What is the correct tire rotation?

I assumed that the correct tire rotation is cross-changing of the tires on the diagonal, i.e. front right exchanged with rear left and front left with rear right. Some places change on the same side, i.e. front right with rear right that makes little sense, What is the correct one?

Reply to
CC22
Loading thread data ...

Tire tread tends to lean in a particular direction after moderate wear. If the tire is rotated to the other side of car, then it will be turning in the opposite direction. This can increase wear and cause a harsh ride. I would keep the tires on the same side of the vehicle.

Reply to
Mark A

In news: snipped-for-privacy@news-server.cfl.rr.com, CC22 being of bellicose mind posted:

Depends on the tire manufacturer and the PARTICULAR tire model (sometimes).

From personal experience with FWD cars, I don't rotate until the fronts are down to about 4/32nds ... then I move those to the back, same side. When the "new" fronts are worn down to 4/32nds, I buy a new set of tires.

Reply to
Philip®

4/32' does not seem like a lot to me but what is the actual depth of an OEM tire when brand new? Knowing the new depth perhaps puts the 4/32" in better perspective.

Thanks Mike

Reply to
Artfulcodger

"Artfulcodger" spake unto the masses in news:DIzRb.27005$ snipped-for-privacy@news04.bloor.is.net.cable.rogers.com:

Anywhere between a 1/2" and 1/4", depending on the tire.

The last set of tires I bought, Yokohama ES100s, came with only 1/4" of tread brand-new.

Reply to
Tegger®

The diagram in my Owner's manual, and Toyota workshop manuals show only moving front to back, (and back to front) no crossing over. With a front wheel drive, and the extra stresses placed on the front tires, that rotation pattern will still equalize wear.

Reply to
Daniel M. Dreifus

I cross-change my tires. I put 60K miles on a set of Michelins on my Explorer and the tires were still in great shape when I got rid of the vehicle. I'm planning to do the same with the set of Michelin Cross-Terrains on my Highlander.

- Chuck

Reply to
Chuck G.

Radial tires used to take a 'set' that made it advisable to keep them on the same side (as in Mark A's response). It's been years since I investigated, but I seem to remember seeing something that suggested it's a lot less of an issue recently.

'Philip® 's response sounds like a good one because the rears run in a path already cleared by the fronts (more or less). They don't need the same depth of tread to pump water out.

truFan

Reply to
truFan

On my particular OEM tires, the orginal depth was about 9/32nds.

2/32nds is the typical wear bar depth. New tire tread depths vary.
Reply to
Philip®

In news: snipped-for-privacy@posting.google.com, Daniel M. Dreifus being of bellicose mind posted:

In practice, rotating tires on an FWD car just ensures the outboard tread area wears out sooner than the middle.

Reply to
Philip®

investigated,

good

Personally, I've had a 75+ mph blow-out with a radial that was switched to the opposite side and run in the opposite direction... 3/4ths of the tread separated from the sidewall. It wasn't very fun... thank God it was on the rear of the car and not the front.

I'll keep rotating left rear to left front, etc....

Reply to
Celica Dude

Well here's what I found to be true - Philip will disagree cuz none of his cars seem to come with a full sized spare yet all 12 Toyotas I have owned have (save for a Geo Prism which proved not to be a rebadged Corolla -- have repair slips to prove it!)

Tires should be rotated approximately every 5,000 miles to ensure even wear. If you are not rotating the spare tire (because it is a temporary spare or it is not on a matching rim) - For a rear wheel drive car, move the rear tires to the front on the same side, and the front tires to the rear on the opposite side. For a front wheel drive car, move the front tires to the rear on the same side and the rears to the front on the opposite side. If you are able to rotate your spare tire with the others, insert the spare into the right rear position and take whatever tire that was supposed to go there as your spare. Also note that anytime you purchase a new tire, it should be as similar as possible to the other tires and should always be placed on the rear axle (CostCo insists that new tires go on the front! Which tends to make sense for front wheel drive but not for rear wheel drive). Ideally tires should be replaced at the same time to ensure that handling will not be negatively affected by differences in the tires. AWD has special expensive tire replacement considerations that require all 4 to be replaced at same time (since they must be very close to same diameter or transmission/transfer case problems arise).

Reply to
Wolfgang

In news:wrFRb.2902$u_6.236@lakeread04, Wolfgang being of bellicose mind posted:

Geo PriZm was never a rebadged Corolla when it came to body parts. Running gear and electrics ... same car.

I used to do this. Not anymore. With the PriZm, rotating tires by the Owners Book pattern ensured two carcass separations on the OEM set and one carcass separation in each of the first two replacement sets when rotated front to rear, rear to same side front. So ... no more

5k mile rotations. Mount 'em and leave 'em there until they're worn down, then rotate front to rear and repeat until worn out. Replace all four.

BZZT. Current case in point, my 2003 Corolla (with space saver tire) says in the Owners Book to rotate front to rear, rear to same side front. Same for the Goodyear tire booket. But, if the OEMs were Bridgestones, then cross them as you outlined. YET ... both tire booklets defer to the vehicle manufacturer for the last word on rotation. So that be front to rear, rear to same side front.

New tires should always go on the front first regardless of drive. With RWD, under hard braking and evasive steering, the front end gets all the increased weight transfer and directional control.

Reply to
Philip®

That still sounds like too much work :_> I've never rotated my tires and replace them only when they fail inspection. On average that's meant one tire every two or three years. Maybe I don't drive enough, eh.

Reply to
Richard Schumacher

The tyres on my FWD Camry have a non-symmetric tread pattern. The direction they spin drastically changes their ability to shift water out of the way. So the only way to rotate the tyres is strictly "swap front and rear on the SAME side".

Reply to
Bob

Hi,

well if the tyres are directional I wouldn't cross them over or you'll have a lot of fun in the wet. Front to rear is usually the way to go but I have noticed this tends to wear the outer edge quicker ie lot of tread in the middle not much on the outer.

It also seemed to put the wheels out of alignment so probably a good idea to get a wheel alignment after you rotate.

regards

Peter

Reply to
Peter

In news:7oJRb.31686$ snipped-for-privacy@news-server.bigpond.net.au, Peter being of bellicose mind posted:

Peter: Outer edge wear is a product of under inflation if present on both outer edges. This is sorta typical of radial tires inflated to the vehicle manufacturer pressures. It is not the product of tire rotation patterns. Now... if you mean outer edge but to a lesser extent the inner edge, then there is excessive toe-in present, assuming the camber angle is also not excessively positive.

Reply to
Philip®

Chuck:

On the Highlander Ltd with spare same as other 4 wheels don't leave the spare out of the roation so you have even longer lasting tires.

Dealers always say we only switch the 4 on the ground, and, I say it is $14.95 for tire rotation and the manual says tire rotation includes the spare; do it, and, they say "no problem". I mark the spare each time I take it in so I can tell if it is on the ground or not and the spare has no mark.

Regards,

Gordon

Reply to
Raneman

With a FWD vehicle, once you start rotating the spare in with the "4 on the ground" tires, you're committed to short duration (6k mile) tire rotations, otherwise steering pull usually results.

Reply to
Philip®

On a new vehicle you have to rotate all 5, to spread the wear around, otherwise you end up in the same mess I'm in (oops) with a

16-year-old "brand new" spare tire with maybe 1000 miles on it, that I'm going to have to toss because of possible dry-rot. It still has (mostly) Genuine Toyota Japanese Air in it...

I can agree with the short rotations, because the tread blocks will feather-edge and take a "set" in one direction. Changing rotation will accelerate the wear as it scrubs in the other side again.

(This is a LOT better than some models of first-generation steel radials, which had the unnerving habit of literally coming apart at the seams if you reversed their rotation when they were halfway worn down - the steel belts would take a set, and rip the carcass apart from the inside...)

Once you pass that hurdle and have worn all your tires out evenly, you buy 4 new tires and put the best used tire of the last batch (only a few years old) as the spare. After that the spare stays out of the rotation, just gets tossed when the next set wears out (or you can keep it till you see the rubber starting to go).

-->--

Reply to
Bruce L. Bergman

MotorsForum website is not affiliated with any of the manufacturers or service providers discussed here. All logos and trade names are the property of their respective owners.