Tire Rotation, which method?

[MadScientist]

My old 2000 Ford Contour manual recommends the forward cross method, C on the Tirerack site. My Nissan Versa manual recommends the Front to Rear method, D.

Is the Front to Rear method the current preferred method for most vehicles?

The Tirerack site does state that D is for vehicles equipped with the same size directional wheels and/or directional tires.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43

Oops, I meant to post this in the Garage section. Mods would you please move it there.

 

[olds]

Rotate yourself to The Garage.

 

[lxskllr]

If I rotate, I go front to back, retaining the same side. I don't always rotate either. I've had cars that wear tires uniformly enough not to worry about it.

 

[datalink7]

My front tires are a different size than my rear tires, so no rotation for me

 

[Raizinman]

You have to weigh the cost of rotating every 7500 miles to the cost of new tires. If you have 75,000 mile tires, and you rotate every 7500 miles at the cost of $20 per rotation, then you have spent $200 on tire rotations. If you bought cheaper tires, perhaps $69 each, then you can see it might not pay to rotate. On the other hand if you have expensive tires, it will usually pay to rotate. I purchase my tires at Sams or Costco and with one price like $10.95 per tire, they give you lifetime rotating and balancing for the life of your tire. Thats a great deal.

 

[lxskllr]

You have to weigh the cost of rotating every 7500 miles to the cost of new tires. If you have 75,000 mile tires, and you rotate every 7500 miles at the cost of $20 per rotation, then you have spent $200 on tire rotations. If you bought cheaper tires, perhaps $69 each, then you can see it might not pay to rotate. On the other hand if you have expensive tires, it will usually pay to rotate. I purchase my tires at Sams or Costco and with one price like $10.95 per tire, they give you lifetime rotating and balancing for the life of your tire. Thats a great deal.

I always did it myself, minus the balancing. That's free unless your tires are out of balance.

 

[MadScientist]

I've had a few bad experiences with shops rotating my tires, so I rotate my tires and torque the lug nuts. Front to Rear is easier. I jack the car up enough on one side to get both front and rear wheels off the ground and put 2 jack stands under it.

http://www.tirerack.com/wheels/tech/techpage.jsp?techid=107

 

[kami333]

I rotate when I swap between the summer and winter tires.

B (cross swap) for the winters, D (front to back) for the directional summers.

 

[feralkid]

Sidewall.

 

[HeXen]

i don't bother at all, when they need replaced i just do so.

 

[Leros]

How important is rotating?

 

[lxskllr]

How important is rotating?

It isn't at all. It can maximize the life of your tires, but it isn't essential.

 

[Leros]

It isn't at all. It can maximize the life of your tires, but it isn't essential.

Are we talking an extra 5% or an extra 50%?

 

[spidey07]

How important is rotating?

Very. Even wearing and much longer life.

I'd say 20-30% longer life, sometimes more. It really depends on the car and how the suspension/alignment is setup though. My car is FWD, but the rears wear out faster because of the extra camber and toe.

 

[lxskllr]

Are we talking an extra 5% or an extra 50%?

Depends on the car, and I guess the tire construction. My Jeep wears out front tires much faster than rear, but I've had cars where they wear almost exactly the same. You could also just get 2 new tires when a pair wears out. You'd have 2 new ones, and 2 old ones at the same time, but it doesn't matter if you don't care about appearance. You'd also be going to the tire store more often.

 

[Leros]

The tire shop down the street does a rotation for $8. I'll have to drop by sometime.

 

[jlee]

My front tires are a different size than my rear tires, so no rotation for me

Yep. Other car has directional tires so front/rear only.

 

[CraigRT]

Front to back, same side.
(front wheel drive car.)

 

[Vette73]

My front tires are a different size than my rear tires, so no rotation for me

Go left to right side unless they are directional.

But usually when you rotate one set just moved from one end to the other. The other set crosses and then moves to the other end.

 

[bruceb]

I also have FWD and do not bother to rotate the tires. When the fronts get somewhat worn, I move the 2 rears, which have very little wear to the front and put 2 new on the rear. Some cars, like my Grand Prix, rear tires last very long.

 

[Throckmorton]

The benefit of the cross is that it changes the direction of rotation, so the tires get to wear in a different "direction". I assume that's better

 

[sdifox]

Most tires these days are directional no?

 

[Vette73]

Most tires these days are directional no?

Most are not but more are than before. Use to be only high perf. tires were. But now many are even if it does not help.

I try to buy ones that are not. The DWS, my current fav tire, are not so I run those.

 

[DrPizza]

I've never been able to figure out how you get "extra mileage" out of the tires by rotating them. Yes, I understand that some of the tires will wear out quicker than the other tires. But, it seems that you should be losing material from the same tire at the same rate, i.e. the left front is going to lose 1cm of rubber thickness over 50,000 miles regardless of how the tires are rotated.

The only "benefit" that I can see is that you spread the wear among the 4 tires more evenly, so that when you need new tires, you need to replace all 4. I prefer to run them until the front tires need to be replaced. Then, I rotate the back tires to the front & put the new tires on the rear.

 

[Vette73]

^

Yea mostly to even the wear out but also usually thre front wears more on the sides of the tires from turning and the rear a little more in the middle.