Last year I bought a set of winter rims and tires from a fellow rennlister and was very happy to use the car during the cold months.

I am putting my summer tires back on this weekend and forgot to mark which tire was Left and which tire was RIGHT.

Front and Backs do not need to be marked due to the size difference.

Does it make a difference which side the wheels go back on?

If yes, any way to tell which goes where?

 

It shouldn't matter. It won't hurt anything. If you feel a new vibration, which would just be mild, try switching the fronts. It's possible the wheel alignment settings on left-right are slightly different, and each tire has worn into this, but if it is bad enough, you might get a vibration.

I can't think of a way you would know unless you marked them.

I'd mount them and drive it. If I got a little vibration or strange feel, I'd switch the fronts.

Mount them and go!

 

Check the side walls. Some tire models are directional and will have an arrow pointing towards the direction of rotation. MPSS are not and can be mounted on either side.

 

What brand tires do you have? Some matter, some don't. So it depends. Need more info.

 

Passenger side is often scuffed.
All my tires are directional.
For next year, a white grease pencil/chalk.
Or reusable rotatable sticker.
I put LF/RF/RR/LR on all my take off.
I also add the word next or year.
ie. LF next 16 -

 

Directional tires generally have arrows on the sidewall to indicate the proper direction of rotation. This will tell you which side of the car is correct for mounting the tire. Asymmetric tires will typically have the word "outside" printed on the sidewall. These can be mounted on either side of the car, as this marking is tended to ensure that the tire is mounted correctly on the wheel.

 

rear tires are quite common to be directional (you will see the arrow), while fronts are asymmetrical and can be used on either side (left or right).

now with that said, i always have my tires mounted so that the side that has (what i call) proper dot code (dot code ending in 4 numbers ONLY) is the side that always faces the OUTSIDE of the car (not sure why on the other side of the tire the dot code ends in alphanumeric characters).

 

My winter tire set for my 2010 C4S Cab are 19" Pirelli winter Sotozero's, which are not directional (but staggered), so all I have to remember is to put the big a** tires on the back and I'm good to go

However, I ran 18" symmetric Bridgestone Blizzak's as my winter set on my 2004 BMW 645CiC which WERE directional, so I always marked each tire on the tread with a silver Sharpee when I stored them in the bags at the end of the season to ensure that I put them back on again in the right place following the indicated direction. It wasn't rocket science, but it worked for me

 

Tire manufacturers do say that you should not switch sides for non directional tires once you have been driving them. Something about it not being good for the belts to reverse direction. That being said, I used to swap my tires out every winter and summer and I never paid any attention and I am sure I swapped them. To no ill effect. I wouldn't worry about it.

 

A few years ago when I was tracking a 996 with Hankook R-S3's, I called their support line to see about switching sides to help even tire wear. They said no problem, as long as it was dry. The directional tread was for water dispersion. When flipped, I felt no difference in handling or any other strange dynamic.

YMMV