Tire rotation?

[Lawrence Berk]

Hey!

Just a quick question regarding some tire maintenance.

How often would you more experienced folk recommend tire rotation/alignment??

Thanks

[Tamago]

what does your owners manual say? ;)

[MadMax]

I got the lifetime coverage from Discount Tire and get my tires rotated and balanced every 5000 miles (to coincide with oil changes).

I don't worry about the alignment too much, but will get one done when I (eventually) get some DF210s installed.

Cheers! M2

[kimona]

I never rotate my tyres, but I regularly check tyre pressure and wear.

[Tamago]

I never rotate my tyres, but I regularly check tyre pressure and wear.

every time i drive, i rotate my tires. usually only in one direction, but sometimes in parking lots they get rotated the OTHER direction too :laugh:

[SpaceShot]

Where I am I run a full set of snows from Dec 1 to Apr 1. They are mounted and balanced and sitting in the garage under the bench.

When I change over for the seasons, some simple chalk marks (on the inside sidewall, near the rim) indicate which location that tire came from, and at the following change over I try to remember to not put them back at the same location on the car.

For me it's roughly 16K miles on the all season tires between change overs. (and rotation)

[silver_echo]

i would usually recommend approx 6000 miles between tire rotations, however, if at 6000 miles you cannot tell a difference in the tires, then i might be persuaded to run a 12000 mile interval... remember, rotation of your tires is to help your tires last longer...

[kimona]

every time i drive, i rotate my tires. usually only in one direction, but sometimes in parking lots they get rotated the OTHER direction too :laugh:

I love this answer!

[kimona]

i would usually recommend approx 6000 miles between tire rotations, however, if at 6000 miles you cannot tell a difference in the tires, then i might be persuaded to run a 12000 mile interval... remember, rotation of your tires is to help your tires last longer...

Rotating won't "help your tires last longer..." Rotating simply allows for more uniform wear of all four tyres.

[schleppy]

I rotate mine every 3000-5000 miles. It only takes 10 minutes or so with a proper jack/tools. Why not?

[silver_echo]

Rotating won't "help your tires last longer..." Rotating simply allows for more uniform wear of all four tyres.

and with uniform wear, tires will last longer...

[markitect]

If it is a leased car, you plan on switching to a new tire when they wear out or you plan to sell it during the life of your tires, make sure to rotate them. If you plan on keeping your yaris (which I'm sure most of us do) I really wouldn't bother. You can rotate it and buy 4 new tires at about the same time, or you can not rotate it and get 2 at a time.

If you don't plan on rotating them make sure to look at the tire wear periodically. Uneven wear can be a sign of a major problem, or that you need to get your alignment checked.

[kimona]

and with uniform wear, tires will last longer...

Most people believe this, but it is absolutely not true.

Tyre rotation allows for uniform wear of all four tyres... which simply means all four tyres wear out at about the same time. This does not equal longer tread life overall.

[Tamago]

Most people believe this, but it is absolutely not true.

Tyre rotation allows for uniform wear of all four tyres... which simply means all four tyres wear out at about the same time. This does not equal longer tread life overall.

it depends on your alignment setup.. but for the most part i agree with you.

[Kal-El]

It's really not necessary to rotate more than every 10,000 miles even though many shops recommend 5,000. That's just overkill.

[supmet]

Rotating won't "help your tires last longer..." Rotating simply allows for more uniform wear of all four tyres.

:bellyroll:

First off, I've seen this isn't true from personal experience. Tamago is correct with it having to do a LOT with alignment set up. But with the stock setup, generally the front tires will wear more on one side than on the other. As this wear increases, the rate of wear increases because the uneven tire will take more force(damage) on the side its now leaning towards - also, the tire is engineered to have a flat contact patch. Rotating these tires to the back tends to flatten them out creating an even contact patch, slowing the overall wear.

And +1 about free rotation and balancing at discount tire. BOTH of which will increase your tire life. Throw in road hazard and its a no brainer.

[Kal-El]

Town Fair Tire (Northeast tire chain) does free rotations every 5,000 miles for life with any 4 tire purchase.

They also do:

Free front alignment,
Free mounting, balancing,
Free tire repair for life,
and guaranteed lowest price

with any set of tires

Very hard to beat.