Grit dog wrote:
@bigtow
What part of what you quoted makes using a directional tire unsafe or undesirable to use as a spare tire?
The difference between the right or wrong direction is literally not getting “optimal” traction. Sort of like a brand new tire vs one that is 50% worn out. Hardly worth the consternation about using one as a spare tire.
Neither Michelin nor I said anything about reversing a directional tire being "unsafe."
Michelin said that reversing a directional tire within the first 50% of tread life can result in undesirable tire performance, as well as undesirable accelerated treadwear, as detailed in the url linked Product Bulletin posted earlier, where the relevant text was also quoted within the post.
On Edit, to address the "consternation" about the spare:
For my requirements, there is no difference between the spare tire and any other tire on the rig. All tires, including the spare, are qualified to be run full time. When there is a need to use the spare tire, there is no need to remove the spare tire later to put back the removed rim with a repaired tire. The spare tire becomes the service tire, while the repaired or replaced tire becomes the spare tire.
Hence, a spare tire that can be mounted in any position on either side of the vehicle is more desirable to me than a directional tire, which is limited to only half of the available mounting positions.
I rotate the spare tire with the steer tires, to keep the wear down of the spare tire the same diameter as the wear down of all other tires. Thus the spare is indistinguishable from a service tire throughout the life cycle of that set of tires. A directional tire would disrupt that preventative maintenance.
