Reversing direction on directional tires

[slybry]

I have B F Goodrich G-Force Super Sport tires on my Mazda 3. They are directional tires (I now hate directional tires). I suspect that at least one of tires is making a lot of noise. I have read user reviews about these tires and there is a few comments about how noisy they can become.

I had a set of directional winter tires by Michelin and they also got noisy when the kms piled up.

You would almost think the wheel bearing were gone on the car it is so noisy. It is driving me nuts. They runs straight and there is no pull or vibrations.

I was thinking about swapping the tires over to other side of car and run them in wrong direction for a few weeks to see if they quiet down a bit. I realize the performance will be compromised but I will not be doing long distance driving in this car.

[tortoise]

I wonder why you think swapping the direction will make for a quieter tire?  I don't see it making any difference at all.

FWIW, I also ran these tires and mine have become very noisy as well.   I also found that one tire made more noise than the other three.

When they were new I quite liked them but they didn't last as long as the treadwear rating would suggest.  I know they are relative but the previous Toyos had a rating of 300 and the BFGs 400 and I found they lasted about the same.  Plus, even with higher than recommended pressure pressure the center of the tread is fine and the shoulders have worn (on both sides on all 4 tires).

They did handle well though with crisp turn in response, better than the Toyo Proxes4 that proceeded them.

[articsteve]

Don't drive in the rain fast.

[slybry]

I wonder why you think swapping the direction will make for a quieter tire?  I don't see it making any difference at all.

My logic (as twisted as it may be) is that I think directional tires have a tendency to get noisy because they are not rotated side to side. I also saw something about this on a TV show. So in my mind I thought is to reverse the direction for a while maybe the tread will quiet down by changing the wear pattern.

[capriracer]

Your real problem is the alignment of the car - specifically camber.  Mazda3's have too much built in camber.  This was done to improve that handling - and it does that - at the expensive of even tire wear.  The camber is making the tires wear irregularly.  Reversing the direction of the tires is not going to solve this problem.  In fact, reversing the direction has no affect on anything other than traction (wet and snow)

[AP]

I mistakenly installed my directional winter tires the wrong way one year.  I realized the mistake as soon as I drove the car as it didn't track properly.  Can't say if that would happen in your case. 

It is not a good idea.  Water will not evacuate properly and handling will be comprimised b/c the outside shoulder will be on the inside.

[slybry]

Your real problem is the alignment of the car - specifically camber.  Mazda3's have too much built in camber.  This was done to improve that handling - and it does that - at the expensive of even tire wear.  The camber is making the tires wear irregularly.  Reversing the direction of the tires is not going to solve this problem.  In fact, reversing the direction has no affect on anything other than traction (wet and snow)

I installed them new in April 2009. I have driven maybe 20,000 kms. I have no apparent tire wear issues. Just noise.

The bottom line is I think these are terrible tires.

[HeliDriver]

...

It is not a good idea.  Water will not evacuate properly and handling will be comprimised b/c the outside shoulder will be on the inside.

The only time a directional tire would have an "inside" and "outside" shoulder is if it is also assymetric, in which case it would be marked as such.

Even so, simply swapping wheel positions won't change which shoulder is on the outside. You'd have to remount the tire on the rim to change that.

[ktm525]

Don't drive in the rain fast.

Will have mofo grip in reverse though..

[quadzilla]

The bottom line is I think these are terrible tires.

Are they terrible because they are noisy or for another reason?

[AP]

The only time a directional tire would have an "inside" and "outside" shoulder is if it is also assymetric, in which case it would be marked as such.

Even so, simply swapping wheel positions won't change which shoulder is on the outside. You'd have to remount the tire on the rim to change that.

Or attempt to mount the rim backwards.   That one I think I would have caught before lowering the car...

[2latecrew]

Your real problem is the alignment of the car - specifically camber.  Mazda3's have too much built in camber.  This was done to improve that handling - and it does that - at the expensive of even tire wear.  The camber is making the tires wear irregularly.  Reversing the direction of the tires is not going to solve this problem.  In fact, reversing the direction has no affect on anything other than traction (wet and snow)

Exactly. Some cars are known for this. my GTI is one. I have my car aligned every time I get new tires. I did it with my Hancook V12s and guess what. A few months later they are feathering and getting noisier. Higher performance (softer) tires seem to be more susceptible. Once it starts their is nothing you can do to stop it. Worse is the fact that cars like Mazda 3 don't have a tone of sound insulation so the noise is even more apparent. 

[slybry]

The bottom line is I think these are terrible tires.

Are they terrible because they are noisy or for another reason?

Noisy is enough of a reason for me. They are either fragile tires or I have been very unlucky. I have had 2 punctures and 1 blowout with these tires.

On another note: I did get an alignment done when I bought these tires. To this day there is still no pull and it tracks quite nice.

[GapBoyPCS]

I ran the g-Force Super Sports a few years ago. They got noisy as they wore, but it wasn't anything outside of strange compared to other performance tires (all-seasons and summers) I've run before. I probably put on about 50,000 km on them with mainly highway driving. They have shown signs of inner tire wear, but that's more because of my car's sensitive alignment. The tires are still in my garage because I changed my wheels last year, and I'm debating on putting them back into use.

I wouldn't reverse the direction on the tires, as people have already mentioned before.

If the noise is bothering you, I'd probably find a different tire.