jjay
Guest
I thought id just add a little slice from another site regards this expensive corner rubber thing could shine some light on tyre engineering.
Asymmetrical tread: A pattern in which one side does not correspond to the other side.
The tread of a tire which has different shapes/patterns and sizes of grooves in the same tire. Often they are divided into three distinct patterns: The outside shoulder, the center zone, and the inside shoulder. The outside shoulder tread will have larger shoulder elements with very few sipes to provide increased cornering stability. The center tread zone enhances steering control. The inside shoulder tread zone provides additional traction because the shape of the tread elements, sipes and larger shoulder slots help disperse water and slush. Obviously these tires must be mounted only one way so that the outside pattern is actually on the outside of the wheel.
Directional tire: Directional designs are recognized by the grooves in the tread that swipe away in a backward angle from the center of the tread face and rotate in only one direction. A direction of rotation arrow is located on both sidewalls of the tire. Directional tires enhance straight-line acceleration, provide maximum dry traction, better wet performance which helps to reduce rolling resistance as well as providing shorter stopping distances.
It really comes down to a give and take scenario. A directional tread design will offer better wet traction. An asymmetrical tire will give better dry traction and dry handling.
Please keep in mind that the above information is speculative and the final comparative outcome is dependant on the specific tires that you are trying to compare.
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Asymmetric pattern: Tread patterns which differ on either side of the tire -
• Asymmetric tires have been designed to optimize the opposing requirements of dry grip and water dispersal. They are good for high speed cornering due to the greater contact area which helps reduce tread wear on the outside shoulder.
• Application: High performance and Motorsport tires.
Directional pattern: Tread patterns characterized by lateral grooves on both sides of the tire which point in the same direction.
• Advantages of directional tread patterns are good driving force and braking performance. In particular directional patterns provide good water dispersal for greater stability on wet roads.
• Directional tires must be mounted in the direction of the tread pattern.
• Applications: Passenger car tire for high-speed use.
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Designing a tyre tread which will operate equally well rotating in either direction inevitably involves compromises which limit ultimate performance in some respects.
An asymmetric tyre has different tread patterns on its inner and outer sides, giving it a distinct performance advantage over a tyre with a symmetrical or directional tread.
• The tread pattern on the inner side of a typical asymmetric tyre has more grooves giving better grip on wet roads
• The outer side has a higher plain surface area, the benefit of which becomes apparent when cornering at speed on a dry road
Directional tyres, on the other hand, are designed to rotate in one direction only (indicated by a conspicuous arrow pointing in the direction of rotation on the sidewall along with the word "rotation"); so performance - wet grip, directional stability and handling - far from being compromised, is optimised.
THE ABOVE IS A QUOTE FROM ANOTHER FORUM
Asymmetrical tread: A pattern in which one side does not correspond to the other side.
The tread of a tire which has different shapes/patterns and sizes of grooves in the same tire. Often they are divided into three distinct patterns: The outside shoulder, the center zone, and the inside shoulder. The outside shoulder tread will have larger shoulder elements with very few sipes to provide increased cornering stability. The center tread zone enhances steering control. The inside shoulder tread zone provides additional traction because the shape of the tread elements, sipes and larger shoulder slots help disperse water and slush. Obviously these tires must be mounted only one way so that the outside pattern is actually on the outside of the wheel.
Directional tire: Directional designs are recognized by the grooves in the tread that swipe away in a backward angle from the center of the tread face and rotate in only one direction. A direction of rotation arrow is located on both sidewalls of the tire. Directional tires enhance straight-line acceleration, provide maximum dry traction, better wet performance which helps to reduce rolling resistance as well as providing shorter stopping distances.
It really comes down to a give and take scenario. A directional tread design will offer better wet traction. An asymmetrical tire will give better dry traction and dry handling.
Please keep in mind that the above information is speculative and the final comparative outcome is dependant on the specific tires that you are trying to compare.
------------------------------------
Asymmetric pattern: Tread patterns which differ on either side of the tire -
• Asymmetric tires have been designed to optimize the opposing requirements of dry grip and water dispersal. They are good for high speed cornering due to the greater contact area which helps reduce tread wear on the outside shoulder.
• Application: High performance and Motorsport tires.
Directional pattern: Tread patterns characterized by lateral grooves on both sides of the tire which point in the same direction.
• Advantages of directional tread patterns are good driving force and braking performance. In particular directional patterns provide good water dispersal for greater stability on wet roads.
• Directional tires must be mounted in the direction of the tread pattern.
• Applications: Passenger car tire for high-speed use.
-----------------------------------
Designing a tyre tread which will operate equally well rotating in either direction inevitably involves compromises which limit ultimate performance in some respects.
An asymmetric tyre has different tread patterns on its inner and outer sides, giving it a distinct performance advantage over a tyre with a symmetrical or directional tread.
• The tread pattern on the inner side of a typical asymmetric tyre has more grooves giving better grip on wet roads
• The outer side has a higher plain surface area, the benefit of which becomes apparent when cornering at speed on a dry road
Directional tyres, on the other hand, are designed to rotate in one direction only (indicated by a conspicuous arrow pointing in the direction of rotation on the sidewall along with the word "rotation"); so performance - wet grip, directional stability and handling - far from being compromised, is optimised.
THE ABOVE IS A QUOTE FROM ANOTHER FORUM
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