I just got some Michelin PS2s. The tires say only "outside" on them and have no directional rotation indication which I guess means they aren't directional. The problem is that I've never seen any tires with a tread pattern that looks different on each side of the car when I turn the tires the correct way that they would be mounted on the car (with the "outside marked" side out). I'm mainly referring to patterns in the tread that look much like the "slots" on slotted brake rotors except on the tires one side curves toward the front and on the other side it curves toward the back. It almost makes me think there should be a specific left and right tire but the tires don't indicate this either. Does anybody know anything about this or can you look at yours and see if they are like mine? These are Pilot Sport 2s not the V tread Pilot Sports.

 

Their are no right and left side tires. The outside tred blocks are larger so they don't feather and squirm as bad under heavy loads. The tred is not perfictly square so it keeps the road noise down.
I love my ps2's
295/30-18 front
315/30-18 rear

 

Not to butt in, but if the tire says outside only on only one side of the tire, then how can that tire we used on the other side of the car? Aren't ALL Z rated tires unidirectional? So if the left tire has the outside only part of the tire on the left side, if you mount it on the right it would then be either rotating the wrong way, or the otuside only tread would be on the inside.

Maybe you could clarify things a lttle more for the original poster, and myself.

Thanks.

 

I also have PS2's on my car. The tread is not directional so no matter which side you mount the tire on, as long as the "outside" is on the outside, the tread will be turning in the right direction. The tread design is assymetrical. The outer blocks are designed for handling in turns while the inside have smaller blocks with more sipes for wet weather. BTW, they are fantastic tires, handle great and quiet.

 

I'll clarify since it was my post. No doubt about the wider tread blocks being on the outside. The question is that within the tread blocks there are a lot of different grooves that look something like this...

\_____
\_____
\_____
\_____

...so on one side that design faces forward and on one side it faces backward. Again it reminds me of the slots on brakes rotors and those slots are supposed to go a certain way due to rotation. In this case I assume these slots (grooves) evacuate water but one is pointing one way and the opposite side points the other.

Look at the second picture on the top right to see the tread

 

I just went through this with my new Humho Ecsta ASX tires. Same thing. I discussed it with the tire dealer, a sales rep at Kumho, and finally the guy that designed the tire. The designer finally admitted that, in the wet, one side sheds water slightly less effeciently than the other, because of this desogn. He said that because the difference was so small that it would never be felt in the real world. And he said that it wouldn't effect tire wear.
Now, I think that there should be a left and a right for these types of designs. The designer said it would never happen because people put directional tires on the wrong way all the time, plus the cost would be prohibitive.
That's Kumho's story. Sounds shaky to me, but they are sticking with it. I will know after some driving if it is true.

 

Thanks TomT for your post and the information. Normally on a tire like that the tread is some kind of square shape or at least the grooves are horizontal so it doesn't matter which way it's turned (on non-directional tires). If the grooves are only there to direct water then it's a non-issue for me because I don't drive the car in the rain and even if I did - these are still light years ahead of the stock F1's in the wet. Tehy just looked funny when I was checking them out but if it's not a performance issue - I'm cool with it.

About those people putting directional tires on the wrong way - you're right. When I took my BFG KD's to Goodyear to install - I handed them to the guy and almost opened my mouth about making sure they were turned the right way but then I remembered how many times I tried to tell a "mechanic" something and they just look at you like you just insulted their wife or something so I kept my mouth shut. The guy worked on them for over an hour because I had asked him to put the weights on the inside and he came back once and said he was having a hard time and if he could put them on the outside but I didn't let him off that easy. Anyway, when they rolled them out - all four tires were on there wrong so I had they had to start over. Needless to say, I found a better place to get tires installed and now I tape a sticky note on them saying which side is which.

 

I see what you ar talking about now. Makes more sense with the picture.

If you need a good shop to mount the tires, let me know. I am good friends with the guy at the Goodyear shop in Franklin. They do top notch work.

 

Thanks Chris and sorry I had to call you last night but I thought you had these same tires. It was difficult to explain so I hoped you didn't think I was going crazy.

ChrisP turned me on to a great place over here on this side of town that also does good work and is cheaper than the Goodyear over here.