sorry to bring this back up. this post is an offshoot of these two posts regarding azenis sports and whether or not they are "directional".

https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=577322
https://honda-tech.com/zerothread?id=178610


i'm still not convinced that the azenis sports ARE NOT directional.

as nsxtasy described so well and posted photos in the first link, there are two aspects of tires which will determine whether or not they are able to be used from one side to the other and whether or not they are directional.

it is clear that falken's labeling of the tire with *outside* and *inside* will point to the fact that they cannot be used from one side to the other without turning them 180 deg. this can be simply seen by imagining a line through the vertical centerline (see pic below). the tread pattern cannot be mirrored about this vertical centerline.

the main argument here however (directional or not), is that the tire tread pattern is not symmetric about the horizontal centerline (again, see pic below). although i have made a crude attempt at depicting the tread of the azenis, it is clear from the pic as well as the from the actual pic nsxtasy posted of the azenis, that the tread is not symmetric about this horizontal centerline. the larger tread blocks on the *outside* half of the tire are "oblong" and not "diamond" shaped.


crude pic of azenis sport


if you have azenis mounted, take a visual test and notice how the channels *flare* forward on one side of the car while the channels *flare* backward on the other side. it appears as though the tires want to pull the car and/or water to one side while in motion.

now, this leads to some interesting questions. are they directional? i think so. the other big question is that did falken make a mistake in importing only the "left-mold" or "right-mold"?

kepani-who wants to get to the bottom of this.

 

they weren't meant to be driven in wet weather anyway.


They are not directional. It's impossible for them to be, unless, like you said if they imported all left hand side tires.

I always thought they were directional from the looks of them, but as long as outside is outside and inside is inside, you're good to go.

I've never had problems in the rain with them....

 

I think that answer to the question lies in the fact that the words "left" or "right" do not apear anywhere on the tire.

 

spec 2 azenis

i take it the parada spec 2 are rotational. because the line is on the outside, where the line is on the inside for the azenis. they look similar in structure to me (well kinda)..

 

They are asymetrical like Pirelli PZeros. ... or are they?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by baonest &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote"> spec 2 azenis

i take it the parada spec 2 are rotational. because the line is on the outside, where the line is on the inside for the azenis. they look similar in structure to me (well kinda).. </TD></TR></TABLE>

The line has nothing to do with the directional aspect. Yokohama chose to have theirs towards the outside, while Falken did just the opposite.

 

right.

that "line" they put in there was probably to pass DOT standards

anyhow, the direction of the tire matters on the tread design, nothing else

 

how ******* hard is it to read "OUTSIDE" and then mount the tire that way.

another idiotic thread on HT.

D

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by D &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">how ******* hard is it to read "OUTSIDE" and then mount the tire that way.

another idiotic thread on HT.

D</TD></TR></TABLE>

that's not what i'm referring to. i am mounting the outside on the outside and the inside on the inside. whether you're driving in the rain or not (rain would have more of an effect), it seems as though the tread wants to "push" the car to one side.

just an observation that seems strange.

kepani-who is not sure if he explained himself well enough :shrugs:

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kepani &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

that's not what i'm referring to. i am mounting the outside on the outside and the inside on the inside. whether you're driving in the rain or not (rain would have more of an effect), it seems as though the tread wants to "push" the car to one side.

just an observation that seems strange.

kepani-who is not sure if he explained himself well enough :shrugs:</TD></TR></TABLE>'

no worries kepani. just the h-t local fucktard making his hate rounds he is angry at the world.

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by kepani &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">

that's not what i'm referring to. i am mounting the outside on the outside and the inside on the inside. whether you're driving in the rain or not (rain would have more of an effect), it seems as though the tread wants to "push" the car to one side.

just an observation that seems strange.

kepani-who is not sure if he explained himself well enough :shrugs:</TD></TR></TABLE>

you made sense.

It was a question on everyone's minds, until they just said, "screw it"

 

if they were directionals then i think there would be arrows on the side walls like every other directinal tires i have seen.

 

haha yeah those ***** are hella not directional yO!

 

Well obviously they arn't directional or we'd have another mold but I have heard that Falken makes them with a slightly harder rubber on the inside of the tire for camber reasons. But than again, this is what i have heard. :-T

PsychO

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by Soup **** &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">'

no worries kepani. just the h-t local fucktard making his hate rounds he is angry at the world.</TD></TR></TABLE>


LOL

 

All I can say is that DAMN those tires are sexy.... I'll stick with azenis till they discontinue them or if I get another car.

 

All I can say is, if a tire is directional, it will have an arrow (like this ) to indicate the rotation direction.

 

I think kepani has a point.

I would expect an asymmetric tire, like the Falken Azenis Sport or the Yoko Parada Spec, to have the tread moving in the same direction (towards the inside, or towards the outside) regardless of whether it is mounted on the left side of the tire or the right side of the tire. But a properly-mounted Azenis or Parada will have the longer diagonal grooves (the wider grooves that run the entire width of the tread diagonally, from one edge to the other) running from the outside of the tread to the inside on one side of the car, and from the inside of the tread to the outside of the tread on the other side of the car, as the car is moving forward. So in that sense - a geometric sense, if you will - the tread is directional.

However, the tires don't come with mounting instructions to tell you which side of the car to mount them on, and they don't come in two different versions, as "left tires" or "right tires". In choosing which aspect was more important - the asymmetry ("this side outwards") or the directionality ("direction of rotation") the tire manufacturer decided to only use the former as a guide for how to mount it. So in that sense, it doesn't matter.

 

they are not directional, end of story...the tread flows the exact same way no matter what side you put the tires on...try it, take pics, look in awe...example notice how the tire flows the EXACT SAME WAY

 

You're wrong. This is the right perspective.



Personnaly I don't think they're directionnal. Just look at the diamond shaped threads. There would be no reason they would cause any " assymetrical issues" in the rain. look closely. they're not directionnal.




Modified by meanteg at 1:30 PM 8/4/2003

 

This is very intresting, even though I don't understand most of it....Haha

 

bump.

 

Although I dont' think that they are directional, I do think that kepani has a good point. The fact that the tires on not the same on either side of the car is something that I did notice earlier and was puzzled by it. I do find it funny that the tread pattern, in relation to the direction of the vehicle on either side is not the same. I think that his question on the overall performance of the tires in relation to their directional stability is valid, it would make sense that the tires could, in some way, cause a directional push due to their lack of directional cancellation due to opposing tread patterns.

JON

 

Has anyone contacted Falken about this?

 

<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by mr. clockwork &raquo;</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">it would make sense that the tires could, in some way, cause a directional push due to their lack of directional cancellation due to opposing tread patterns.</TD></TR></TABLE>

Is this supposed to actually be a valid point?

Are you suggesting the car will swap ends while driving down the highway in a straight line?

Rediculous.

Oh yeah, and what D said. Just drive the damn things.