Tire tread in opposite directions.

BMW i3 Forum

Help Support BMW i3 Forum:

This site may earn a commission from merchant affiliate links, including eBay, Amazon, and others.

Mamaci3

Member
Joined
Dec 29, 2018
Messages
17
I put my winter wheels on today and I noticed something odd about the stock all seasons. On the left side the tire thread was facing forward and on the right side of the vehicle it was opposite. Is this how it’s supposed to be?
 
No.

It's not uncommon. WHen I bought mine from the dealership, I noticed that they were not mounted properly, and the service manager promptly switched two of them so I had them all facing the proper way.

Take them back, traction will not be as good as it should be. I don't know whether BMW just mounts them all the same way, or their parts department just doesn't care when shipping them.

Good catch...the winter tires are directional, and need to be properly mounted.

This is important to keep track of for when you remount them next year. I swap them F/R on the same sides to help even out wear, but you can't do a cross, because you'd have some pointing the wrong way...that would balance the wear even more, but not too bad if the alignment is good.
 
The winter tires are directional but the all-seasons are side oriented - there is one side designated with "Outside" which needs to be outside :)
This will give the impression that the tread is going in the wrong direction as it is not completely symmetric but that is OK. So, for the all-seasons make sure the "outside" is on the outside and for the winter - the rotation arrow is pointing in the right direction.
 
Back
Top