What Happens if You Mount A Tire Backwards?

[@tyrereviews]

A huge thank you to Tires Easy for supporting this test, if you're looking to buy new tires go hit up their deals page for some of the best prices available! www.tires-easy.com/deals and use TYREREVIEWS for an extra 5% off (which can be stacked with other rebates, but not coupons)

[@ced4sky]

Please do a video on tire pressure. I specifically would like to know about tire pressure behavior in cold state to driving around the block, to highway driving and maybe on the track. Thank you.

[@Jeo-What]

@@ced4sky Especially, in most owner's manual stating adding additional 2~4 psi when temperature drop below 7C/45F with winter tire. It would be nice to see there is a real differences in wintery conditions.

[@AllenMathew-i8p]

In regards to aquaplaning, if I read there's gonna be rain on weather app, I just pump up my tyres from 32 PSI to ~52 PSI average 48 sweet spot for me)... Depending on load You should try that... Absolutely zero aquaplaning even at higher speeds with a super budget tyre than the best this tyre could dream of offering .... Because the aquaplaning is directly proportional to the square root of the PSI ... May be you can try that next ... (Useful for highways driving) ... Plus you get 15-20% better milage, combined with 15-20% better acceleration if your car engine is weak and slightly worse( less than 10% ) braking but braking is more linear if it wasn't to begin with and the cornering response feels like a performance tyre... If you aren't someone who always drives at the limits, it's a great hack to have almost no hydroplaning Not sure exact numbers that's for you to verify

[@mickk989]

Can you try the rainsport3 in terms of similar considerations? To find out if the are driving "backwards" on the right side od car?

[@ardipopesco7907]

Good job but I feel that an opportunity was lost to test on a front-wheel-drive car with the front tires mounted "normal" and the rear tires mounted "backwards" - there is a small chance that in fact that could be an optimal setup for that type of car.

[@EngineeringExplained]

"I just don't think anyone else in the world cares" We care Jonathan, we care! Super interesting - I kinda like the idea for snow track driving (an everyday encounter, right?!) with a RWD vehicle, the rears are mounted properly and the fronts are mounted backwards, and you have a better snow rally goer! Of course, worse in aquaplaning, so dumb to do, but it'd be fun to see them raced this way vs the opposite.

[@ricequackers]

Hello there, uber tyre nerd! 😁

[@alexugur]

Motorcycle tyres with chevron styled tread patterns are actually set up in this way, with their rotation arrows on the side wall marked appropriately. Front for full braking efficiency, which includes water displacement, and the rear the other way round for traction. The way I remember the way it functions is to imagine the point of the V set to dig in like an arrow. Set the other way, the V would act as a scoop for mud and debris which will fill to the point where the tread is clogged. Think tractor tyres.

[@tyrereviews]

Sounds like we need another test!

[@lappihirni3835]

@@tyrereviews Yes, I think this could be a gamechanger! And perhaps you can tell me wether it is better in snow or ice with less airpressure like we learned in the old days?

[@tire_reviews]

@@lappihirni3835 air pressure video coming soon :)

[@dbeckMSP]

This is so pertinent to me. My roommates just got their cross climates rotated at a dealership and they put them ALL on backwards

[@tyrereviews]

omg. What dealership would do that?!

[@JMNTN]

reason enough to never go there again, they didn't care or they didn't know, either way it's unacceptable, it's not 1 mistake, it are 4 mistakes back to back.

[@shellderp]

braking is gonna be great

[@v12-s65]

this is insane. You can't be a mechanic and not even think 1% about the most basic job

[@jonshelness2807]

I can definitely see this happening

[@ardoin_337]

I laugh every time someone posts online if "inside" is a good tire brand. Or if they can use them while outside.

[@ZylonFPV]

I prefer to use “Outside” branded tyres but when parking in my garage I make sure to get my tyre guy to flip them round to “inside”.

[@gulamangulay]

@@ZylonFPV I like the way you think

[@tyrereviews]

😅

[@phatgringo2.0]

Tire Rack did this years ago with similar results. I never buy directional anymore because of rotating issues and if I get a flat when the tires are old, I can just buy a cheap tire until they're ready to die.

[@charlesb4267]

@@phatgringo2.0 That is a very valid comment and I try to avoid the directional pattern when I can, the problem is that more and more winter tires are directional and that goes for even some of the LT 10 ply winter light truck tires as well. Some of the all terrain tires due to their more aggressive pattern tend to benefit from a reversed rotation ( rear tires moved straight forward while the front tires are crossed when moved to the rear position ) but most all terrain tires are uni directional so that doesn't pose a problem. The other tire type that tends to be directional is the high performance tire designed for better dry road grip. Years back this directional issue wasn't a theme, life was easier !.

[@elektro3000]

So what you're telling me is...if I'm doing a snowy track day in a RWD vehicle, mount the front directional tires backwards, and the rears correctly. That way I get the best braking on the front tires which do most of the braking, and the best acceleration from the rear tires which do all the accelerating. 😂

[@freebirdchampion]

And my wife thought taking the 911 to the ski hill on summer tires was a bad idea...Ha! Swap the fronts and the car is basically Group B.

[@nirfz]

Had the same thinking!

[@Iv987654321]

You will get an aquaplaning somewhere.

[@grigorirasputin996]

Alot of motorcycle performance street tires use this principal.

[@carlob.633]

That's what you would do on a downhill bike in some conditions. His comments at the very beginning of the video really resonated with my experience on a bike.

[@axelfiraxa]

Fun fact about motorcycle tyres. The forward tyres have the tread pattern mounted "backwards" on the front tyre. This is due to it being optimized for breaking in the wet

[@tyrereviews]

That's so cool

[@dimitriskamitsos9594]

Not only for breaking ,evacuating water as much to give better grip to the rear is also primordial

[@axelfiraxa]

@dimitriskamitsos9594 indeed it is meant for water evacuation when braking.

[@MrHugemoth]

Works better on a motorcycle because they're not front wheel drive.

[@SlimTony]

You know, I was wondering about that after the shop mounted my front tire seemingly backwards

[@miguelbaeza65]

Great information. I couldn't sleep all this time thinking about this problem. I can finally go to sleep peacefully

[@tyrereviews]

Finally a good nights sleep. I hope you dream about sideways mounted tires.

[@ConfusedGeriatric]

@@tyrereviewslmao 😂

[@joeculver6227]

You’re a jerk. Maybe we could be friends?

[@bertjesklotepino]

@@tyrereviews YAWN, getting tired from all this talk about tires. Personally i never care about how i mount em. I just use snow chains all year long. 40 degrees Celsius? I have never had any wheel spin what so ever.

[@ThePortadump]

From what I was always explained is the directional tread expels snow and water outwards, when mounted backwards it directs everything underneath the tire and diminishes traction. And now this data backs it up! Hurrah!

[@ppp3435]

A few years ago, I have written comment under one of your vids, asking if you have ever, or would test it, because I see so many examples of this mistake on the streets. A lot of time passed, but here it is. So credits to me 😂 Thank you for the vid.

[@MichaelWeilmeier]

On a motorcycle where the front tire handles critical straight-line braking, the front tire is backwards due to its superior wet-braking performance, so "backwards" has a real-world application depending on the characteristics of the vehicle. It would be interesting for a future test to switch the front tires only for both front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicle tests.

[@InegoMinblan]

that would be interesting. What for motorcycles - is that front wheel is too narrow for aquaplaning, even on high speeds and even if the graves for water is directional inside the tyre.

[@leemanbro9978]

@@InegoMinblan I noticed that on my motorcycle. It’s a Suzuki 750, not a small bike. The tires are Michelin Road 5 tires (120 front, 150 rear), where the front pattern is directionally reversed

[@InegoMinblan]

@@leemanbro9978 Because motorcycle for turning uses not contact point under tyre, but sidewall contact point and graves in that direction makes their job better. You can watch the video with subtitles why on motocycles front wheel is reversed kzbin.info/www/bejne/aIG2fKR6Zb-nZqM

[@leemanbro9978]

@ Thanks, great recommendation. He explains this well and the generated English subtitles aren’t half bad

[@Surestick88]

The reason a motorcycle front tire looks backwards is how the tread pattern interacts with the road when it's leaned over in a turn.

[@clfield2]

How about trying them mounted differently on opposite axles, front facing forward and back facing backwards and vice versa. You may get the perfect snow handling balance 😂

[@Jeo-What]

Sounds like a perfect Mario's Brothers spinning car!

[@darrylmarko3221]

Was thinking that mounting the fronts backwards and the rears correct on an AWD car could be very interesting for snow.

[@PrinceVeganin]

@@darrylmarko3221I was thinking the same thing.

[@Jeo-What]

@@darrylmarko3221 try it!

[@ILoveTinfoilHats]

Left sides forward right side backwards.

[@ZylonFPV]

5% better braking when the tyre is backwards? Nice. So what you’re saying is, if you need to stop in the snow, open the door while driving and hold onto the car, pop your skis on, remove all the wheels, flip the tires round, get back in, brake hard and enjoy the shorter stopping distance!

[@tyrereviews]

That's ridiculous. You simply need to pull the handbrake (e-brake), do a perfect 180 and then you'll have better braking. Flawless win every time.

[@stasisthebest]

Your site is responsible for me now being an avid track enthusiast. It all started with Yokohama AD08R advised on your site almost 10 years ago. Love you guys and the work you do, you literally changed my life, hope you enjoy your life.

[@ArconadaP]

Thank you for the video! It’s reassuring to know that having a directional tire as a spare will still work if I ever need to mount it backwards temporarily.

[@tyrereviews]

The way I see it is that a direction spare backwards is always way better than a space saver.

[@ssjgninja9543]

This kind of is a nice demonstration of why motorcycles use a reversed tire on the front for better braking. I wonder how a rear wheel drive car would drive with a reversed front and forward back tires.

[@tyrereviews]

I never thought of that! I think fortnine have a video covering motorbike tyres too I've been meaning to watch

[@t7ank]

This test is missing something, but then there would be possibility of maniacs trying it for real on the road. Front should be mounted in reverse and rear should be mounted normally (forward). Similarly as they use different tyres in WRC on partially snow stages, each diagonal has different tyre type. This test would be perfect having front and rear tyres rotated on oppositte ways. Anyway great video again!

[@gulamangulay]

I see so many people with reversed tires mounted on their cars for winter, it is ridiculous. It happened to me when winter came and I was just a teenager with his first car and I was wondering why I was slipping and sliding in the rain. I saw that the garage mounted my tires backwards at the front axle. I had to swap them myself. Seriously though, how come so many people still make this mistake in my province of Quebec, Canada where winter is half the year?!

[@tyrereviews]

I spend a lot of my time looking at tires (shock) and I don't recall seeing that many backwards. Perhaps you had a local tire dealer that didn't understand how directional tires work

[@SimOvScot]

Marvellous...absolutely nothing wrong with a bit of experimentation! I recall back in the 1980's (yes, I can think that far back!), we discovered that putting a rear Pirelli Phantom tyre 'backwards' on the front wheel of a 1100 Suzuki Katana greatly improved the handling, and front tyre adhesion on braking was also improved. NOTE: This is not a recommendation for others to try this! Love the channel...keep up the good work😎

[@darryljohnston1290]

You take me back to great memories with a Kawasaki Z1, a set of Pirelli Phantoms and a set of Avon Venoms on a track day at the original Kyalami circuit in South Africa. We ran the combinations and one of the mixed pairs was fastest - for the love of me can't remember which.

[@FinlayRC]

Thank you for all your reviews, after watching your recent all-season tyre test, I decided to fit on a full set of new SF3s for my Fiat Tipo and with the recent cold blast in the UK, it didn't even flinch, I love them, they're amazing tyres! Drive safe! 🇬🇧🎉

[@ricequackers]

I got my Sottozero 3 tyres last year, I didn't realise they were directional and only noticed my mistake a week later when I looked more closely at the rotation arrow and then at the tread. Decided to not bother flipping them around as it was too much effort, and it didn't make too much of a difference as southern England had an especially mild winter. This winter, I've made sure to put them on the right way round!

[@davehughes6501]

I bet it works great reversing up a hill 😂

[@jfv65]

Yes, likely. But for a 2nd reason as well. If your car has front wheel drive and front engine lay-out (= 85ish% of all modern cars) it will actually go better uphill in reverse. In that case you would have the weight of the engine over the driven wheels and you would benefit from the dynamic weight transfer. For the same reasons a Porsche 911 or an old VW Beetle has good traction going uphill.

[@pnw_erik]

I literally have a plaque at my desk that reads "Tire Super Nerd" i definitely care! It's great to see that tire development and design actually has purpose and that they're not just all crazy tread patterns for no reason. Love this kind of content! 🙌😎🤝

[@basbass429]

Directional is mostly very important in heavy rain, where it makes the difference between life and death. The reversed pattern can provide even more grip when braking, but not when you started hydroplaning due to reversed mounting -> death is waiting for you.

[@carlosroland6442]

Thanks! I asked you about this several months ago and you did it. You're now officially my favorite KZbinr:)

[@marcmigneault8364]

Now about running the rear tires backwards on a FWD car? Keep up the good work!

[@tyrereviews]

The issue would be in deep water! You don't want your rear end floating first

[@husabergpower4700]

@@tyrereviews That shouldn't happen. The front tires displace the water.

[@ILoveTinfoilHats]

​@@husabergpower4700 God forbid you want to turn or are driving under 100mph

[@tyrereviews]

@@husabergpower4700 good point well made

[@apatrenfo]

I was watching a streamer on Twitch who was switching out his tires for the winter, he lived in like Alaska, or someplace with heavy snow. He remembered that tires need to be rotated, so he cross rotated them, but the problem is they were directional. He the tires and ended up reversing all the directional snow tires. He wouldn't believe me that the treads were backwards. I sure hope he survived that winter.

[@Smock0101]

Thanks for the video. Not normal but neat to see the results for many that wonder what would happen. So having someone like you and your sponsors take the time to run the experiments and take good measured data to provide to the masses is awesome.

[@dirkterhaar4961]

YES! Thank you so much for doing this video. I requested it a couple of years ago and you said you'd so it. Good man! It would have been interesting to see what a mix of forwards and backwards would do to stability. Where I live in Germany most people change their tyres twice a year so it is not uncommon to see tyres mounted in the wrong direction as people innocently think they are doing a good job of rotating their tyres.

[@pavek]

Off course we're tyre nerds! 😄 Very interesting, thanks a lot Jonathan for the test.

[@dominicfischio851]

great video! i've often wondered how big of a difference it would make mounting them backwards, so thanks for making this crazy idea a reality!!

[@graemewilson9845]

Love this channel and it's website. Think ahead. Our wonderful and well loved insurance companies don't need much encouragement not to pay out in the event of a claim.

[@albertocomazzi6196]

Back in the early ‘90s, the Michelin XM+S100 had a traction directions: on my father Mercedes-Benz 190E the front tyres were directed backwards and the back tyres were directed toward the front. I guess it really made sense watching this video!

[@julesmarner8654]

With 50+ years living in Vermont, Winter with deep snow, slush and Icy corn meal, these tires were only second to a set of studded Hawkletltes's (haha) , mounting reverse for summer results in much less tire noise, But lacks control in heavy rain/puddles of 12- 20 mm or more, the forward mounted tires did the best, with aggressive acceleration they quickly corrected the car to a straight forward path, similar to a FWD steering out of a broadside skid in the winter.

[@peterknight7880]

I've just searched high-and-low to find a non-directional all-season tyre for my spare. It seems that I shouldn't have worried quite so much. Thanks for the information. 👍

[@AdiBumbul]

I own these tyres, bought them following your tests. These are AMAZING… ❤

[@elivanquaille5976]

Great in-depth review once again, Jonathan! Your channel and website are a valuable source of information for us, car enthousiasts. Kudos!!

[@BOB24502]

Thank you for doing this test! I commented a few months ago asking if you could check what happens when you run directional tires backwards, that’s awesome!

[@tyrereviews]

You're welcome! I'm glad you got a chance to see it!

[@yoanandreev9375]

We need more experiments like there. Thank you for showing us something curious and interesting that has never be done before so professionally!

[@Jeo-What]

Yes, we all need to stop waring our shoes backwards (or one running shoe and one snow boot like many who think it's logical to mix different tires with different pattern and compounds on their cars) because it is not as good as waring them in normal the direction 😱(like driving with 4 same tread pattern and compound tires🤣🤣🤣). I am glade that now we actually have real data to support the "normal" logic and curiosity in life. Great video, well done.. however, I am not sure if people are always willing to swallow their pride and adapt to the truth (every heard of: "That is what I believe and I am sticking to it no matter what"....!?).🤣🤣🤣

[@johngathard4717]

I enjoy your reviews, really helpful in informing decisions when wanting to replace tyres. I've noticed a radical new tyre being advertised, the Hankook Ion range. I haven't noticed these on your channel yet. Hope they'll be tested some time.

[@ragweedmakesmesneeze]

Back in the day, in the niche sport of Cyclocross, before we had good mud tires, we would reverse the direction of our tires to get better traction. Thankfully today, tire tech is really good for bicycle sports too!

[@c7uk]

Based on your recent All Season test, I just ordered a set of Pirelli SF3s last night here in UK 👍

[@johng4527]

One of the problems that i have discovered about direction tread patterns is that they will get cupped and noisy fairly quickly if you never run them backwards. But if you rotate them normally, they typically won't. What i normally tell people is that running them backwards is like having 1/32in less tread depth in the wet and no difference on dry roads, but they will last longer. I remember the C5 Corvettes that i used to service had factory tires that were directional; and since that car has different tire/wheel sizes on the front and rear you couldn't rotate tires at all unless you dismounted them from the rim. But, most corvette owners don't even drive their cars in the rain, so swapping tires from left to right (letting them run backwards half the time) for the rotation is a logical choice. While it is interesting that you could measure a small difference with these particular tires, i would bet that would not be the case with many of the high performance and ultra high performance tires out there where the directional part of the tread pattern is really more for aesthetics.

[@GrzegorzPałka-c6u]

It's quite a known fact for automotive mechanical engineers, that reversing a directional tyre on a loose surface (snow, mud, dirt) gives you better braking. I recommend trying a reverse mounted directional tyres only on front axis of an RWD car - you get traction from the rear an braking from the front.

[@ragdolltrucking]

with car tires its about hydroplaning, but i remember years ago i heard someone talking about the logic behind running tractor tires backwards, they actually work better backwards the reason theyre installed the way they are is because when your in mud they "clean" the tread better so depending on the kind of surface your running them on it can go either way

[@alexugur]

On a motorcycle, the directionality of chevron type treads is such that the front is set in one direction for braking and rear in the other for traction. Makes sense, as most of the braking forces are on the front wheel. Also, tractors have a chevron type pattern on the large rear tyre set for traction. The way I remember the way it functions is to imagine the point of the V set to dig in like an arrow. Set the other way, the V would act as a scoop for mud and debris which will fill to the point where the tread is clogged.

[@levaracing]

One thing, which might give some inaccuracy if not corrected for in your testing.. Winter tires, especially, tends to lie down the threads when driving. The tires with traction tends to be bent backwards and worn "flat" on the contact patch. When braking, and turning it around, the threads tend to rise, and give additional traction. You can feel it on winter tires by stroking your hand both ways on the tire. The inaccuracy will be there for some time if tires are not worn "flat" again when changing direction, and this will be an advantage /disadvantage until the tires are worn flat again, meaning for a relatively short time, but believe some days of driving.

[@Olaipai]

Interesting video! Would be cool to see if similar results apply to summers, winter and their UUHP derivatives. However, all season tires are no season tires. Especially here in Scandinavia. Winter tires as soon as temps steadily dip down to 10C and lower, reverse for summer.

[@tyrereviews]

I'll have to try summer tyres next

[@kristianhermann5971]

Thanks for testing something I've always wondered! I see the odd car with them mounted backwards in my neighborhood and will sometimes leave a note informing the owner. Now I can cite some stats 😎

[@BoxFlyHaydn]

Long time subscriber and I'm a DIY tyre fitter (do a set every couple of weeks). Found this really interesting and thank you for doing the test!

[@HazewinDog]

0.7dB is actually a 23% increase in noise as we experience it. Listing a percentual increase in dB doesn't really make sense. The other tests are measurable by humans, so listing the volume increase as 23% worse would keep it directly comparable. Additionally, it wouldn't be so misleading. (though do note that I'm not accusing anyone of trying to mislead)

[@tyrereviews]

Educate me. I always thought 3db was twice the noise level but i was recently educated that it's twice the pressure but not the sound

[@HazewinDog]

@@tyrereviews Well dang. I just looked into it and you're right. Apparently 10dB is a doubling of perceived sound, whereas 3dB is indeed a doubling of pressure. I guess we were both misled. I suppose this would be useful to mention in videos, though then again you might get people trying to incorrectly correct you... like I did. Sorry!

[@mw2noobis]

@@HazewinDog 3 dB is sqrt(2) change in energy, 6 dB is 2 times the energy. 20 dB is 10 times the energy. It comes from the equation that Mag=20*log10(dB). the difference in energy for the two is around 9%.

[@jankusmierski]

@@tyrereviewsit’s true about the pressure, but I think, You can’t compare it to the difference in real life. Remember that this parameter on the label (the actual test) is made only to make the tires quitter in the cities, not for the driver. I always compare the tire noise to the noice of the advertisements in tv. It should be quitter than the program itself, and it is in the measurements, but for us (people) it sounds louder thru the different frequencies of the sound. I think more important for the tires is the subjective comfort level that the measured noice level.

[@JG-yf3fm]

Huge thanks for your free service! Love your work!

[@tyrereviews]

Our pleasure!

[@Martin-yp4tq]

This test was very usefull for me. I have a crossclimate 2 on my spare-wheel. So in the event of a flat tyre, I have a 50:50 chance, that it will be mounted backwards. thanks alot.

[@user-do6jp1zg5r]

I wonder if this would invalidate one's insurance. Excellent question answered, thank you.

[@DashCamSerbia]

Of course. The car would not pass the techical inspection (MOT).

[@dave161141]

@@DashCamSerbia Why? Size, manufacturer + type and tread type has to be same on one axle. Direction is not mandatory.

[@DashCamSerbia]

@dave161141 Threads are designed to pump water to the outside of the tyre. If the threads face backwords, the tyre will pump the water underneath itself.

[@dave161141]

@@DashCamSerbia Yes, I see the physical aspect, but still it should not be illegal to have them mounted backwards.

[@DashCamSerbia]

@@user-do6jp1zg5r How can you say that? Someone driving with such tyres through deep water, loosing control because of it, and crashing into someone. That should be allowed?

[@evo5dave]

What if you fit your tyres backwards but drive everywhere in reverse?

[@dh510]

Interesting! I thought it would have done much worse, especially in the wet, given my understanding that a reversed directional tyre would pull water towards the middle of the tyre instead of pushing it to and out the sides.

[@ronboe6325]

These crazy tests are not crazy until you run them and....... yup. Crazy. Good stuff!

[@doru10922]

Now they put an arrow on the outside of the tyre to see which way they should spin

[@Giancarlojc]

This is the physics explanation: the directional spine grooves, when rolling on water, create a funnel effect. If the spines are correctly mounted (think about that) the water captured in the front creates a pressure and a flow to the external part. In the opposite case the funnel effect is to the center, causing an excessive pressure and acqua planning.

[@ExaltedwithFail]

Hydroplaning is the main issue. Correctly mounted it pushes water out and away from the tyres but if mounted backwards, the water is pulled into and under the middle of the tyres which makes hydroplaning much more dangerous with cars being able to hydroplane in much less water than otherwise but also at slower speeds. Another issue is tyre wear being slightly higher when facing the wrong way

[@thegamereliterest9550]

It increases wear on the tire if you put it backwards found that out when the tire shop improperly mounted my wife tires.

[@tyrereviews]

Interesting, good to know.

[@stephandolby]

This happened to a work colleague with her RS3 a few years ago. Worryingly, it was either _Audi_ or an Audi specialist that fitted them backwards, though I don't recall which.

[@thegamereliterest9550]

@@stephandolbythe problem is amplified when rotating tires. If they rotate them like nondirectional tires they will be wrong.

[@ALMX5DP]

Aquaplaning results were actually closer than I expected. I thought a backwards tire would have been way worse being the sipes and channels would have been essentially moving water towards the center of the tread versus expelling it away from either side.

[@tyrereviews]

15% in aqua is fairly significant, but I agree it's surprisingly close. However, these are tested at new state, I imagine it would get much worse at worn state

[@ALMX5DP]

@ oh very true, at 3/4 or half tread depth I’d imagine things become considerably more divergent.

[@ktsaylor5947]

Wow - truly unique test ! I always wondered about directional tread patterns and enjoyed seeing the results. If you were to ever get an urge to repeat this sort of test - I wonder about the combination mounting of Reverse Mounted on Front (Better Turn In) and the properly mounted direction in Rear... The results of this testing were so incremental, I really doubt the combo mounting does much of anything different - but Curious Minds You know...

[@costinmarina]

That one with "The manufacturers know what they're doing" failed once upon a time, with the directional treads on a tyre... It happened on motorcycles. Now, all motorcycles are using the front tyre "the other way" :)

[@summitap1]

Outstanding work. I always wondered what the quantitative results would be!!!

[@funnlivinit]

Last season, after a flat repair on my left front Blizzak, the brain surgeon at my local tire shop mounted the tire backwards. So, I had 3 right side tires. and only one left side. (The l/f was backwards) While on a trip to Colorado, about 1000 miles from home, I happened to look at the tire and noticed that the arrow was pointing backwards! Though, admittedly, I didn't notice any difference in performance, (I really don't push the limits of performance EVER during the Winter.) I was concerned about wear and emergency braking, specifically pulling. Thankfully, the awesome crew at Costco corrected the other tire shop's mistake for free.

[@aarc2010]

To test tires backward is a crazy idea indeed, but I already feel like I’d be happy to get these Pirelli tyres next season and install them the right way.

[@punkypink83]

big brain move. mount the tyres on the powered wheels the right way round, and the tyres on the unpowered wheels backwards for extra braking perf. or maybe forwards on the back wheels because you rather understeer than oversteer for road driving and backwards on the front wheels because under braking weight transfer means those are the wheels working harder.

[@florian_montuzet]

I'm glad you answer this question ! Thank you Jonathan !

[@msitpro1]

Jonathan, In a similar 'experimental' sense versus your (and others) standard tests - I am very interested in tyre / ambient temperature difference on grip levels and whether this favours certain tyre types over others. (compound, tyre pattern) I'd LOVE to see a mini group test of a few summer tyres and then throw in a All-Season, at ambient temps of around 5-10 Celsius. I am wondering if it may cause a shake-up in the performance hierarchy vs your usual testing in warmer ambients. Maybe - Conti Force v Conti Sport 02 v Conti DWS06 plus Dry braking distance/maximum G & handling lap time Wet braking distance/maximum G & handling lap time Then - measure tyre temp using a pyrometer and track performance increase (or decrease) as the tyre's temp increases - maybe use 2 data points - surface temp of 10 celsius (cold) vs surface temp of 40 celsius and then compare the 2 sets of data. Tyre pressures of course need to be kept the same as temps increase. As a UK resident with a very high power/weight vehicle without any traction control or abs I am particularly interested in this and I am sure half the North American market would be also.

[@PROofHAPPYWHEELS]

I love the beard + stash combo mate, looks good.

[@thierrystoll1487]

This effect is also used in motorcycle tires. In many cases, the front tire has the opposite profile. One example is the Michelin City Grip. That's why you have to pay attention whether you are buying a front tire or a rear tire.

[@Pesmog]

Good point, I had noticed it on a few bikes as well, but didn't understand why they did that. 👍

[@Sederiq]

I heard a theory that it is done due to wear considerations. When water evacuation grooves in the patch of contact are parallel to the axis of tire rotation, groove edge degradation is minimal. And groove edges are important for controlling tire slippage, when the tire tends to slip during turning. In a car summer tires have parallel grooves that minimizes tire wear, and when a car turns, sharp groove edges give more grip while changing direction. Motorcycle has to bank in turns to keep it balanced, so the tire contact patch moves to the sidewall of the tire. And so that wear is minimal when motorcycle moves through a corner, the direction of the grove is adjusted to be parallel to the direction in every banking angle. I might have described some parts of this geometry incorrectly, but you might dig more in this direction to find precise engineering explanation.

[@HeadBassVTEC]

interesting test and surprising results I'd love to see a test of UHP All-Season tires vs Winter tires, but not comparison in snow, focused more on wet and dry when low temp (0-7 celsium) and sports car oriented thinking whether all-seasons would be better than winter tires for a RWD 400+ HP car for winters in countries with less snow I don't use the car for commuting when there is snow/ice (except few snow fun rides per winter), so more interested in winter dry and wet days with temps slightly above zero maybe all-seasons would make more sense on a spors car which is driven only on nicer winter days

[@Blahsheep]

I didn't think this was a thing until my mechanic told me the tires were backwards. Previous owner of the car wherever he got it done was done backwards. Was much quieter and drove a lot better.

[@cicciolandia]

I like this test. I also have an idea about another one. what is better in summer conditions: a very budget summer tire or a premium winter tire?

[@Hoojammyflip]

I am using Conti VikingContact 7s here in Nova Scotia. We have winters on for about 6 months of the year. One time I absent mindedly followed the Subaru cross- rotation without looking at the tires markings - my wife noticed that they did not seem right and were noisier than the previous winter season 😂 Shame on me... 🤪

[@haewien]

Would be interesring to see a test with an AWD vehicle, front tires backward, back tires forward setup. If brakeing is better with backwards tires, and accelerating is better with frontward tires, and there is more traction backwards when you accelerate… Would be interesting to see on snow.

[@joshausterlitz3798]

As someone who has mounted and balanced tires now for nearly 18 years, i have never seen/felt a difference in directional tires (inner outer tires either) i've seen people running around for years with them backwards, i've run them backwards on my cars for years and absolutely no difference on road/snow/rain. Lots of people bring in there cars and get new tires really early when they have directional tires because they start getting choppy (depends on the car) even at 6/32 sometimes and when you work somewhere that really cares, you don't put them backwards, the salesman gets you new ones (i make sure to recommend not putting directionals back on) i'm not letting them go to waste, i switch'em backwards and run them on my cars till 2/32. Directional tires (inner outer ones to) are just a scam in my eyes, for me, it's all about price, i'll run them backwards so it doesn't matter to me, but if you live somewhere where you can't run them backwards or don't want to, you'll loss alot of money when they either get to choppy or wear out in one area (most euro and performance cars) because you can't properly rotate them in a X configuration, I.E. why alot of directional tires come in with 6/32 to 3/32 to be changed most of the time. for those with different sizes front and back, won't matter. This is another (to me) idiotic design that make no difference on road and alot of the time is more expensive when it only comes down to how much tread you have vs how much water/mud you run over, if you have 2/32 in a complete wash out in the middle of Texas, it won't matter what type of tread you have, your butts going to do a complete 180 because you just hydroplaned. As far as what they're stating in the video, i think there's a bit of placebo effect going on, i've had directionals backwards on my Miata and Camry in 2 to 3 inches of snow and then again with just regular tires and there was absolutely no change in traction and stopping ability. I think people should buy what they want, and i'll keep putting them on there cars, but i won't recommend them.

[@salvatoretelese9007]

Wonder how incorrectly mounted asymetric tryes perform, great video as always.

[@mrcryptozoic817]

I think a tire installer is more likely to make a mistake and get 1 or 2 tires backwards than all of them. And that's something that deserves a test.

[@lukemason9500]

@tyrereviews I love your videos. Really informative, thanks for your work. But I am confused on wet breaking performance between winter, allseason and summer tyres. It would be great if you could do a “when should you use winter/all season/summer tyres” type video. I mean I know summer tyres perform badly in cold and icy conditions but when do they work better in the wet, is it over a set temp or how much rain is on the road? If you could talk about the environmental conditions that would be a great video I think.

[@FrankSchweppe]

Useful little test! It looks like the difference is not so important that having a directional all season tyre on the spare wheel would be a problem - i.e. if one has say Crossclimate 2 tyres all around, having a 5th Crossclimate (or the best Crossclimate of the most recently replaced set) on the spare wheel, instead of say a cheapo summer tyre or even a low-end allweather non-directional one, might be a good solution, even if there is a 50/50 chance of it sitting backwards if you need to change a flat... is that a correct assumption? Um, given that there is a bit more chance of hitting a object that can damage a tyre with the right front wheel than any of the others (debris on a road shoulder, concrete strips etc.), I'd be inclined to get a directional all season mounted as a spare aimed at the right side of the car, to increase the chance of it being properly oriented if it ever needs to be used... Then, if the car suffers damage to a left tyre, ensure that the backwards oriented spare is put on the front wheel, to conserve maximum grip and breaking performance in the rear, for safety... deisions, decisions...

[@grahamastor4194]

What if the front tires only were reversed? Better turn-in on front wheel drive, good rear breaking, maybe better overall? Amazing to have a test like this, thanks.

[@mikpiece469]

I was actually thinking about writing to you about doing a test like this - I have turned my goodyear from last year wrong by mistake on my bmw G31n (530xd) / I have more rumbeling going on and I hate myself - now I am less worried👍 thank you

[@tyrereviews]

best to get it swapped back, i didn't test wear

[@michaelpaczynski941]

Yokohama advised to install the 008R in reverse direction on the back for fwd cars for auto cross. The front would be forward direct normal. Would be an interesting test with snow tires.

[@Eurosport.Automotive]

In the winter time I take my FWD VW and mount the front tires backwards and then climb hills in reverse. It works quite well with all that extra weight and weight transfer onto the drive axle. A poor man’s 911!

[@bikebudha01]

Funny review... One of the secrets to mountain bike tires was to run the front 'in the right direction', and run the back 'in the reversed direction. Thought was you'd get better cornering out of the front (where it's needed), and better traction on the climbs in the rear (on steeper climbs)...

[@HeadBassVTEC]

true, but on the front the correct forward orientation of the knobs was mostly for lower rolling resistance (low resisitance on front is more important than on back) the old schwalbe racing ralph tires (back when there were no front/rear specific tires) had one direction for front and opposite direction for rear (marked by arrows from the factory, so not really a secret but a manufacturer intention)

[@tyrereviews]

Interesting, i do a fair bit of downhill MTB but I'm so bad I'm sure I wouldn't notice

[@bikebudha01]

@@tyrereviews Did you ever put those Noikian AT on your rig? Thoughts on them if you did?

[@tire_reviews]

@@bikebudha01 I did, they're solid, slightly less refined thank the Ko3 but very good in the snow and offroad.

[@bikebudha01]

@@tire_reviews thx for letting me know... I've had mine on for only one winter, and it was a light winter. They seemed to do well in what little snow we had. If anything, they did their job by 'chasing away' the snow gods last year...

[@pawebogusz8753]

An inverted tire can handle well, but the problem is the sudden loss of traction and the sudden regain of it. This happens most often in deep water. The directional tread acts like a pump and the inverted tread sucks up the water. In civilian tires, the most important thing is not traction but smooth loss and regain of traction. This minimizes the forces acting on the poor factory suspension and makes it easier for the stability system to work ad the driver.

[@Darkcruzer23]

This is actually a good test because if there was no difference we could rotate normally and possibly get longer or more even tread life/wear

[@lornemccauley6409]

One autumn a few years ago, a winter storm came a bit early, I changed my tire to my winter tires in the dark and in my rush I inadvertently switched corner tires. 2 Tires were correct and 2 tires were reversed, mismatched in opposite corners. Everything felt OK until I hit a puddle of slush at 90 kph. The car yawed very very harshly and almost slammed me into the curb before I caught it. Needless to say I corrected my error ax soon as I got home.

[@orange5fox]

I seem to remember F1 teams running their tyres backwards for improved performance a few years back, and the tyre manufacturer putting a stop to it because of premature failures due to it causing excessive heat build up.

[@tyrereviews]

If it was a few years back i think that would have been pressures not mounting direction

[@SirWerner..]

To say 73.7 is 1% more noise than 72.9 is missleading because 10dB diff is double the noise. So 1.2dB diff is about 10 to 15% (still logarithmic scale) more noise. (Tx for the test, interesting !)

[@knurtberkelson]

Great video about something I never knew I wanted to know, until I saw it 😂 One question: what are those small "dots" you can see on the tread of the tires? I see them on other tires too sometimes...

[@Z-u-m-a]

Interesting stuff! Jonathan - I've quite a few cars with AS/winter tyres on one axle only. Would be really great if you could test this out. As in swapping them front to back, and ideally on both a front and rear wheel drive car. Cheers

[@BenKlassen1]

Exactly the video I wanted to see because I was wondering about this. Thank you sir!

[@filippopossenti1791]

What about back tyres backwards and front tyres correctly? Slightly better breaking I'd imagine, but still traction on the front, for an FWD vehicle.

[@rampleser]

Just got the SF3 and it feels so grippy!!!

[@tyrereviews]

:D get a review on www.tyrereviews.com when you have a chance

It would be super interesting to test only flipping the front wheels on a RWD car and see if you still get some of the braking benefits and still maintain good traction

[@zmirc]

Awesome test, super interesting, very appreciated. Maaaaaany thanks for your videos.

[@rudolphna54]

This is why front tires on motorcycles look like they're going the wrong direction, because braking traction is way more important for the front brake.

[@maradeanu]

on a motorcycle you have no traction on the front wheel so there is nothing to lose as long the water displacement is planned accordingly