All,
I had a blowout the other day (nasty potholes) and have ordered a replacement tire from Dunlop. Since the tire's side wall collapsed I thought it was a good time to check the other tires just in case. On further inspection every tire has an arrow and the words rotation on it. A few questions:

1) I assume this is the direction the tire is supposed to rotate on the car?

2) If so, the two back tires are correct but the two front tires (at least the on that is still on) have the arrow pointing the wrong way?

3) What will this do to the tire assumeing its wrong?

4) The car came like this, so what should I do?


I guess if #1 is wrong then the rest are invalid. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

Sounds like your common sense has got the right idea - I'd get that car back to the dealer ASAP. Let them explain it to you, if they can.

I think your tires are on wrong - and if you bitch and moan enough, you should be able to get that blown Dunlop paid for by Mazda.

I can't see any other explanation for the arrows not all pointing in the direction of rotation. I'm no tire expert, but I do know that if your tires are supposed to rotate in only one direction (which most are) it just ain't right to do it the other way.

This is why you can't swap sides when rotating your tires for wear.

Thanks for the warning, too. I'll be checking my Dunlops in the morning.

Go get 'em.

 

Thanks to all, more news..

I went to where they are holding the tire(flat one) for the replacement to look to see what how the tread pattern was before I took it off. It is correct!!! That means only the left front tire is on wrong!

Since they are going to have to put a new tire on anyway I told them to mount it for the left front, and I will swap the other one to the right front so it will work correctly.

Wierd thing is how only one tire got this way and not 2?! Anyway I will switch them tonight and put the spare on the left.


BTW, anyone know how to get a SP9000 any quicker, it is going to take about 4 days for the local dunlop dealer to get it shipped from the main wharehouse.

 

dude, those tyres are uni-directional. meaning that, the tyres can only go in one direction; the direction the arrow points to. also uni-directional tyres cant be rotated like other tyres. although the front right can be swapped with the right rear as well as the left front with the left rear.

if what you say is true then, take it back tot he dealer on the spare and bring your old tyre w/ you. they, or Mazda should replace the blown one since no one really knows if the incorrect mounting might have contributed to the tyres failure. just mention the whole firestone thing- j/k

the problem is that when a uni-directional tyre is mounted wrong various things can occur, such as: bad handling; tyre noise; and very accelerated wear. bottomline get it fixed.

and thanks for bringing this to everyones attention. im gonna go and check right now!
c. jefferson

 

You guys are so FOS.

The direction arrows on the tire are there to tell you which direction they work best in the rain. Note that the grooves go in one direction.

What would happen if you ran them the wrong way??? They wouldn't work as well in standing water....That's it. Very little, if any, difference in dry grip. You won't destroy the tire. Nothing bad will happen.

Back in the first days of radial tires, it was worried that the radial plies would take a set in one direction after having been run in that direction for more than a few miles. And if you turned the tires around and ran them the other way, the tires would try to take a set the other way and tear themselves apart internally. This never happened.

 

After reading this thread, I checked out my 3 day old MP5's Dunlop tires..... I found that the right side had the "arrow" pointing towards the front, while the left side was "backwards". I promtly called my dealer, who said "come on down". The tech there stated that the tire were "muli-directional" or something like that. We then looked at every Dunlop shod MP5 on the lot, and low and behold EVERY MP5 was just like mine!

I left the dealer with my doubts, now why would you have one side with the treads going in one direction and have the other side going in the opposite direction?

Tommorow I'm, going to visit a local Dunlop dealer, here in Silicon Valley....... something is Fishy in Denmark!


Later, speedbump

 

The original post was speaking about the Dunlop 9000s - the author of the post has an MP3, not a P5.

I do believe that the 9000s are not multi-directional, and have a designated rotation.

And "Davard" - the tires should be mounted in the intended direction, no excuses. You say they won't work as well in the rain, but dry grip will not be affected? Even if that IS true, who cares?? If you pay $18 grand for a brand new car, everything - especially the tires - should be right. If this guy's tire was mounted wrong, it absolutely could have contributed to the blowout. And even if it didn't, it should have been on correctly, end of story.

 

I never said that they shouldn't be mounted in the correct direction, only that all of the hysteria about blowing tires because they were mounted backwards was COMPLETELY unfounded.

The tires were not mounted wrong in a way that would contribute to a blowout. They were (more than likely) mounted correctly, just running the wrong direction.

The only safety related problem is the decreased wet grip (and standing water at that).

More than likely, the tire failed as the result of being underinflated. Underinflation is the cause of at least 70% of tire failures (including just about every Explorer tire). Damage due to impacts takes care of most of the rest.

With a low-profile tire, especially one with a sidewall as short as a 205/45, it is hard to tell visually if the tire is low on air pressure. And unless you drive in a spirited manner, and have a sensitive butt-o-meter, most drivers can't tell the difference between a tire that is fully inflated and one that is flat. Rear tires are especially hard for people to identify, and are often the most likely to get a flat (the front tires kick up nails and the rear tires pick them up).

 

Thanks for the info.... I'm now on the right page.

Answer this one: Like I explained in the above post, the tread pattern on the RIGHT side is facing "forword", while the tread pattern on the LEFT side is facing "backwards"?

I checked EVERY Dunlop shod MP5 on the lot and they are all the same as mine!......It doesnt make sense

Comments: