REBor8

I am thinking about picking up a set of "used" PS2's and would like to know if there is a way to determine which side of the car they were used on. Is it critical with PS2's?

utkinpol

they are not directional, they only have indication of what side is an outer one. just check how much thread is left.

Nugget

Even on non-directional tires you may experience a bit of a shimmy for a few dozen miles if you don't luck into the correct mounting corners. I swap my street wheels for track wheels when I do track events, and if I'm not careful to put my street tires back on the same corners they came off I get a wobble that lasts a day or two until the tread wears down a bit. Not crucial at all, just a heads-up in case you experience this.

I'm sure it depends on the tires, and might not be an issue with PS2s, but *shrug*. The more you know...

Edgy01

Radial tires of today prefer to be mounted in such a way that they rotate in the same direction for life. When you first mount and drive on them their cords are 'set' for that orientation. If you rotate them but reverse their rotation direction, the cords will attempt to migrate to a new orientation--not the best thing. I mark the rear side of rims with which corner they are on--LF, LR, RF, RR... so that I don't put them on correctly.

Minok

I've got a yellow construction crayon from a home improvement store that I write a big D or P on the tire with (could use L and R also) when I swap my tires out at the seasonal change after washing them and the wheel, so I always end up putting them on the same corner.

tejoe

They sure as hell ARE directional; driver's side is always driver's side.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires....ilot+Sport+PS2

Why would you want 'used'?

Tsilnner

Make sure that the tires are less than four or five years old-check/ ask for the DOT code:

"Since 2000, the week and year the tire was produced has been provided by the last four digits of the Tire Identification Number with the 2 digits being used to identify the week immediately preceding the 2 digits used to identify the year". [tire blog]

Nugget

They are not directional. There's an "inside" and an "outside" but there's no "left" and "right."

REBor8

Why? New 305/30 19's in N1 are no longer available. My fronts (N1's) have a lot of life left. A used pair of rears is available with 80% tread remaining with no patches/repairs and the price is reasonable. With the rate that these cars go through tires, I was just looking to judiciously use up what I have before replacing all four (again).

tejoe

Look at the tread! If installed on the correct side it channels water back and out; if you put it it on the other side it pushess it forward. ( Get a penny out of your pocket - Abe's nose is pointed forward on the passenger side, you can't get it pointed forward on the driver's side.)

Nugget

Q: When you buy a single front do you have to tell them if it's going to be a left side or a right side?
A: No. They're both the same tire.

When mounting on the rim it's important to get the inside and outside right (asymmetrical), but it's the same physical tire and tread that goes on both sides (non-directional).

The tire does not indicate a direction of rotation on the face.

Minok

Its an asymmetrical design, but there is only ONE type of tire made with a side stamped as OUTSIDE. If you follow that indication, the direction of the tread features will be reversed from one side of the car to the other. If they were directional, the the tires would come with an OUTSIDE-Left and OUTSIDE-Right indication, and you would have to buy a specific tire for a specific corner of the car. That isn't the case. The only directionality relates to the inside-vs-outside edge, due to the way the rubber compound varies over the surface of the tread.