Code Blue

I got some rims and tires off of a friend about a year ago, finally got around to putting them on my daily. they are 16 inch yokohama parada spec 2's. I noticed as I was putting them on that the line in the tread isn't always on the outside. I looked for a directional arrow on the sidewall of the tire and all it said was "this side facing out" on all 4, so I assumed they were mounted correctly...

I noticed that the wheels really tracked when driving, and had to fight the steering wheel to keep it going in a straight line some of the times. I asked my friend about it, and he said that that line in the tread is supposed to be towards the outside on all 4 sides.


did the original tire shop that mounted the tires mount them on incorrectly?

r.wright

iTrader: (58)

if they say 'this side out' then they should be correct..maybe you need an alignment or have a shop rebalance the tires for you

Code Blue

the alignment was just done maybe 2 weeks ago. I guess it could be the wheels balancing, I never knew they could make the car track that much.

Rbk

Check if there are any arrows point to the direction of rotation

Code Blue

there aren't any arrows but I'm obviously a retard and dont know how to record things in my brain. the tires are on the rims correctly. I am going to check to make sure the hubcentric rings are on correctly.

I think its an issue with my wheel balancing or alignment.


but this thread is /end because I'm a dumbass


thanks to those who tried to help

nsxtasy

You are not a dumbass. You are asking good questions.

Many tires are directional, meaning that they are designed to rotate in a particular direction. This is usually done for driving in rain, to enable the tread of the tire to shed the water on the pavement by moving it from the center of the tire to the edges. These tires have an arrow on the sidewall, to indicate the direction that the tires should be rotating when the car is moving forward.

Some other tires are asymmetric, meaning that they are not the same design on both sides of the tire. This is usually done for handling, to deal with the extra load on the outside of the tire when cornering. These tires have labeling on the sidewall regarding which side faces in towards the car, and which side faces out away from the car.

The Parada - which is a crappy tire, BTW - is asymmetric. As long as the proper side is facing out, they're mounted correctly.

It's not a wheel balancing issue; if the tires were out of balance, you would feel it as a vibration. If the car is pulling to one side, it's usually an alignment issue. It could also be a suspension problem (e.g. bent control arm, etc).