Front Discs lasted 20tkm (12k miles..) NORMAL??

[Ajogu]

Originally Posted by ///Manuel

TIRES: Try adjusting the pressure to get even wear between the center and the sides. You can flip the tires on the rim too at 50% wear.

Good point. Off to flip the tires it is. Thanks

[dkl]

Wow...those Bridgestones wore exactly like mine when I replaced it a couple of months ago. It's definitely not an alignment problem ... at least on mine since it was nearly perfect (I had an alignment done after I put on a new set of tire and they are nearly dead on to the OEM specs). May be on my next alignment, I'll ask the tech to put a bit of negative camber on the front to help with the even tire wear. The X definitely have a unique way with tires...where the fronts wear out the outside first and the rears wear out the inside first. That would have been perfect if it weren't for the staggered setup where tire rotation can be performed (front to rear, rear to front).

On a side note, be careful about tire mountings or "flipping". Most tires have specific inside and outside, probably due to the different designs in the sidewalls. "Flipping" tires from side to side could be very dangerous, and IMHO, NOT worth the risk.

[lo_jack]

Originally Posted by dkl

On a side note, be careful about tire mountings or "flipping". Most tires have specific inside and outside, probably due to the different designs in the sidewalls. "Flipping" tires from side to side could be very dangerous, and IMHO, NOT worth the risk.

This is only a problem if they are assymetric patterned treads, and this is not "most" tires. It is very common on sizes larger than 17 and wider than 255 though. It does not have anything to do with the sidewall, except that the sidewall with the arrow on it that shows you which side is out will be marked, if it is of this type, and should be on the outside as instructed.

If so, the arrow on the outside will be obvious. If your rims are all the same size, you can move the backs to the front still, even if left to right is not workable.

Normal non-directional tires (which I believe some of these vehicles came with OEM) are rotatable to all points, provided you have not let them wear funny to begin with. If you have changed to larger rims, then you may have selected assymetric treads. If you have assymetric tread AND non matching rims sizes front to back, then no rotation is possible whatsoever.

BTW, I think those Bridgestones are rotatable, but I would have to see the sidewall. The tread does not give it away as unidirectional.

[dkl]

The Bridgestones are non-directional, thus, it is possible to move them from right to left and vice versa without any issues. However, the tire "flipping" as previously suggested was to actually dismount the tire from the rim on one side of the car and remount it on the rim on the opposite side of the car...thus making what was once the "outside" sidewall, now being on the inside of the rim (rotational direction would be retained). BUT...If the inside sidewall and outside sidewall were interchangeable, why would tire manufacturers have specific labels such as "mount this side out", "outside", "exterior", or some similar wordings printed on the outer sidewalls of their tires? Tire Racks have mounted thousands of tires, may be the "doc" have some input on this topic?

[lo_jack]

Originally Posted by dkl

The Bridgestones are non-directional, thus, it is possible to move them from right to left and vice versa without any issues. However, the tire "flipping" as previously suggested was to actually dismount the tire from the rim on one side of the car and remount it on the rim on the opposite side of the car...thus making what was once the "outside" sidewall, now being on the inside of the rim (rotational direction would be retained). BUT...If the inside sidewall and outside sidewall were interchangeable, why would tire manufacturers have specific labels such as "mount this side out", "outside", "exterior", or some similar wordings printed on the outer sidewalls of their tires? Tire Racks have mounted thousands of tires, may be the "doc" have some input on this topic?

I'd like to hear that, yes.

I think the "this side out" on some tires is because they are directional. Not all tires specify mouting one side out. I used to run some all terrains that had white walls on one side and nothing on the inside, and the guys would always ask "whitewalls in or out." Implying that I had a choice - so it did not matter which side was out beyond aesthetics.

I could be wrong.

[///Manuel]

FYI,
APART from driving in the rain (to me the only thing that really matters with directional tires), I ran and raced all kinds of tires in both directions and had no issues whatsoever. The tires gripped just as hard in one direction or the other. Some people even drive on tires incorreclty mounted without even knowing... (hell some people drive on poorly inflated tires without any issue, well at least for the lucky ones!).

Anyway, I believe the direction really only matters in the rain (water doesn't get pushed out correctly through the grooves). Noise will likely be increased as well, and wear possibly accelerated to some degree.

That said, I would not run tires against what the manufacturer recommends unless I have a good reason to do so. Not driving in the rain could be one, or knowing that you can't go that fast then.

But be responsible and follow what the manufacturer directions say, not what you hear on forums!

All that said, it would be nice to hear if someone with incorreclty mounted tires had a bad driving experience as a result.