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Greetings everyone,

Is there any harm done to running track tires opposit the direction of rotation as shown on the tires sidewall ?
I run a set of Toyo Proxis RA-1's that have worn on one side but not the other. This is due to the anti-clockwise tracks I drive.
I've swapped tires on rims to move them from side to side, but would like to flip them around as the insides have lots of rubber left.

I use these tires for track days only (not used in racing or street driving). Am wondering if the tire's fiber plys take some kind of set and would react to being driving the opposit direction.

Thanks for your insight.
Merril

Are these slicks?

I have heard that the direction on slicks relate to how the rubber is laid down.
All I know is that if you run them this way they could have wear problems, but this would not be a problem if they are on their last legs anyway.

I could be wrong, if i am please correct me rather than flame me.

Many thanks

just had a rethink and a quick look on the net and found this.

If a directional tyre is fitted the wrong way round, the tyre won't be dangerous, but you won't gain any of the benefits of it's design.

Iam asking here. Isn't the directional part of tire construction have to do with the grooving and water evacuation aspects?

MR2 Zig wrote:Iam asking here. Isn't the directional part of tire construction have to do with the grooving and water evacuation aspects?

No, that's marketing BS, it's the volume of the grooves in the cross-section that swallows the water that's important and that's the same no matter the direction of rotation.

The tires can wear faster if you change direction but I'd definetly swap them around if you can squeeze out some more time from them.

I've raced RA1s and have run them in both directions to even out the wear - no problems (in the dry - not recommended in the wet, even though the tread pattern is not very directional).

However, if you have a very pronounced wear pattern (eg from lots of negative) you may get some vibration until it evens out. Really only seems to be an issue when they still have a lot of grooves on them (which doesn't last long) and doesn't seem to be a performance issue.

Thanks for the information guys. I'll be running them in the opposit direction September 15th. Glad I don't have to scrap them.

Expect to see Michael there at Pacific Raceway near Seattle. We were in different classes last time but think he'll be in the next upper class with me come that Thursday.

Thanks again,
Merril

It seems that you got your answer already, but I can confirm that I have not had any problems if using tyres backwards either. My experiences are gained with Toyo T1R, T1S and Hankook Z212.