What Are The Different Tread Patterns in Car Tyres?

Regarding tyres, there is no one-size-fits-all for all cars. Your tyre’s tread and the pattern on the tread impact your driving experience and safety. If your tyres are not suitable for roads and weather conditions, you may lose control or damage the tyres of your car easily. If you are looking for Continental tyres Radstock, then come to us. 

The tyre tread makes direct contact with the road surface. Tyre patterns on the tread also have different tyres according to the car, depending on the preferred function of the driver. The most common tyre tread patterns are asymmetric and directional, which both have different functions on the road.

In this blog post, we are going to talk about asymmetric, multi-directional and directional tyres. We will also share the safe tyre tread depth for your car tyres to improve safety while driving.

What Are Asymmetric Tyre Tread Patterns?

Asymmetric tyres have two different tread patterns on the outer and inner edges of the tyre to offer a dual function for the driver. On the outside edge, the tread blocks are large which are made to offer good dry traction and handling due to their larger contact area with the road.

On the inside edge, the tread block is small in size to offer a better grip on corners. It also helps to drive on wet and dry surfaces smoothly. The inner edge has more grooves which quickly drain the water and reduce the risk of aquaplaning. The asymmetric tyres are designed to offer better all-around performance tyres in different conditions like wet and dry conditions.

These tyres can be placed on all sides of the car but ensure that the larger tread block is on the outside edge of the tyre to work correctly. This is the reason manufacturers mentioned words like OUTSIDE stamped on the sidewall of the tyre to ensure they are fitted with tread block facing correctly.

What Are Multi-Directional Tyre Tread Patterns?

Multi-directional tyres are also known as symmetrical tyres. These tyres have tread blocks that are the same on the inner and outer sides of the tyre. You have the freedom to rotate your tyres in either direction and be fitted at any position on the car without any compromise in performance.

They usually install in small cars which are comparatively affordable and require less effort to install in a car. While they offer excellent grip on dry road conditions, they may not be as effective in wet conditions as asymmetric tyres.

Multi-directional tyres are not suitable for all-round conditions such as off-roading, and wet or snowy roads. Even in excessive cornering, they may cause uneven wear which can result in low traction and reduce tyre life as well.

What Are Directional Tyre Tread Patterns?

Directional tyres have an arrowhead-like tread pattern which is designed to roll forward in one direction only. It has lateral grooves that connect in the middle of the tyre tread. These tyres look very striking appearance but there is more to directional tyres than just appealing looks. 

The directional tyres have V-shaped grooves that help to reduce the risk of aquaplaning at high speed by draining the water more efficiently through the tyred pattern. The directional tread pattern also offers better traction which results in excellent handling on snow or mud road conditions.

Asymmetrical tyres can be installed on either side of the car but this is not the same case with the directional tyres, they must be rotated vertically from front to back only. If you don’t fit the directional tyres in the right direction then the tread pattern will move in the wrong direction when mounted on a wheel on the other side of the car. 

You can get help to fit your car tyres by following the printed arrow on the tyre sidewall that shows the required direction to travel. The printed arrow also matches the tyre tread pattern direction. 

Can You Install Different Tyre Tread Patterns on Your Car?

In general, we don’t recommend installing different tyre tread patterns on a single axle. Let’s take an example, an asymmetric tyre won’t provide the wet and dry handling performance if it other side of the tyre has a different tread pattern. Usually, it is best to replace your tyres with identical tyres to the ones you already have so that the tread design matches perfectly.

For some reason, if this isn’t possible or you want to experiment with your tyre brand, you need to make sure your replacement tyres have the same tread pattern as other tyres on this axle. For example, if you have a directional tread pattern you need to avoid replacing it with an asymmetric or symmetrical tyres, unless you need to change both tyres Radstock on the axle.

Conclusion

Different tyre tread patterns such as asymmetric or symmetric have different use that affect the way your car drives. Choose the correct tyre pattern for the desired function that helps you get the best performance possible.