A better way forward

2014 - N°07

directional tread designs

TECHNEWS

Tyres can feature directional tread designs for a number of reasons. Historically tyres were made directional for traction or increased resistance to heel-toe type wear in a block design, but today there are other reasons to make a tread sculpture directional. For example: better noise and comfort characteristics, increased removal mileage and resistance to irregular wear caused by the higher torque and braking retarders in today’s vehicles.

■ Respect the directional arrow marked on the shoulder when mounting new tyres.

■ There are no legal requirements in the EU that state that a directional tyre must be operated in the sense marked on the tyre. However many publications recommend to respect the sense of directionality.

■ Tyres marked with a double arrow for directionality may be rotated to optimise tyre management or at half life to facilitate rotation for differing wear rates across/between axles.

■ When rotating tyres, it is best to align all direction of rotation arrows in the same sense across the axle. Remember that tyres on the same axle should be compatible.

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some examples of directional tread features

michelin Bi-directional arrow marked tyres

michelin advice

■ The arrow with the larger head indicates the Michelin preferred direction of rotation for the tyre, optimising tread wear performance. We strongly recommend that, especially when new, Michelin tyres marked with a bi-directional arrow should be run in the direction of rotation indicated by the larger arrow head.

■ However, it may be turned on the rim and run in the direction of the smaller arrow head with no detriment to other performance criteria when necessary and particularly after the first half life to manage wear rates across or between axles. In cases such as this, Michelin recommends that all tyres on the same axle should be turned on the rim such that all arrows face in the same direction when possible.

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Traditional directional sculpture. Rule of thumb: when viewed from the front, the tread should be ‘smiling’.

Example of a tread design with directional type siping.

THE blUE aRROWS iNdicaTE THE pROpER diREcTiON OF ROTaTiON TO OpTiMiSE pERFORMaNcES

Example of tread blocks that have a sloped pitch to enhance resistance to irregular wear.

locations of bi-directional arrows marked on the tyre’s shoulder.

preferred direction of Rotation

Secondary direction after ½ life