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Tires installed 'inside-out' 700 1990

I'll be the first to admit that I don't know sh*t about tires, but I do know a lot about symmetry.

Standard tires have tread that is the same in either direction. This lets you choose whitewalls in or out at any tire position.

The standard "asymmetric" tire is not assymetric. the tread has mirror symmetry about a plane that cuts the tire in half around the circumference. Take half a tire, lay it on a mirror, and you see the full "V" shape of the tread.

On a whole tire, you could mark one side "left" or better "mount this side outside on left side of car or inside on right side of car" and all is well. The four tires can be swapped around at will. They are "asymmetric" because the tires have only one direction of rotation.

If they made them with whitewalls on one side you would have to have them out on one side and in on the other side. Once you mark one side of the tire "in" the mirror symmetry is destroyed. You have to manufacture two similar tires with mirror-image sidewalls.

Here is the question:
If you go to TireRack to order one tire, do you have to specify "left" or "right"?

If you do, then check the tires you have and see if you have 2 of each. If the answer to this is yes, go to your shop and have them re-mount them because they are all backwards. If you require left and right but have 4 identicle tires, go to the supply house and swap two tires.

If there is only one tire part number, then there is a problem with the tire markings. There can be no "in" side, only "in on left" or "in on right" sides. Check that all the treads point in the same direction. If they are rotating in the right direction, great. If they are all pointing in the wrong direction, switch the rims from side to side to fix them.








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