Rotation Direction?

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Friend got a nice set of slightly used Uniroyal Tiger Paws without rims from Craigslist. They were not crayoned left rear etc. It's possible at least one tire is spinning the opposite way. To look at the tread pattern suggests it makes no difference. In the old days tire belts would "set" and did not take well to spinning in the opposite direction.
Is this a problem?
 
You shouldnt worry about problems you cant resolve :) The belt set is real, but more due to camber. Directional tires would have a rotation arrow molded on the sidewall. I would install and drive and then assess how she drives. Then, make any corrections if required. You would usually get a "wheel bearing" type noise or pull if there is a problem, but I would give 1K miles to wear into place. I usually mount tires with the DOT stamp and S/N date code facing OUT. I dont think all shops follow this practice though.
 
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Originally Posted By: cjcride
.......In the old days tire belts would "set" and did not take well to spinning in the opposite direction........


Well ........ ah ......... not exactly.


In the old days, small separations would develop on one side of the wire filaments. Rotating the tires in the oppositie direction would result in small separations developing on the other side of the wire filaments as well = full separation. Hence the "rule" to keep tires rotating the same direction.

It's been about 30 years since this was an issue, but the "rule" is still around! (Amazing how that works! I wonder how many other "rules" we have that are no longer needed!)

There is an old wives tale that seems to fall into this catagory as well: That steel belts "shift" or "warp" or "take a set". While it is true that tires can develop flat spots and other permanent or semi-permanent distortions, it doesn't have anything to do with the steel belts, per se - and blaming a tire wear problem on a "shifted belt" is not only untrue, but obscures the real reason.
 
Even recently, I've had more issues with tires that I have rotated in an "X" pattern(mainly broken belts) as compared to tires that I have rotated F to R. Could be just my luck! The "X" rotation may be optimal for waring all 4 tires the most evenly and getting the absolute most miles out of all 4 tires before replacing them all at the same time but, I still prefer F to R as I am able to take my tires further to their expected life without issues. And I do realize that the "X" rotation pattern is really...

"Bring the fronts straight back to the rears and criss/cross the rears onto the fronts" or visa-versa depending on the drive wheels. Keep doing this every rotation and all 4 tires will be at each corner of the vehicle at least one time in their life, depending on the tires projected wareout warranty, allignment, tire balance etc.

Just my 2cents.
 
Those Uniroyal Tiger Paws are some long lasting tires...my dad use to get really long life out of those tires.
 
The guys at my local Discount Tire go one step farther. They suggest that if you're considering two tires, one directional, one non-directional, choose the non-directions so that they can be cross rotated. They claim that cross rotation forgives a lot of sins. Discount tire's cross rotation pattern is to X when they come to the front and go straight back.
 
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