (3324) PC World Chat
Post ID Timestamp Content User
1275904 2012-05-17 09:43:00 Our lodger has a Toyota Trueno 1500. It recently failed a warrant because one front tyre had a directional tread and the other a non directional tread. Both tyres were the same size and both in good condition. The daft thing is that the "directional" tyre has "outside" written on it, so on the right side it would rotate clockwise and on the left anti clockwise. This would mean that the tyre would only work as it should, on the right side. Daft!

In 40 years of getting warrants I have never had this problem. I can understand the nit picking if it was fast sports car, but a Toyota 1500, get real!!
mzee (3324)
1275905 2012-05-17 10:10:00 Yep, both fronts or both rears must be matching (size & type/tread pattern). Front can be different to rear though. fred_fish (15241)
1275906 2012-05-17 10:14:00 In 40 years of getting warrants I have never had this problem. I can understand the nit picking if it was fast sports car, but a Toyota 1500, get real!!

And while we're at it, who cares if the seatbelts are frayed and the brakes don't work, it's only a Toyota 1500, not a race car!

Poor or incorrect tyres contribute far more than most realise to their vehicles' safety.
inphinity (7274)
1275907 2012-05-17 10:14:00 Directional tyres

Some high performance tyres have directional treads to provide improved handling and performance. These tyres must be fitted to rotate in the correct direction.

If fitted the wrong way:

* in the wet, the tyre's tread pattern will effectively dam up water and reduce grip
* the tyre could destabilise your car when travelling at high speed.

Tyres with asymmetrical treads have tread patterns that vary across the width of the tyre. These tyres only fit one side of your car, the side shown on the tyre. If moved from one side to the other, the tyres must be removed from the rims and turned around to face in the proper direction.

Having tyres of different construction or size fitted to the same axle is dangerous and illegal.

Mixing tyre types affects driving control. At the very least, fit the same type of tyre to the same axle (front or rear).
From here
www.nzta.govt.nz

The manual that all vehicle inspectors must follow
www.nzta.govt.nz

The relevant pages for tyres (you need a PDF reader for this)
www.nzta.govt.nz

You would be daft to mix tyre types/size and/or construction on the same axle, highly dangerous at speed and in the wet.
Consider that you only have four small "footprints" touching the road (about the size of your shoe, x4). :horrified
feersumendjinn (64)
1275908 2012-05-17 11:01:00 So-------- I have to put the "outside" inside in order for the tread to point forward? Why have "outside" on the tyre? Why not an arrow like tractors have? mzee (3324)
1275909 2012-05-17 11:07:00 So-------- I have to put the "outside" inside in order for the tread to point forward? Why have "outside" on the tyre? Why not an arrow like tractors have?
No...
Outside means outside.
If you put it on the inside, the tyre is going the opposite way than it was designed to go, and bad things will happen.
fred_fish (15241)
1275910 2012-05-17 11:26:00 Also BOTH front tyres have to be identical as do both back tyres as fred_fish has said. Arnie (6624)
1275911 2012-05-17 12:07:00 So-------- I have to put the "outside" inside in order for the tread to point forward? Why have "outside" on the tyre? Why not an arrow like tractors have?<br>
What you have there is an ASYMMETRIC treaded tyre (tread is different from the inside to the outside) and can be fitted in a front and/or rear <u>axle pair</u> with OUTSIDE on the outer only, anywhere on the car (no worries about direction, unlike DIRECTIONAL tyres (which have ARROWS) which must be fitted to the rims for LH and RH sides of the vehicle and never reversed if wheels are rotated (moved only from front to back to even out wear, never swapped to other side of car)). So, if you have a DIRECTIONAL spare wheel, it must be fitted to the correct side of the car, or have the tyre refitted the correct way on the rim. :rolleyes:
feersumendjinn (64)
1275912 2012-05-17 12:17:00 They used to only check tread depth, but that changed many years ago. They even hold trailers to the same standard now. It's not nit picking because there is a valid reason for it as others have already pointed out. dugimodo (138)
1275913 2012-05-17 13:20:00 <br>
What you have there is an ASYMMETRIC treaded tyre (tread is different from the inside to the outside) and can be fitted in a front and/or rear <u>axle pair</u> with OUTSIDE on the outer only, anywhere on the car (no worries about direction, unlike DIRECTIONAL tyres (which have ARROWS) which must be fitted to the rims for LH and RH sides of the vehicle and never reversed if wheels are rotated (moved only from front to back to even out wear, never swapped to other side of car)). So, if you have a DIRECTIONAL spare wheel, it must be fitted to the correct side of the car, or have the tyre refitted the correct way on the rim. :rolleyes:

Good to see that you haven't been confused by the error in the NZTA info you quoted.
PaulD (232)
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