My 2003 4Runner owners manual says rotate 3 tires on the right side and
2 on the left. So you throw away all 5 tires when the 2 on the left wear out? Is there something about 4wd that requires tires to be used on only one side of the vehicle, or was this part of the manual written by the same guys who wrote the rest of it?
Perhaps the tires are directional? One theory on the 3 tires on the right side is that the tires on that side are the ones that encounter the edge of the road where cracks, potholes, gravel, etc. are more likely to be encountered. As such those tires see a bit more wear and tear than the driver's side.
You might want to look up the tire mfg. web site and see if they have alternate tire rotation schemes. Many tires can be roatated side to side and front to back to even out the tread wear. Front tires tend to wear on the edges from steering, rears wear in the center from the normal acceleration loads. Tread blocks can wear unevenly, leading edge gets more wear than trailing edge.
Thanks Dennis. What does YOUR owners manual tell you to do for a 5 tire rotation? I'm trying to figure out how Toyota arrived at the( 2 on the left--3 on the right) scheme for a 5 tire rotation.
paul and carolyn @ albuquerque
Some Toyota wheels are hub centric--Tundra, for example. The wheels fit tightly on a slight extension of the hub and this centers them.
For the lug-centric wheels where the wheels do not fit tightly on the hub but are centered by the lugs, the tire balancer needs to use a lug-centric adapter. The wheels will balance fine on the machine when balanced in the center bore, but they're not centered! They won't be correctly balanced on the truck.
side is that the tires on that side are the ones that
more likely to be encountered. As such those tires see a
alternate tire rotation schemes. Many tires can be
tires tend to wear on the edges from steering, rears
wear unevenly, leading edge gets more wear than trailing
They do wear in the direct they rotate. So most don't recommend moving from one side to another. (You can do it but ride will be bumpy til the directional wear gets scrubbed off). If you favor the left side --- you could do rotation there and stick with it. At least they now provide a full size spare on an allow wheel so rotation is possible. One of my deciding factors in selection the 4Rnr over the Nissan Murano! Other was the cheap-looking plastic shinny chrome grill, useless mandatory roof rack, CVT overheating concerns and poor actual gas mileage with premium gas.
Ha mine came with Dunlop tires (not my favorite!) and a Firestone/Bridgestone warranty. I would have preferred the Bridgstone tires. Saw none with Michelin --- although my wife's 03 Camry came with Michelin. Guess it dependent on country of manf --- the Dunlops are the mdae in US piece on the 4Rnr!
strait forward
wheel.
Dennis - Problem with not including the 5th wheel is --- as the other wear down their tread on 4WD/AWD it isn't good to have a new tire introduced that is a different diameter! Plus what good is a 6 year old brand new dry rotted tire! Now that Toyota puts the 5th tire on an alloy wheel there is no reason not to incude it in the rotate. Hooray for Toyota seeing the light (despite the temptation to use wighjt saving donuts spares). !
Haweka and a load-balancing machine. one local dealer near me actually places a load down onto the tire while the machine balances the tire. load-balancing can help find tire defects.
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