directional wheels?

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My alloys wheels that are aftermarket and came with the truck would look different depending on which side you placed them on. My Saturn 15"s were like that too. Think of the 'salad shooter' Camaro wheels from the 4th gen.

Do you think it is purely aesthetic or is there some aerodynamic disadvantage of having the same wheel on each side but is facing different?
 
I really didn't care until I took a good look on the wheels on the Tundra. It seems to be a one time pattern design but was very common in early 2000's Toyota trucks.

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Originally Posted By: Ihatetochangeoil
I think your question is a good one for the manufacturer.

I have Goodyear Triple Treads which are directional tires. Rotate them only front to back.

https://www.goodyear.com/en-US/tires/assurance-tripletred-all-season

Absolutely amazing traction! These tires are better on wet roads than some other tires on dry pavement.


I initially thought too he was talking about tires, but he is talking about wheels.
 
I used to have a '96 Ford Probe GT that had directional wheels, though - left and right patterns. It's not going to make any significant difference.

ford-probe-wheels-3732-b.jpg

ford-probe-wheels-3733-b.jpg



This person has a right side pattern wheel on the rear...
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If they're designed to pull air out from behind the wheel I'm all for them, and when wheels are asymmetrical they need to handed for aesthetics, otherwise one side goes forward and the other side goes backward which makes the car look as though it has mismatched wheels. Not as blatant as the example above, though
 
Originally Posted By: mjoekingz28

Do you think it is purely aesthetic or is there some aerodynamic disadvantage of having the same wheel on each side but is facing different?


I used to find this irritating. It was against my sense of symmetry.

I guess it could be functional for cooling the rotors, blowing air on one site, but still cooling the other side by sucking air past the rotors. It would be funny if it actually had a positive function.
 
Directional wheel designs should have a left and right PN. Mine do.

Most don't because it is cheaper to just make and stock one wheel and, let's be honest, most people wouldn't have a clue.
 
The Ford Taurus SHO came with directional wheels around 1990. They were made in Italy. They discontinued the directional ones for the same pattern but for all sides in the mid 90's until the end in 1995. They were made in Canada.
 
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