Anyone needing a new set of Billboards?

[Silverback51]

I posted that long ago.

No one seemed to care.

[DougD]

Silverback
I must have missed your post. I seem to get mixed results when I search ths forum. This is the first time I´ve seen bias ply tires that are directional.

[mickmate]

I'm not sure that applies to these tires. If it did it would put letters out at one end and in on the other. I don't believe there's any direction to the tread. I should check on that I guess.

[Donunder]

How many times have you seen Billboards with the writing facing outwards on one side and inwards on the other? Not too many?

My understanding of these tyres is that once they've been mounted and driven on, they develop some sort of memory so that THAT direction becomes the direction they should always travel in. Like, don't change them from one side to the other once they've been used unless you remount them on the opposite rims so they continue to run in their original direction. (But then you hide the lettering and that's no fun! ) Make sure you chalk mark them whenever the're off the car so they go back onto the correct side.

Looking forward to some great photos of newly-Billboarded Cobras now.

[ERA Chas]

That diagram above is correct and they are directional.
Mine came from RKR and all came with a small, hand-painted letter and arrow-which matches Doug's post.
See just after the large 'R':

[Donunder]

Originally Posted by ERA Chas

That diagram above is correct and they are directional.
Mine came from RKR and all came with a small, hand-painted letter and arrow-which matches Doug's post.
See just after the large 'R':

Chas I think I'd need more convincing than an oil pen marking that these tyres are directional. Unless there's some information actually moulded into the tyre's sidewall, that mark could mean anything. Maybe the tyre technician simply marked the tyre to make sure he put it back onto the left rear rim. I doubt that sort of mark would be ex-factory.

And just as an aside.... it's been a long while since I had my Austin Healey 3000 with its wire wheels and knockoffs, and maybe my memory is hazy, but is that safety wire on your wheel spinner pulling the right way? I seem to remember that left hand side spinners tightened in a clockwise direction.

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by Donunder

Chas I think I'd need more convincing than an oil pen marking that these tyres are directional.

See here and open the PDF.
Roger Kraus Racing - More Information
You are free to ignore RKR's mount instructions. The racers who buy his tires do not.
I swapped my rear hubs side for side.

[elmariachi]

Originally Posted by Donunder

How many times have you seen Billboards with the writing facing outwards on one side and inwards on the other? Not too many?
My understanding of these tyres is that once they've been mounted and driven on, they develop some sort of memory so that THAT direction becomes the direction they should always travel in. Like, don't change them from one side to the other once they've been used unless you remount them on the opposite rims so they continue to run in their original direction. (But then you hide the lettering and that's no fun! ) Make sure you chalk mark them whenever the're off the car so they go back onto the correct side.

FYI the lettering on both sides are painted white. The last set I bought, and nearly every one I have ever seen in this part of the country have had the same little white abbreviations and arrows shown in Chas' photo. When the dust settles on this I will bet that in fact GY does want them mounted directionally per Silverback's diagram earlier and the distributor is responsible for shipping sets that can be mount that way and they are the ones making the notations on the tires. This would explain why these new ones I have that came directly from GY through Nick weren't marked.

[Donunder]

Originally Posted by elmariachi

I will bet that in fact GY does want them mounted directionally per Silverback's diagram earlier and the distributor is responsible for shipping sets that can be mount that way and they are the ones making the notations on the tires. This would explain why these new ones I have that came directly from GY through Nick weren't marked.

Look guys, the last thing I want to do is to cause any type of ruckus over whether these tires are directional or not, it's not of any great concern to me, but the statement above that it is the distributor, and not Good Year themselves, that puts the oil pen markings on the tires leaves me mystified and raises a few questions.

Why, if indeed they are directional, are not the tires so identified as they come from the factory? Clearly and unmistakeably? As is the case with every other directional tire I've ever seen?

What mysterious additional information is made available to the distributor on which to base his decision to declare a particular tire is "directional" one way or the other?

Who provides this information? Is it available to you and me?

For instance where would Nick take this new batch to to have them examined, certified and then marked as to which way they should be mounted and facing on a car?

It all sounds a bit suss to me. From my admittedly limited knowledge of these tires, it's safe and practical to mount 'em, drive 'em and then once they've been broken in, ensure that they only travel in that same direction for the rest of their lives.

I have observed in some better tire fitting shops, that the fitter will mount a tire on a rim and then go to balance it. If the machine indicates that a large weight is necessary to balance the combination, the fitter will often strip the tire off the rim and move it around a little to try to improve the balance as much as possible so as to have to resort to as light a weight as possible. When there are numerous rims and tires of the same size lying around during this process, the fitter will often make a small mark to identify which tire goes on which rim in which direction and in which position on the rim the optimal balance was achieved before adding weight.

Could the markings be down to something as simple as this?

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by Donunder

Could the markings be down to something as simple as this?

You've been politely told by owners of these tires what and why. You've been given the link to a major distributor of them which explains how they should be mounted. He got that information from his supplier, GoodYear. The tire treads are NOT directional-it's the way the plies are set into the mold that G'Year specifies the mount location on the chassis. That's what being called 'directional'-the plies. Got that??
And a retailer will mark them as such as a courtesy to his customers. Jim has explained why this batch, coming direct from G'Year does not have the paint marks you are so loathe to trust. Failing paint marks, G'Year specifies that the tire serial number determines where they're placed. (As shown in my PDF). No mystery involved.
At least eight guys on this thread have bought them (unlike you) and every one will mount them in the specified direction. For several this is NOT their first set.
Since you apparently determined you can't believe any of us, please go away and buy any set of tires you deem wise and mount them in any direction you please.
Don't pose a question and then question the answers without your own experience, or having spent any money. Displaying cleverness in the face of experience is lame-we already have one of those.
If you truly don't care one way or another, come here less often-apparently we don't know enough for you.

[elmariachi]

You are clearly far more perplexed than us so maybe you could call a GY Racing distributor and ask them. We are all just speculating out of curiosity and that has turned into the 9th wonder of the world.

[Donunder]

Jeez...ask a simple question or two....

Thanks for the nice conversation and the polite replies.

Sorry I upset you all by passing on some information I'd heard over the years, and then having the temerity to voice an opinion. Unforgiveable of me.

[sspano01]

directional or not....that pic looks amazing. i need to order some

[Cobrakeith]

Now that all of you have had enough time to put these tires on your cars I would like to know if anyone had any trouble balancing the new tires? And if you did what you did to solve the problem? I hope everyone has had good luck with these tires and they all run perfectly, they look great. Thanks.

Keith

[elmariachi]

Mine are still sitting right where I sat them the day they were delivered. Less wear that way.

Actually I have been installing my oil cooler system and so other winter mods and hope to get them on next weekend. Not expecting any issues but I will post up how it goes.

[Mike Bartlett]

I was told the same thing when I had mine mounted by Roger Kraus Racing and was unaware as well. Brandon, the son's owner, stated it becuase of the way the ply's are laid out and if backwards meaning wrong tire on the wrong side the ply end could have a small ridge which would contact the ground on the face of that ridge rather than the back side. Kinda of like a wave in the ocean you want the back side of the wave hitting the ground first not the front or face of the wave. Yes the bar code reflects the outside of the tire.

Another idea is to place a small mark on the edge of each rear tire right near the rim and another small mark on the actual rim. I was told that if you hit the pedal hard enough you can spin the rim within the tire beed, meaning your two marks will no longer line up, if this happens your tire can become unbalanced. If you have them marked you can keep an eye on this. I think its only for the first few hundred miles/heat cycles that this can happen.

Love the tires thanks a bunch Nick!

Mike

[CWizard]

Originally Posted by Cobrakeith

Now that all of you have had enough time to put these tires on your cars I would like to know if anyone had any trouble balancing the new tires? And if you did what you did to solve the problem? I hope everyone has had good luck with these tires and they all run perfectly, they look great. Thanks.

Keith

Yes, yes, yes. I've had trouble balancing these buggers. Had them Road-Force balanced by a local outfit that claims to do lots of race tire balancing, and the car shakes like crazy at, guess where, 65 mph! (It also shakes at 35 mph until the flat spots are gone.) The problem may well be that the rear tires are out-of-round. My plan is to get the balance and roundness checked by another tire dealer and if a tire is out of round, I'll get it shaved to try and true it. Then re-balance. Any other ideas on how to deal with this?
Thanks,
Jerry

[ERA Chas]

Originally Posted by CWizard

My plan is to get the balance and roundness checked by another tire dealer and if a tire is out of round, I'll get it shaved to try and true it. Then re-balance. Any other ideas on how to deal with this?
Thanks,
Jerry

Good plan. The flat spotting will always be a factor. Less so in a warm climate. If the car is stored or unused for a length of time, either pull them off or jackstand the car.
And don't let the shocks hang-prop the lower arms front and rear.

[Mike Bartlett]

I drove mine only twice since the new tires. The first trip was pretty short the 2nd trip was 2-3 hrs off an on. I was on back roads but did not notice any wobbling/balancing issues coming from the tires. I did notice they do grab at anything they find however after driving a bit I kinda got use to it. So far I love the tires however I do need to get me alignment done my old left rear tire had considerable more wear on the inner edge than the outer.

Mike