What is the point in rotating tires?

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
35,461
4
81
They are going to wear anyways, just let the tire with more tread be up front on front wheel drives, right?
 

gistech1978

Diamond Member
Aug 30, 2002
5,047
0
0
Originally posted by: Nitemare
They are going to wear anyways, just let the tire with more tread be up front on front wheel drives, right?

as is my understanding, yes.
 

ThaPerculator

Golden Member
May 11, 2001
1,449
0
0
They are going to wear anyways, just let the tire with more tread be up front on front wheel drives, right?

It's great to know that you are on the road with the rest of us... :disgust:
 

StageLeft

No Lifer
Sep 29, 2000
70,150
5
0
Every 4-5k miles is good if you like wasting time/money. I do mine when the front/rear look a lot diff :evil:
 

Nitemare

Lifer
Feb 8, 2001
35,461
4
81
Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Tires don't wear evenly, rotation balances the wear.

Viper GTS

Front ones wear more, when they start to look bad, rotate them with the back ones. What's the point in doing it frequently is what I'm asking
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
My fronts are wearing on the edges quite noticeably so I'd like to rotate both to the back... didn't think that's how you normally rotate though... supposed to be a pattern to follow but I guess not if they look like that.

Anyway, what's this about FWD and putting non-worn up there ? What if you have RWD ? :confused:
 

NogginBoink

Diamond Member
Feb 17, 2002
5,322
0
0
Originally posted by: Nitemare
They are going to wear anyways, just let the tire with more tread be up front on front wheel drives, right?

Actually, experts advise new tires on the rear wheels. For both fwd and rwd cars.
 
Aug 16, 2001
22,505
4
81
Originally posted by: rh71
My fronts are wearing on the edges quite noticeably so I'd like to rotate both to the back... didn't think that's how you normally rotate though... supposed to be a pattern to follow but I guess not if they look like that.

Anyway, what's this about FWD and putting non-worn up there ? What if you have RWD ? :confused:

You have to low pressure in your tires.
 

Viper GTS

Lifer
Oct 13, 1999
38,107
433
136
Originally posted by: Nitemare
Originally posted by: Viper GTS
Tires don't wear evenly, rotation balances the wear.

Viper GTS

Front ones wear more, when they start to look bad, rotate them with the back ones. What's the point in doing it frequently is what I'm asking

In a perfect world where perfectly flat & completely rigid tires ran on perfectly level and straight roads and it was impossible to mis-align anything, rotation might not be necessary.

Here in the real world it's necessary.

Go look at the tires on your car & come tell us what you see.

Viper GTS
 

Kenazo

Lifer
Sep 15, 2000
10,429
1
81
a lot of tire resellers include free rotation as part of the selling price. I get mine rotated every 10,00km's for free.
 

rh71

No Lifer
Aug 28, 2001
52,844
1,049
126
Originally posted by: FrustratedUser
Originally posted by: rh71
My fronts are wearing on the edges quite noticeably so I'd like to rotate both to the back... didn't think that's how you normally rotate though... supposed to be a pattern to follow but I guess not if they look like that.

Anyway, what's this about FWD and putting non-worn up there ? What if you have RWD ? :confused:

You have to low pressure in your tires.
Yes I suspected that and I've been too lazy to find an air pump at the station (I hardly drive it at all). But what's done is done and it's already worn. :( Will inflate when I can remember though.

For the record though, I have them at 29psi like the door sticker recommends... I always thought it was too low especially for a truck.
 
Apr 27, 2004
54
0
0
Steer tires create more wear to the tread. On FWD it is compuonded even more. Rotating the tires helps to keep the wear even on the tires and help extend the tread life. By waiting until you see the wear damage the tire is almost worn out and will only get worse even after rotating.
 

TwoBills

Senior member
Apr 11, 2004
734
0
76
I change my oil and rotate my tires at the same time. Used to be every 5000mi., But my new truck wants it done at 3500. I'm too lazy for this, but the ft. tires start to set, so it has to be done. Thus, at 4K the tires get rotated and the oil gets changed. Too soon for the oil, I know. I'm thinking of letting the tire dealer do a rotation at 3500 and then I'll do another at 3500 and change the oil. Synthetic. Should work out just fine. I'll just have to keep an eye on the dealer. Haven't found one yet that does a proper rotation. Last time I caught the fool crossing to the left and bringing them straight across to the right. Made him do it over. Gotta watch 'em.
As to the proper sequence, there's only two ways, as far as I'm concerned. Forget what the owner's manual tells you.
Rear wheel drive: Cross the fronts to the rear and bring the rears straight up.
Front wheel drive: Cross the rears to the front and bring the fronts straight back.
I do a 5 tire rotation, but I'm one of the few, so I won't go into it here, unless someone really wants to know.
Every time I rotate it feels like I'm riding on new rubber, for the next 500mi., even when the tires are almost gone.
The two main reasons for rotation are: 1)even wear for the life of the tire.
2) prevents radial tire pull, noticeable mostly on ft. wh. dr.
 

Triumph

Lifer
Oct 9, 1999
15,031
14
81
Originally posted by: KingNothing
BMW recommends against rotating tires on their cars. Not sure why though.

probably because many BMW's have wider tires at the rear than at the front. most other cars have the same size tires all around.
 

z0mb13

Lifer
May 19, 2002
18,106
1
76
Originally posted by: KingNothing
BMW recommends against rotating tires on their cars. Not sure why though.

my rear tires are bigger than my front tires...
(I have a 330ci)
 

flot

Diamond Member
Feb 24, 2000
3,197
0
0
That does make it much harder to rotate them. :)

And for the econobox drivers who think front tires all wear out faster, my rwd sportscar went through a set of rear tires every 9,000-11,000 miles and front tires every 12,000-15,000 miles. Aside from the fact that I couldn't rotate them if I wanted to, they simply never needed it - they'd go from new to bald in a year.

If you are PAYING somebody to rotate your tires, and you do it more often than 2-3 times in your tire's lifespan, I'd really question whether or not you'd be better off not rotating them and just buying new tires 20% earlier. Do the math and let us know what you figure out. Especially with cars that take small 14" tires, I can't imagine it's worth the $25-35 or so some shops would charge you for the rotation.
 

Actaeon

Diamond Member
Dec 28, 2000
8,657
20
76
Why pay someone else to rotate it? Jack up the car, switch the tires around, either criss cross or just front to back. Hardly anything worth paying someone for.
 

Black88GTA

Diamond Member
Sep 9, 2003
3,430
0
0
In order to properly rotate my tires, I have to break them down from the rims and swap them that way. The front and rear wheels on my car are different from each other (different offsets). So, I don't rotate mine. My last set lasted me 5 years/30k miles, and those were the cheapest garbage the previous owner could find to slap on there and sell it.
 

Kenazo

Lifer
Sep 15, 2000
10,429
1
81
The tires we had on our sunfire had a little over 100,000 km's on them. :) Though they were almost bald when we changed them. Hopefully the new set will last as long.
 

Kelemvor

Lifer
May 23, 2002
16,928
8
81
Originally posted by: bdjohnson
It makes them wear more evenly so they last longer.

Exactly. i have mine rotated every time I get an oil change. Otherwise I forget when it's due.