Conti Sport Contact- Asym AND Directional?

[rockfish66]

I have these tires in 225/45-17 as OEM equipment on a 2003 BMW 325i. The tires are asymmetrical and have "Inside" and "Outside" clearly marked on the sidewall.

However, the tread also seems to be directional - the grooves along the shoulder run at an angle to the direction of rotation, and in my experience there is a preferred orientation to these grooves - the "V" points in the direction of rotation. If this is the case, the tires must be manufactured in "left" and "right" side versions, yet all my tires are the same.

Anyone else notice this?

I have called TireRack and they say they are not listed as directional. I have an email in to Continental USA, too, but no response yet.

[Gary@Tirerack]

If this is the Conti Sport Contact, they are not directional despite the appearance. Just run them with the "outside" facing out and you're good to go.

[rockfish66]

If this is the Conti Sport Contact, they are not directional despite the appearance. Just run them with the "outside" facing out and you're good to go.

Thanks. I'm sure you are correct. And I haven't notice any issues with them.

Still, I would think the effects of running the V's in the wrong direction would be worse than running the asymmetric tread "inside-out."

I'll be interested to see what Conti has to say about it.....

[Gary@Tirerack]

Thanks. I'm sure you are correct. And I haven't notice any issues with them.

Still, I would think the effects of running the V's in the wrong direction would be worse than running the asymmetric tread "inside-out."

I'll be interested to see what Conti has to say about it.....

I can see how one could be confused since it is an odd tread pattern, and it has been a common question I get from customers. It appears directional at first glance, but keep in mind that none of the "V"'s acutally connect to each other. The only one that comes close is on the outer shoulder and is separated by a solid rib.

http://www.tirerack.com/images/tires/conti/co_contisportcontact_ci2_l.jpg

[rockfish66]

The official non-response from Continental:
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We are in receipt of your correspondence.

The Continental ContiSportContact has an asymmetrical tread pattern and would have
instructions on the sidewall explaining how the tire would be mounted correctly.
The asymmetrical tread design optimizes each side of the tread for excellent handling,
basically it has an offset tread design and will look the same.
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