How often should tires be rotated?

Question

Why are they rotated?

What is the rotation?

Answer 1

A common rule of thumb for tire rotation is every 3rd oil change. If you follow the 3,000 mile rule for oil changes, that means about every 9,000 miles. Dont forget to check the air weekly, and go ahead and have the balance of the tires checked when you get the rotation done. The rotation pattern is ... move the drive wheels straight fore or back (depending on front or rear drive... front drive, move them straight back, rear drive, move them straight front) and to cross the "non-drive" wheels.
Good luck.

Answer 2

Tires should be rotated at every other oil change to even out the tire wear. Rotation is the front right tire gets moved to the right rear. The right rear gets moved to the right front. That same for the left side, same switch. In the old days of bias ply tire you would rotate in an x pattern. With radial tires used today. The tires have to keep the same rotational direction. Left and right tires turn differently

Answer 3

At 7,500 mile intervals, to encourage even wear patterns which prolong the life of the tires. Move the left front to the right rear, the right rear to the left rear, the left rear to the right front and the right rear to the left front. This is variable, since "unidirectional tires should remain on the side they are installed on (unidirectional tires are marked with an arrow what should always face in the direction the vehicle moves). All-season tires, such as found on SUV's, are rotated only from one drive axle to the other side in the rear of the vehicle and the non-driving tires now become the driving axles tires, swapped side to side. Think of the letter "X" when you're doing this rotation.

Answer 4

I work in the tire industry so I think I can shed some light on this.

Timely tire rotations along with maintaining proper tire inflation help eliminate irregular wear characterstics and maximize tire mileage. Retaining a tire in one rotation direction and one wheel position for an extended period can result in irregular wear and result in a discrepancy in wear rates from one wheel position to another.

Front tires have a tendency to wear on the edges and will wear across the tread more rapidly, particularly on a front-wheel drive vehicle. Rear tires if left in that position too long tend to exhibit what is called "heel and toe" wear, sometimes called cupping. Rotation minimizes these tendencies resulting in a longer service life for the tires.

Where the tires go during a rotation depends on the vehicle. Obviously the front tires are moved to the rear and the rear tires to the front. Tires being moved to a drive axle should be crossed - or swapped from one side of the car to the other. For example, on a Front Wheel Drive vehicle the rear tires when moved to the front should switch sides so that they rotate in the opposite direction to help even out wear. On a rear-wheel drive car the reverse is true - the front tires when moved to the rear should swap sides. 4-wheel or All-Wheel Drive folllow the same rotation pattern as Rear Wheel Drive. The exception is on vehicles fitted with what are called "directional" tread pattern tires. These are tires that are designed to rotate in only one direction for best traction. When rotating directional tires NEVER cross them from one side of the vehicle to the other.

The tire industry oversight group, the Rubber Manufacturers Association (RMA) recommends that tires be rotated every 5,000 miles (8,000km) or at the vehicle manufacturers recommended mileage. This may vary from one manufacturer to another and even among different vehicles made by the same manufacturer. See your owners manual for specific recommendations for your vehicle.

All of the above information comes straight from the RMA - the experts in such matters. No guesswork or "this is how I do it so...".

Answer 5

You should rotate your tyres every 10,000 miles (roughly every 3 oil changes.) The sequence of rotation depends on your tyres.

If your tyres have a generic tread pattern, the standard pattern is: front left to front right, front right to rear left, rear left to rear right, and rear right to front left. If you have asymmetric tyres, you can rotate these as you would a generic tread pattern.

If your vehicle has a full-sized spare (mainly 4WDs and AWDs), use this pattern: front left to front right, front right to rear left, rear left to spare, spare to rear right, rear right to front left. Using your spare keeps its rolling diameter the same as the others - otherwise, you can break your differential or an axle the first time you use it, as you will then have different diameter tyres on the vehicle.

If you have different size tyres on the back (wider or taller), you can only change them across the axle, that is, swap the rear tyres with each other, and the front tyres with each other.

If you have unidirectional tyres (there will be a large arrow on the side of the tyre, and the words "direction of rotation"), you can only rotate these from front right to rear right, rear right to front right, and front left to rear left, rear left to front left. Always check that the arrow is facing the correct direction - forwards at the top of the tyre, backwards at the bottom.

Answer 6

They are rotated to help even wear every other oil change 10,000 miles and the rotation is front to back.Right front,right rear.etc.

Answer 7

Tires should be rotated whenever the car is moved.

Answer 8

Never, it is nothing but a gimmick and rotating the tires does nothing but cause them to wear faster.

Answer 9

look in the owners manual, there are other ways to rotate them besides front to back