How can it be?

[drewf]

Pirelli have used a certain Italian automotive design house to create tread designs. Obviously they look fab when considered in isolation

I still prefer directional tyres though, OCD or not.

 

[davy83]

The car you have taken the picture of has the right hand rear on the wrong way round. These look like good year eagles and the lines should be symmetrical across the car. I have these on my TVR for years and always symmetrical. Now i could be wrong but i had my tyres fitted by a tyre fitting place and that's the way they were fitted. I think your picture is the problem. I agree the tread blocks are often heavier on the outside but the wavy patterns should be symmetrical and forward facing.

When I bought the 4200 last year, the seller explained that the reason for sale was that it had been languishing in his garage as circumstances dictated that he hardly had time to use it but he had put it through an MOT prior to offering it for sale. In doing this, he must have been informed that it would need a couple of tyres. When I initially viewed the car I did notice that it was shod with 2 obviously brand new but third world ditchfinders on the front, displaying a brand previously unknown to me. Fair enough I thought, the guy is selling the car and has spent the minimum amount to get it in a sale worthy condition. I can understand this as I have previously done the same.

Basking in the warm glow of new ownership (you all know the feeling) whilst blatting around on balmy summer evenings last year, none of this mattered. However, come October I found that even a slightly damp or greasy road surface would cause the most epic instances of understeer I have ever encountered. This is coming from someone who owned one of the infamous, tragically understeering Fiesta XR2s in 1982.

Anyhow, after getting a decent deal I got myself a pair of P Zeros for the front and everything was right in the world.......until I washed the car. The new tyres have transformed the turn in no end and the car certainly feels more pointy and planted at the front but my OCD has kicked in and won't go away.

I understand assymetrical and I understand directional but these things just look wrong. Being asymmetrical, they have a marking for 'outside' but no directional arrow and that is apparently how it is meant to be.

View attachment 20872

The wavy block pattern on the right of the tyre goes from front to back on one side and from back to front on the other and according to Pirelli, this is correct, however illogical this may seem to me.

This situation has sadly prompted me to develop an involuntary compulsion to inspect the tread patterns of parked cars whenever I leave the house, much to the dismay and embarrassment of my wife. Today things got worse as I chose to watch a video on this very forum. (screenshot below). It seems I am not alone. How can it be that millions are spent on developing the supposedly optimum tread pattern, only to reverse it on the opposing axle. It doesn't make sense to me and furthermore it looks wrong.

Anybody?

 

[AG2728]

The car you have taken the picture of has the right hand rear on the wrong way round. These look like good year eagles and the lines should be symmetrical across the car. I have these on my TVR for years and always symmetrical. Now i could be wrong but i had my tyres fitted by a tyre fitting place and that's the way they were fitted. I think your picture is the problem. I agree the tread blocks are often heavier on the outside but the wavy patterns should be symmetrical and forward facing.

Wavy patterns not symmetrical and one faces backwards.

N/S and O/S taken from the front of the car.

Brand new Pirelli tyres and fitted correctly. What's the theory now?