Just got some RE-11 tires. They don't appear to be directional but apparently, there is an outer side and an inner side for each tire. I guess we can rotate these tires (without un-mounting) side to side on our cars?

Never seen tires like this. The tread patterns are not symmetrical if I put 2 tires next to each other, with the outer sides pointing out (as if they are on the car). One might think the car would pull to one side, or that the car would behave differently when turning left compared to turning right. Probably just the way it is, I don't think they gave me just right side tires or just left side tires.

 

RE-11s are not directional. They are, however, awesome. Good choice.

 

Thanks, I hear these are great.

Back to the issue of rotating the tires side to side... I guess my question is not can we do it, but should we? I'm assuming that as the tires are worn in traveling in a certain direction, they do so in a way to accommodate handling in that direction. Would rotating the tires to the other side of the car (and as a result, would spin in the other direction) be worse and damaging for these tires since the rubber compounds are being stressed in a direction they aren't accustomed to?

 

I currently have the RE-11 installed on my car. It's been about a year since I bought them. I've never had any issues of wearing unevenly from side to side, so rotation(side to side) isn't needed. But what I would suggest is on a weekly base check the tire pressure. It'll help alot on the tread life.

I would suggest using Psiclops Extreme to simplify the tire pressure from side to side if your worried.

The reverse treading will not effect the handling at all.(I've called and asked Bridgestone if there was a left and right side.)

 

It really depends on how unevenly they are wearing. If they aren't wearing unevenly, then there is obviously no reason to rotate them in the first place. However if a large amount of unevenness develops then you rotate them, handling is going to be compromised for quite some time while the tire "breaks in" to the new rotation and wear pattern. This is really a double whammy because in addition to compromised handling, you're also going to induce accelerated wear on the tire. By far the best thing to do is to avoid uneven wear (proper alignment) and not to rotate the tires.

 

Correct - they are considered asymmetrical tires (inside/outside, but no specific rotating direction). Generally you won't find an asymmetric and directional tire - for a stock S, you'd have to have 4 different tires!

As far as rotating them side to side, I would (and have) done it - both with Falken RT-615ks and Kumho XS. Generally, if you have a non-staggered set up, I would rotate the fronts to the opposite side rears (cross them), and move the rears to the front of their respective side.

The though is that as a tire goes down the road, you get a little tread squirm. Over time, this squirm will wear the tires down causing the front of the tread block to wear down more than the rear of the tread block. This is known as heel-toe wear. You can identify it by running your hand along the tread - if it is smooth in the rolling direction, but you can feel a tread block height difference in the opposite direction. This type of wear usually creates extra noise.

I have to disagree with the above comment about non rotating the tires at all. If anything, not rotating them will accelerate their wear, while rotating them should make them last longer (for the above reason of heel-toe wear) regardless of alignment.