Goodyear Tire Mounting Direction

[Wally]

We have a set of new 13" Goodyear tires that we're going to mount and I am not sure which direction the blue stripe on the tire surface is supposed to sit. I am pretty sure it is supposed to point left, but I need verification. I am sure someone here knows what's up!

Derek Puzzuoli
Suspension Team
U of W FSAE 2005

[Denny Trimble]

Which U of W are you from? http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

http://www.racegoodyear.com/sae-tire_mounting.html

http://www.racegoodyear.com/sae.html

[Dick Golembiewski]

This used to be a right-of-passage for racers. The key is that the code faces the "right on the rear" and the "left on the front".

Right-rear; left-front for short.

- Dick

[Jay Fleming]

Why are the tires mounted that way? Are they biased to only turn left?

[Denny Trimble]

The construction is directional, and if you apply torque to it the wrong way too much, it will delaminate (you'll see a big lateral split across the tread). Don't ask how we know... http://fsae.com/groupee_common/emoticons/icon_smile.gif

On another note, I emailed one of the goodyear engineers a year ago about rain tire mounting directions, since the instructions above would place the front tire tread pattern "backwards".

He replied that the tread direction was more important with rain tires, so they should all be mounted serial-on-the-right in this case. Seems a little odd, though.

[Buckingham]

I've never seen a molded rain split. Probably why goodyear doesn't bother making "left hand" and "right hand" rains.

[jack]

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v318/phatcat0227/ShreddedTire.jpg