quote:

Originally posted by OneWheelDrive:
A very long time ago, I went to Sears for new tires. The tires they had were whitewalls and I didn't want those so they installed them backwards.

Back in the 80s when I installed tires this was very common. Most tires we carried were white wall. Often the order said “mount bw”

The white walls go to the outside.

It depends if they are directional or not.

quote:

Originally posted by MikeGLI:

What happens when you drive on a tire installed backwards?

You get one speed forward, six speeds reverse.

Don't forget your staggered tires as well. This is when the tires in the front of the car are different than the tires in the back of the car.

I had tires that were Directional, Asymmetric, and Staggered. Could not rotate the tires in any manner.

quote:

Originally posted by clubleaf206:

quote:

Originally posted by Bama Tactical:
Some tires are directional. Meaning that the tread pattern is designed to run one direction.

I didn't think of that.

Yes, many tires a bi. And now, you know the rest of the story.

If your tires are like the center image, there is zero harm in mounting them "backwards." "Symmetrical" means they can go either direction.

It is true that tires have what is commonly called the "DOT number," a sequence of letters and numerals, the last four of which are a date code. (Example: 1123 would be the 11th week - or late March - of 2023.) The full DOT number is only on one side of the tire. While it would undeniably be easier to read this number if already facing out, they mostly just made extra work for themselves for little benefit.

The Bridgestone Blizzak tires on my Fiesta ST are directional and it's indicated by a large arrow on the sidewall that provides the direction of rotation.

BTW, this also means that when tires are rotated it must be Front to Back only because if you cross them side to side it will have all 4 tires rotating in the wrong direction. BTW, before tires were directional a crisscross rotation was "normal" because it maintained the display of the whitewall and countered the imbalance that can be created by a "bias" in the suspension that could cause uneven wear. Note this "bias" was most commonly due to a rear axle being installed a bit cocked on a leaf spring suspension. Since the 1980's cars and trucks are assembled to a much higher level of quality and the end result is that crisscross rotation is no longer needed. BTW, those driving a classic made before the 1980's should consider having a 4 wheel alignment done on their car because it's very easy to correct a cocked rear axle on a leaf spring setup.