[Guna]

Hello Tyre Gurus on T-Bhp
I had changed the aging tyres on my car with new Michelin Lattitude tyres. It has been several months but only recently I noticed the inconsistent tread patterns.

1. 2 tyres have slightly different cuts on the contact patch. One has straight cuts while the other has slightly curved ones
2. Tread with are uneven
3. Some treads have wrong cuts on the side (corner)

Are these common? I have never seen tyres so closely but something like this triggers my OCD

[AMG Power]

Originally Posted by Guna

2 tyres have slightly different cuts on the contact patch. One has straight cuts while the other has slightly curved.

Please post full pics of tyres with external markings.

It looks like the top two tyres have not been mounted correctly - the V direction through the tread design is not seen.

[self_driven]

Originally Posted by Guna

Hello Tyre Gurus on T-Bhp
I had changed the aging tyres on my car with new Michelin Lattitude tyres. It has been several months but only recently I noticed the inconsistent tread patterns.

1. 2 tyres have slightly different cuts on the contact patch. One has straight cuts while the other has slightly curved ones
2. Tread with are uneven
3. Some treads have wrong cuts on the side (corner)

If the 4 pictures you posted are of the same car, waste no time and visit the tyre shop for an explanation. The first two pictures show Michelin Latitude Sport 3 tyres while the other two are of the Michelin Primacy 4ST.

Coming to your questions:

1) Side with straight cuts shall be facing out. Latitude Sport 3 is an asymmetric tyre and must be mounted with the correct side facing out. In your case it looks like one of the tyres is mounted incorrectly. You can confirm this by looking at 'Outside' and 'Inside' markings on the sidewall.

2) This is a part of tyre design, no need to worry.

3) Again a part of design, but for the Primacy 4ST.

Glad that you noticed this inconsistency but I'd suggest you to get in touch with the tyre shop immediately as driving on different tyres, even if they are new and of the same size, can be a risky proposition in extreme conditions. I assume that the car you have is a premium one capable of good speeds, which makes it more concerning.

Do keep us posted on the outcome.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by self_driven

Glad that you noticed this inconsistency but I'd suggest you to get in touch with the tyre shop immediately as driving on different tyres, even if they are new and of the same size, can be a risky proposition in extreme conditions. I assume that the car you have is a premium one capable of good speeds, which makes it more concerning.

Do keep us posted on the outcome.

Thanks for point out the issues accurately! These are fitted on VW Tiguan Allspace. I shall get in touch with the dealer.

[Guna]

Originally Posted by AMG Power

It looks like the top two tyres have not been mounted correctly - the V direction through the tread design is not seen.

Originally Posted by self_driven

The first two pictures show Michelin Latitude Sport 3 tyres while the other two are of the Michelin Primacy 4ST.

I checked again. They all have been mounted properly ('outside' facing the outside). One of them is Primacy and the other 3 are LS3.
I contacted the dealer. Initially he denied nothing like that could happen and now that it is almost a year, he can't trace the inventory. After some back and forth conversation, he said he will get a Michelin officer to call me. Probably they are going to tell 'you continue to drive sir, nothing will happen'.

My other suspicion is the possibility of service center folks replacing the 4th tyre, after the tyre got badly damaged in their premises. I am trying to see if I can get any old photos of the car where the rear-left tyre is visible.