Directional tyres

[BeeBee]

Looking for advice and read almost all already on forum under ‘tyres’ and still unsure.
The story goes….
Last years (May 24) MOT indicated perforation and cracking on all 4 tyres ( t6 2019) and suggested this year would be a ‘Fail’. On that basis and after much deliberation and research purchased Goodyear Vector 4 ‘s .Decided to keep the original Bridgestone as the spare as still never used.
Suffered a sidewall, irreparable puncture on the offside rear Goodyear and VW Roadside Assistance ( who were very good) changed for my old spare.
As the spare is now also considered ‘aged’ decided probably time to purchase 2 new Goodyears. Called Kwikfit and ordered, saying one as replacement tyre and one as spare.
Kwikfit seemed to have difficulty with fitting and securing the new spare with Sparesafe, said something about length of bolt and their electric drill sizes ? Seemed strange to me.
Anyhow driving home ‘clunk , clunk’ .
obviously a problem !
Called them and they said they’d send someone out, they did and he resolved the issue not tightened enough !!
However whilst waiting , I did some googling as he had said on the phone “ you do realise these tyres are Directional, so can only be fitted OnE Side’….. eh !!!!
This I didn’t know and shouldn’t I have been told prior to saying it could be ‘A Spare’
Upshot is, looks like if you have ‘All Weather’ tyres and carry an ‘All Weather’ spare you have a 50/50 chance of it being the correct side. However if you carry an ‘Asymmetric’ tyre it can go on any side ‘But’ you are still on an out of kilter situation.
He advised it’s the same issue, just use the ‘All Weather’ on whatever side but follow the < 50 mph and get to the nearest garage.
Basically, my head is nipping, I thought I’ld done all the research, maybe my mistake was to buy ‘All Weathers’ in the first place.
Sorry for the diatribe but I’m still unsure, should I actually go back and get it swapped ( they said they would) for an ‘Assymetric’ spare or leave it as is ?
Is there a legal issue here too in terms of insurance ?
Maybe there isn’t a definitive answer !

 

[Herman]

If Kwikfit were being responsible, they would have refused to fit a directional tyre on the spare. Make them exchange it for the cheapest non- directional tyre that they stock and refund the difference.

 

[WelshGas]

Looking for advice and read almost all already on forum under ‘tyres’ and still unsure.
The story goes….
Last years (May 24) MOT indicated perforation and cracking on all 4 tyres ( t6 2019) and suggested this year would be a ‘Fail’. On that basis and after much deliberation and research purchased Goodyear Vector 4 ‘s .Decided to keep the original Bridgestone as the spare as still never used.
Suffered a sidewall, irreparable puncture on the offside rear Goodyear and VW Roadside Assistance ( who were very good) changed for my old spare.
As the spare is now also considered ‘aged’ decided probably time to purchase 2 new Goodyears. Called Kwikfit and ordered, saying one as replacement tyre and one as spare.
Kwikfit seemed to have difficulty with fitting and securing the new spare with Sparesafe, said something about length of bolt and their electric drill sizes ? Seemed strange to me.
Anyhow driving home ‘clunk , clunk’ .
obviously a problem !
Called them and they said they’d send someone out, they did and he resolved the issue not tightened enough !!
However whilst waiting , I did some googling as he had said on the phone “ you do realise these tyres are Directional, so can only be fitted OnE Side’….. eh !!!!
This I didn’t know and shouldn’t I have been told prior to saying it could be ‘A Spare’
Upshot is, looks like if you have ‘All Weather’ tyres and carry an ‘All Weather’ spare you have a 50/50 chance of it being the correct side. However if you carry an ‘Asymmetric’ tyre it can go on any side ‘But’ you are still on an out of kilter situation.
He advised it’s the same issue, just use the ‘All Weather’ on whatever side but follow the < 50 mph and get to the nearest garage.
Basically, my head is nipping, I thought I’ld done all the research, maybe my mistake was to buy ‘All Weathers’ in the first place.
Sorry for the diatribe but I’m still unsure, should I actually go back and get it swapped ( they said they would) for an ‘Assymetric’ spare or leave it as is ?
Is there a legal issue here too in terms of insurance ?
Maybe there isn’t a definitive answer !

Perfectly acceptable to use a Directional Spare on the WRONG side as long as you treat it as a " Get you out of trouble/Home spare ", so limited speed and limited distance.
You would have the same problem with a bi- directional spare, in fact more so. A tyre shop could refit the wrong unidirectional spare to be correct but cannot do the same with a bidirectional spare.

 

[Velma's Dad]

If necessary after a puncture I'd have no qualms about fitting a direction on the 'wrong side' until I had the reasonable opportunity to get it repaired or replaced.

It might perform slightly less well in the wet than the other three, so I would drive accordingly. Just the same as if I'd fitted a skinny temporary spare on a vehicle.

Having a 'non directional' spare isn't at all a bad idea, however it will still be a different tread pattern to the other three directionals.

 

[BeeBee]

Thanks for the replies, looks like I should leave ‘as is’.
My initial ‘googling’ threw up countless numbers of folk who had no idea of the implications of ‘Directional’ and ‘Asymmetric’ tyres until they needed to use the ‘spare’, appears it doesn’t often come up in conversation or in terms of information when purchasing tyres.

 

[WelshGas]

Thanks for the replies, looks like I should leave ‘as is’.
My initial ‘googling’ threw up countless numbers of folk who had no idea of the implications of ‘Directional’ and ‘Asymmetric’ tyres until they needed to use the ‘spare’, appears it doesn’t often come up in conversation or in terms of information when purchasing tyres.

Any spare tyre, unless it is exactly the same tread pattern and direction as the tyre it is replacing should be treated as a " Get you home/ out of trouble tyre so lower speed/distance " until it can be replaced.

 

[Flower Power]

There are excellent "all weather tires" which are asymmetric, means non-directional. For instance: Vredestein Quatrac Pro or newer Pro plus.(but not better). I had quadric pro briefly on the van prior to my current 17" General Grabber AT3 which also can be used on both sides of the van. Additionally, I rotate all 5 tires preventing another possible serious problem when, let us say, 4 tires are near the end of life and your spare might be 7 or 8 mm taller if never used before. That is NOT good for any AWD system. My two Subarus are especially sensitive.... even 3-4 mm difference could cause mechanical problems as wheels would rotate differently damaging gears. Maybe 4Motion is less sensitive because I do not hear much discussion about it or maybe the issue escapes attention of many but it should not.

 

[WelshGas]

There are excellent "all weather tires" which are asymmetric, means non-directional. For instance: Vredestein Quatrac Pro or newer Pro plus.(but not better). I had quadric pro briefly on the van prior to my current 17" General Grabber AT3 which also can be used on both sides of the van. Additionally, I rotate all 5 tires preventing another possible serious problem when, let us say, 4 tires are near the end of life and your spare might be 7 or 8 mm taller if never used before. That is NOT good for any AWD system. My two Subarus are especially sensitive.... even 3-4 mm difference could cause mechanical problems as wheels would rotate differently damaging gears. Maybe 4Motion is less sensitive because I do not hear much discussion about it or maybe the issue escapes attention of many but it should not.

I was told many years ago that the Transporter 4Motion would tolerate a 12mm difference in wheel/tyre circumference on same axle , so new tyre 8mm tread and worn tyre 2mm tread . I always had equal wear on my 4Motion F/R and L/R so never swapped tyres around and used to change when tread depth reached 3 mm.

 

[andyinluton]

Don't worry about it, use it as a spare if you need to, if I had one & needed to use it long term I would try and get a tyre fitter to turn it round

from the AA website:
Directional tyres

Directional tyres usually have a chevron or arrow pattern in the tread and are designed to work in only one direction of rotation.

Directional tyres are better at dispersing water that builds up in front of the tyre.
They may also reduce road noise and improve directional stability.
Directional tyres should rotate in the right direction, clearly marked on the sidewall of the tyre.

If a directional tyre is fitted the wrong way round, the tyre won't be dangerous, but you won't gain the benefits of its design.

 

[Resfeber]

I would far rather have a wrong way round correct tyre than a punctured one full of goo even if it could be inflated to get me to a convenient location.
Twice I have had punctures that the goo can wouldn’t have worked ( metal can shard through tread and sidewall cut on rock both would have stranded the van) but wrong way spare no issues or handling concerns (2WD) So much so that I paid the £500 for cradle/rim and tyre for my new T6.1 and kept the goo kit for the electric inflation pump.

 

[Aubisque]

The comedy thing is that VW (factory/dealer, whatever) fit them on a brand new vehicle and then it flags as an advisory on the first MOT.

But I don’t worry about it, will get you moving/home.

 

[WelshGas]

The comedy thing is that VW (factory/dealer, whatever) fit them on a brand new vehicle and then it flags as an advisory on the first MOT.

But I don’t worry about it, will get you moving/home.

That’s strange because according to U.K. MOT regulations spare wheels and tyres are not checked as part of the MOT check.


The UK government does not inspect spare tires during an MOT test. This is because spare tires are not required by law and are not considered a safety feature.

Explanation

• Spare tires are not checked because they are not physically part of the vehicle.
  
  
• It's not possible to check everything during an MOT, so spare tires are not included.
  
  
• Space-saver spare tires attached to the car as a regular road wheel will cause an immediate MOT failure.
  

Other MOT tire requirements

• Each wheel must have a legal and roadworthy tire.
  
  
• The tire tread depth must meet minimum requirements.
  
  
• The tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) must be working correctly.
  
  
• Tires of different types of structure, such as radial-ply and cross-ply, must not be mixed on the same axle.

 

[Aubisque]

Might be the inspection then, it comes up as an item needing resolving (conveniently including the cost of a tyre supplied by VW) despite being as handed over to the customer.

 

[WelshGas]

Might be the inspection then, it comes up as an item needing resolving (conveniently including the cost of a tyre supplied by VW) despite being as handed over to the customer.

That's the mad point of such an advisory. You cannot resolve it if you have unidirectional tyres fitted unless you carried 2 x unidirectional tyres as spares, one for the L and one for the R as you would end up with mismatched tyres on the same axle, not advised.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I think the inspector on that occasion must have had too much coffee because WG is quite correct - spare tyres are not a mandatory check for an MOT. Although, there is nothing "wrong" in the tester pointing out anything they feel like in the advisories section, it's up to them.

To me, pointing out that the spare is a directional is a bit stupid (unless the tyres on the roadwheels were non-directionals, in which case it might be useful for the owner to know).

 

[pluc99]

Don't worry about it, use it as a spare if you need to, if I had one & needed to use it long term I would try and get a tyre fitter to turn it round

from the AA website:
Directional tyres

Directional tyres usually have a chevron or arrow pattern in the tread and are designed to work in only one direction of rotation.

Directional tyres are better at dispersing water that builds up in front of the tyre.
They may also reduce road noise and improve directional stability.
Directional tyres should rotate in the right direction, clearly marked on the sidewall of the tyre.

If a directional tyre is fitted the wrong way round, the tyre won't be dangerous, but you won't gain the benefits of its design.

I don't get the "try" part. What would stand in the way of having it flipped on the rim?

 

[andyinluton]

I don't get the "try" part. What would stand in the way of having it flipped on the rim?

Didnt come out quite how I meant it. Was thinking more if long way from home - eg Spain, can I find someone to swap it.

 

[Velma's Dad]

I don't get the "try" part. What would stand in the way of having it flipped on the rim?

At risk of complicating things further...

Some tyres are BOTH directional AND asymmetric. Those can only ever be fitted on their designated side - left or right. The option of turning them round on the wheel to 'change direction' is not there.

I don't know if any tyres commonly used on Calis are directional+assymetric, but they certainly are on some cars so I mention it here as a general thing to be aware of.

 

[The Fockers]

That’s strange because according to U.K. MOT regulations spare wheels and tyres are not checked as part of the MOT check.


The UK government does not inspect spare tires during an MOT test. This is because spare tires are not required by law and are not considered a safety feature.

Explanation

• Spare tires are not checked because they are not physically part of the vehicle.
  
  
• It's not possible to check everything during an MOT, so spare tires are not included.
  
  
• Space-saver spare tires attached to the car as a regular road wheel will cause an immediate MOT failure.

Other MOT tire requirements

• Each wheel must have a legal and roadworthy tire.
  
  
• The tire tread depth must meet minimum requirements.
  
  
• The tire pressure monitoring system (TPMS) must be working correctly.
  
  
• Tires of different types of structure, such as radial-ply and cross-ply, must not be mixed on the same axle.

It would be handy if they spelled "tyre" correctly.