Your Directional Tire Tread Pattern Guide

Every tire comes with a distinctive tread pattern of its own, and it is not there merely for the looks.

The primary purpose of the tread is to increase the functionality of your car tires, apart from substantially affecting critical auto factors such as handling, gas mileage, and tread life.

However, it can become confusing for a common motorist to make sense of the numerous kinds of tread patterns and their respective functionality. Specifically for high-performance and luxury car owners, knowing the right tire type can be a tricky situation at times. This is because there are many visible differences between the various types of tread patterns, with each carrying its own strength and limitation.

Therefore, the following guide intends to dive deep into the segment of directional tires to explain its nitty-gritty and suitability to your vehicle.

The Directional

When you look at a directional tire head on, all the lateral channels and voids on the tread are pointing forward and down. The channels on both sides shall run like two opposing waterfalls joining, like this: ϒ. A directional tire’s opposite is a non-directional tire, which, irrespective of the road condition, can rotate in either direction without any performance drop.

These tires are slightly different than their symmetrical brothers and are specifically engineered for ultra-high performance cars. They are crafted to roll in one direction only and have restricted mounting options courtesy of the specific functions they serve. A directional tread pattern is recognizable by its V-shaped lateral grooves pattern running down the middle of the product. You can think of it like an arrow aiming in the tire’s rolling direction.

These type of tires really make their presence felt in wintry or wet conditions, and are designed to slice through and evacuate road precipitation. However, it’s mandatory to mount a directional tire properly to guarantee yourself a safe winter ride. Otherwise, an incorrectly mounted tire will wear out prematurely, apart from making excessive road noise.

How to Spot Directional Tires?

The majority of tire manufacturers visibly mark the directional type with an arrow or rotation direction on the tire sidewall. This is primarily because the performance repercussion of running a directional tire incorrectly (backward) can be substantial. Nonetheless, the easiest way to spot a directional tire is by examining the sidewall for a Rotation indication

Why is it Critical to Know if My Tires are Directional?

Apart from the performance hazards of mounting directional tires in reversion, these tires are extremely limited concerning tire rotation patterns. Therefore, subject to the car having the same size tires (front & rear), a strictly front-to-back tire rotation – on the same side of the vehicle – is achievable. This is also because any side-to-side rotation will result in the tire facing backward.

A directional tire is often identifiable due to its innovative, one-way tread patterns, and has a tread flow to suggest a rolling direction. Here are the top three directional tires:

1. BF Goodrich g-Force COMP-2 A/S

This tire is engineered with UltiGrip technology, which offers an optimal rubber-to-road contact for supreme dry grip, and its all-season capacity also makes it excellent for water-soaked roads. Also, its squared-off shoulder, as well as alleviated contact patch shape, equally divide stresses across the footprint. Lastly, the performance tread profile prevents irregular wear generally linked with directional tread designs.

2. Nitto NT555 G2

The NT555 G2 by Nitto is the next generation ultra-high performance tire engineered with your car’s summer performance in mind. Its increased traction, wet-braking capabilities, and handling shall swiftly get you off the line while offering durability in the straights and stability in the corners.

3. Toyo Proxes T1R

This directional tire comes with a V Speed Rating, black sidewall, and is picture-perfect for your summer expeditions. Moreover, the refined tread design and engineering of Toyo Proxes T1R offer your car optimized wet and dry handling and performance.

Mounting Directional Tires
Once mounted, directional tires ought to remain on the same car side, unlike symmetrical tires. They can be rotated only front to rear, and the molded arrows in the sidewalls will show you the right tire mounting direction. Remember, the arrows will always point forward. However, since mounting is limited to only one side of the car, it makes the tire a bit harder to mount and may well cause faster wear.

Benefits of Directional Tires
You cannot find the benefits of a directional tire in any other style of tire. For starters, the design provides an efficient overall handling and fuel economy on dry and wet roads alike. The tread is engineered to effectively pump water across the grooves while sustaining maximum road contact. Moreover, the exceptional wet traction also assists with hydroplaning prevention at high speeds. Additionally, the on-center feel of directional tires enables high-speed stability and handling, which gives the perfect high-performance ride experience.

What You Can Expect From Your Directional Tire Purchase

• High-performance automobile compatibility
• Enhanced handling and grip
• Dry and wet performance
• Hydroplaning prevention
• Smooth driving experience at high speeds

If you aspire premium efficiency in the areas of wet traction, high-speed handling, and fuel efficiency, then you need a directional tire. These tires offer superior handling on all surfaces due to their V-shaped tread, which forces water out as the tire rotates. This water evacuation is better than a symmetric tire. The majority of sports and race cars function with directional tires because they offer remarkable handling at high speeds and the higher fuel economy is courtesy of less rolling resistance.

Nonetheless, one downside is cost. The rubber compounds used to craft these high-performance tires result in a high-end product price compared to standard passenger car tires. Moreover, directional tires generally have a shorter tread life.