Tyres fitted wrong way around??

hi_im_fil · 13-03-2008 4:24pm #1

I'm just after noticing a symbol on my tyres there while i was checking the pressures. It seems to be an arrow indicating the rotational direction but on on of my wheels (front left), it is facing the wrong way.

Can tyres be fitted the wrong way around on a wheel?

Is this something that should be addressed immediately?

I'm presuming the tyre wont disperse the water away in wet conditions.

Pics of the symbol and wheel are attached

Black_Knight · 13-03-2008 4:30pm

Yeah there on the wrong way! As you say water wont be dispursed away from the tire in wet conditions. With the threads on those wheels, water will actually go to the center of the tyre. Quite dangerous in wet conditions, you'll be aquaplaneing easier unless you get them sorter the right way around. Go to whoever put them on and give out stink!

batman2000 · 13-03-2008 4:30pm

It's used mainly for wet weather conditions, the tread design is meant to dispearse the water and is designed to rotate in X direction. Not sure if it would increase tyre wear. I would recommend it anyway.

hi_im_fil · 13-03-2008 4:32pm

How much would a tyre centre charge to put it right?

Henry Ford III · 13-03-2008 4:36pm

The clowns who put them on wrong should charge nothing.

hi_im_fil · 13-03-2008 4:37pm

I bought the alloys from a shop months ago so I doubt i could bring them back to the shop now

Black_Knight · 13-03-2008 4:37pm

hi_im_fil wrote: »

How much would a tyre centre charge to put it right?

Id go back to whoever you last got to put the tyres on and demand they fix it (if applicable). But im guessing its not too common a thing to have done in a garage so the price might be made up. Cant say.

prospect · 13-03-2008 4:37pm

Who ever put them on should change them. Are they all like this?

If not, have you noticed the car pull to one side?

R.O.R · 13-03-2008 4:37pm

I'm no expert, but I'd say the tyres won't be working to their full potential.

Easiest way to fix it (presuming both front tyres are the wrong direction) is to swap the wheels around.

hi_im_fil · 13-03-2008 4:40pm

No i haven't noticed any pulling to the side.

Its only that one wheel thats on backwards

Black_Knight · 13-03-2008 4:41pm

hi_im_fil wrote: »

I bought the alloys from a shop months ago so I doubt i could bring them back to the shop now

Its not like you change your tyres every few months and some other place mucked up. Its worth the trip to see what they'll do. If anything they might fix it for cheap

Black_Knight · 13-03-2008 4:43pm

hi_im_fil wrote: »

Its only that one wheel thats on backwards

Sounds like the idiot who put them on wasnt payin attention.

hi_im_fil · 13-03-2008 4:45pm

Thanks lads i'll see what i can sort out

Alun · 13-03-2008 4:50pm

Watch out! Some tyres can be asymmetrical as well as unidirectional, so it might be that just reversing the tyre on the wheel won't work, in other words there are left and right-handed tyres. You should be able to tell by looking at the tread. If the tread is symmetrical about the centre line of the tyre you're OK. If not then they should be mirror images of each other (wrt to the centre of the car) when viewed from the front of the car, if that makes sense. You might be lucky and have a left handed tyre mounted on the left wheel, but just mounted back to front, or if you're really unlucky you have two right-handed tyres.

Look at http://www.carbibles.com/tyre_bible.html and search for "asymmetrical" .. there's a nice little diagram there that shows the differences.

ShayK1 · 13-03-2008 4:51pm

It really shouldn't cost much... I mean, a puncture repair is less than a tenner and all the tyre center will be doing is turning a tyre around. I'd be surprised if you were charged a fiver tbh

Rovi · 13-03-2008 4:51pm

hi_im_fil wrote: »

Its only that one wheel thats on backwards

Have you fitted the spare since getting the new tyres by any chance?
If you got 5 new directional tyres, a choice would have to have been made on the spare: right handed or left handed?
Most people fit the spare left handed, as that's the side of the car most likely to encounter potholes, kerbs, collapsed verges, whatever.
Murphy's Law then dictates that you'll get a puncture on the right.

Just throwing out the possibility; if you only got 4 new tyres and/or the spare isn't directional, disregard the above.

sohappy · 13-03-2008 6:25pm

are you sure that you just haven't put the wheels for the right hand side of the car on the left by mistake??

JHMEG · 13-03-2008 6:28pm

You're sure there is only 1 which is wrong?

hi_im_fil · 13-03-2008 10:12pm

No its definately just one tyre

DonJose · 13-03-2008 11:00pm

hi_im_fil wrote: »

No i haven't noticed any pulling to the side.

Its only that one wheel thats on backwards

To be on the safe side, I recommend you drive everywhere in reverse until you get the tyres sorted out.

Steve · 13-03-2008 11:47pm

It'll be fine - just be careful in rain or standing water.
It shouldn't make any difference on dry or slightly damp roads. The tread pattern is desinged to clear water out at higher speeds and under braking so you will have a greater risk of aquaplaning if it's wrong.

Get it fixed sooner rather than later though.

MercMad · 14-03-2008 11:11am

DonJose wrote: »

To be on the safe side, I recommend you drive everywhere in reverse until you get the tyres sorted out.

........:D

Tyres fitted wrong way around??

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