Tire Mounting Red Dot / Yellow Dot

[1990new]

I've seen some conflicting info about how to align the red/yellow dots with the valve stem. Anyone know the facts as they relate to mounting 12" tires on our Festivas?
I'm getting ready to mount my new Yokohama Tires on Junkyard Save.

[Flyin4stroke]

Shouldn't really matter as long as you balance your tires. I always put the dot on the valve stem if it is there, sometimes tires don't have dots.

[crazyrog17]

The mounting dot is used for match mounting.

As long as the tire guys you go to aren't total goons, they should know how to match mount tires.

The dot on the tire is the manufacturer's mark of the lightest part of the tire.

The valve stem is drilled into the heaviest part of the wheel.

When 'match mounted', the tire-wheel assembly should require less weight to balance it.

[chrisofna]

I have yet to see a tire guy actually follow this.

[Flyin4stroke]

Yeah this isn't for tires guys but more for the OCD guys lol. I'm one of them if I'm gonna do it might as well do it right.

[crazyrog17]

Well it's not always easy to get the dot and stem to line up perfectly. The way their mounting machines work will sometimes spin the tire around the wheel a bit before it seats. As long as they're not across from each other, the balance will work out fine.

[1990new]

Thanks for your responses guys.
I'm going with the manufacturers web site info on this. Yokohama says the red dot is for the uniformity method mounting and the red dot must be aligned with a mark on the wheel indicating the wheel assembly's point of minimum radial run-out, which is generally indicated by a colored dot or a notch somewhere on the wheel assembly. (I have alloy wheels and don't know about any such mark on them.)
The yellow dot is used for weight method mounting and if you use this method, the yellow dot should be aligned with the valve stem.
My conflicting info came from the previous mounting of the Yokohamas that I am replacing. They mounted the tires with the red dots at the valve stem. That was almost 4 years and 75,000 miles ago. At the time I pointed out to them that they had mounted the tires with the red dot at the valve stem and it should be the yellow dot. Their response was that we always mount tires with the red dot at the valve stem.
In any case, I'm mounting the tire myself this time and then get them balanced and and an alignment at the same time.

So... since they ran for 75,000 without a problem or a single puncture....apparently It doesn't make much difference how they're mounted.

[KingFish]

I have yet to see a tire guy actually follow this.

I was a tire guy (not a very good one I guess) and was never trained on this.

[JoDan]

If the come off that balancer when it reads 0 on both sides your good to go, no matter how that tire is mounted (except for directional tires)

[chrisofna]

I was a tire guy (not a very good one I guess) and was never trained on this.

Not saying you were a bad tire guy, lol. I was taught this in school followed by "no tire people do this even though we teach it" by my teacher. lol.

[econoaddict]

For those saying it doesn't matter, it should as much as people talk about getting lighter wheels.
Over the 9 years I worked in a tire shop I have seen tires mounted with the "dot" opposite the stem and require 2-3oz of weight to balance to zero, break the bead and rotate to the correct spot and some will actually balance out to zero without weight.
On a small tire you want as little weight as possible, .25oz out of balance is enough to feel on 12" or 13" wheels.

[Gomez]

For those saying it doesn't matter, it should as much as people talk about getting lighter wheels.
Over the 9 years I worked in a tire shop I have seen tires mounted with the "dot" opposite the stem and require 2-3oz of weight to balance to zero, break the bead and rotate to the correct spot and some will actually balance out to zero without weight.
On a small tire you want as little weight as possible, .25oz out of balance is enough to feel on 12" or 13" wheels.

I agree. The marks are there for a reason. Little weight as possible. Not to mention that a larger weight becomes a very large projectile if it decides to come off.

[blkfordsedan]

I have seen these colored dots on tires & always wondered what they were for. I never heard of this before, and I guarantee that 99% of the tire shops around here have never heard of it either! Is this a new development that is mostly found on higher performance, low profile tires? Is this why I could never get a good balance on most of the new tires I bought in the last 10 years?

[chrisofna]

They have been there for quite a while from what I have noticed.