Is the right and left hand side of the Azenis the same?
I have 4 Falken Azenis, they all look the same, and there is no "right" and "left" marked on it. THere is just "outside" and "inside" marked. When I line them up like they will on the car, the right and left side is not symmertic. So is it possible the store sent me 4 left side one or 4 right side one?


[Modified by Stock-DC2, 9:52 PM 4/13/2002]

 

Asymetricle design= 2 for left and 2 for right.

 

So that mean the left and right tires are the same? When I put it on, the right and left side will be "asymetric", and it is alright?

Sorry, I don't know much about tire.

 

i just ordered them, be here tuesday. sticky when dry, slippery when wet.

 

Just to clarify here:

Some tires, including the Falken Azenis, are asymmetric. That means that the tire is not exactly the same along one side as it is along the other (if it were symmetric, it would be exactly the same from one side to the other, as though there were a mirror down the middle).

An asymmetric tire needs to have one side facing outwards, because it is designed to have a different tread pattern along the outside of the tread from the inside of the tread.

Other tires are rotational, for example the Dunlop SP9000, which looks like this:



A rotational tire is designed to roll in a particular direction - usually so that, when you drive in the rain, the tread hits the water in the middle of the tire and channels it to the edges, to prevent hydroplaning (sliding because water builds up under the tire). You can see by looking at it that the treads move towards the outer edges if you rotate it in one direction, and towards the center if you rotate it in the other direction. A rotational tire has an arrow on each sidewall indicating the direction of rotation.

If a tire is asymmetric but not rotational, like the Falken Azenis, you need to make sure it gets mounted with the proper side facing outwards (just like it says on the sidewall). As long as you do that, you can use the mounted tire on either side of the car, since the proper side will be facing outwards either way. And there is no such thing as "two left tires" or "two right tires".

If a tire is rotational but symmetric, like the Dunlop SP9000, you can use the tire on either side of the car, but how you mount the tire determines which side of the car it gets used on. You need to make sure that two of the tires get mounted with the arrow pointing in a clockwise direction (so they are used on the right side of the car), and two counterclockwise for the left side.

There are even a few tires (such as the ones specially made for the NSX) that are both rotational AND asymmetric; in this case, each tire is made only to be used on one side of the car, and you have to make sure to buy two left tires and two right tires.



[Modified by nsxtcjr, 10:36 AM 4/14/2002]

 

Yeah, he's usually pretty thorough, but he forgot an S on Azenis

 

Fixed.

 

i too have the same dilemma. my question is, if the tred pattern is one way on the right side and the other way on the left side... would that cause an imbalance of some sort?? like.. um say channeling water??

so the meaning of "asymmetric" is that its NOT suppose to be facing the same direction on all four wheels?? sorry. i guess im just confused.

so your sure there's not left or right tires for Azenis right? anyone with these tires mounted on?


[Modified by ToneyTigre, 9:29 PM 4/20/2002]

 

Thanks. I too was a little worried about this.

 

But isn't "Azeni" the plural of "Azenis"?