Tire Rotation
Tire rotation and rotating tires is the process involving the movement of tires from one position on the vehicle to another for example moving the front tires to the back and the back tires to the front to allow even tire wear. Even tire wear is necessary to ensure consistent performance which will enable the vehicle to utilize the same set of tires for a longer period of time without having to replace or repair them.
Today most vehicles are front wheel drive and the weight typically differs from front axle to rear axle causing uneven wear. Front wheel drive vehicles cause the front tires to wear out an an accelerated rate typically twice as fast as the rear tires. Rear wheel drive cars have a more even distribution of weight enabling the tires to last much longer because the wear is more even due to the weight being more equally distributed.
When turning with your vehicle the weight shifts and this also causes an uneven distribution of weight hence causing your tires to have uneven wear. Sidewalls also get rubbed on curbs when parking causing sidewall damage and asymmetrical wear. If the tire is under or over-inflated it will cause uneven wear and rotating the tire will not fix this problem. Most cloverleaf and parking ramps turn right in the United States and also most right turns are tighter then left turns causing even more tire wear.
Wheel alignment also is a major factor in uneven tire wear. When the tire is out of alignment it will tend to be dragged by the other tires causing uneven tire wear also. Most manufacturers will offer a recommended tire rotation frequency and pattern. Most are every 5,000 miles. If the tires are unidirectional they then can only be rotated from front to back on the same side of the vehicle to preserve the rotational direction of the tires. Most unidirectional tires can be moved side to side if they are just remounted. If they rear wheels lose grip before the front wheels do an oversteer condition will start to occur which is definitely harder to control then a typical understeer condition in which will happen if you lose a front wheel this will also be the case if the tire blows out. You definitely don’t want to experience a blowout because if a blowout occurs it will be very difficult to control your vehicle especially if you are driving fast and if it’s a rear tire you could experience a rollover.
Some tires cannot be rotated according to popular patterns. For example might include uni-directional tires with asymmetric tread designs. Also, in some cases certain cars or trucks might have different sized tires mounted on the front and rear axles, and with these different sized tires you may also see that they have rotation restrictions. Check the owner’s manual or give us a call for recommendations for these types of custom tires.
We can rotate any type of tire on any type of car, truck, semi, tractor, trailer or even farm machine or equipment. Give us a call for a free estimate on how much tire rotation costs since every job is unique we offer custom estimates. Give us a call 217-531-1836