A tricky one..

I took a pair of Maxsport RB5 road legal slicks home and a few days later, when about to fit them, I realized these are assymmetric but they had given me two right side wheels At least it looks so, from the footprint to the coloured stuff printed on the outside wall only.

As the old tyres had already been removed from the rims I decided to fit them anyway. I don't care about the assimetry of the footprint but if one of the walls of the tyre (outside or inside) is stiffer than the other one, I would like to fit them in the way which is best for the position of my engine in the car (on the left) as these will go on the front, even if this makes them rotate "backwards" (is that a problem?).

Do you get a mental picture of the mess?

Also they had to put a LOT of weight to balance them, is this normal in this type of tyre (recycled slick) or do I have one extra thing to worry about?

Cheers,

Alex


[Edited on 24/6/05 by Alez]

Remoulded slicks do tend to need a lot more balancing than new tyres so it shouldnt be anything to worry about.

As for which side they should go on, if they are directional I would say that the direction they rotate is more important than the inside / outside edge being correct as the tyre might be made to resist the forces in only one direction, and could (worse case scenario) start to delaminate.

Thank you Chris.

There are no arrows to indicate direction of rotation, but the footprint suggests the way they should rotate as they are shaped something like >>>>. I think I should try Maxsport on this one, maybe they have something interesting to us all?

Cheers,

Alex

If the tread is like that then Id say they have to be directional, a V groove like that won't disperse much water if running the wrong way!

I've received the following email from Maxsport and I'm increasingly confused

I would have said they have to rotate in the opposite direction (looking at their footprint) for the very reason you mentioned. And actually that's how I've mounted them, one showing the inscriptions, one don't, both opposite from what is described in this pic!

??

Cheers,

Alex
Rescued attachment directional_tyre.jpg

Clear as mud!

Id assume the arrow on the pic is the best thing to go by

But that takes the water to inside the tyre, does it not???

Would you put them as suggested by Maxsport then???

Its not really much of a pronounced V groove though (I was thinking more like Toyo Proxies T1S or Goodyear Eagle F1 type tread). Looking at them none of the grooves are actually open at the side of the tyre so they are going to be sh1t in the wet anyway, regardless of which way round they are

[Edited on 24/6/05 by ChrisGamlin]

tyres

always have symbols to go round the way they are designed with..

only symetric tryres don't care but stll have an simble..

look for an DOT word that means that parts needs facing towards the outside of the car..

or offcourse an arrow..

Tks

Despite the footprint being assymetric (slightly, it can't be noticed in the pic but it is) AND the tyre being marked in coloured letters in one side only, the tyre is not an assymetric type I've been confirmed so by Maxsport:

"Dear sir,
When you fit the tyres on the rims(front or rear) I maxsport label
should look outside the other should look inside."

I've been looking for any arrows to indicate direction and there are none, so the only thing I can do is trust Maxsport and fit them so they rotate in the direction they say.

Cheers,

Alex

[Edited on 27/6/05 by Alez]