Rotating tyres

[Orville]

How many others rotate their tyres front to back or diagonally to balance wear?

[john999boy]

I do - usually coinciding with the 'winter tyres on' & 'winter tyres off' cycle.

[MillsyVRS]

I do every time. I like having 4 evenly worn tyres on so I closely monitor the tread! Can't think of a reason why you wouldn't really, extend the life of the tyres!

[Huskoda]

I do - usually coinciding with the 'winter tyres on' & 'winter tyres off' cycle.

 

Same. Every time I swap between sets the two with the most tread go on the front to even out the wear.

 

I do every time. I like having 4 evenly worn tyres on so I closely monitor the tread! Can't think of a reason why you wouldn't really, extend the life of the tyres!

 

I wouldn't say you extend the life of the tyres, more even it out so the rears aren't left to get beyond the recommended age.

 

Other benefits are if you take the wheels off every 6 months, they won't seize onto the hubs and you can inspect them and the brakes for wear/damage.

Edited 13 May, 2016 by Huskoda

[Jevpls]

Same. Every time I swap between sets the two with the most tread go on the front to even out the wear.

 Same here.

I simply don't like the idea of having 3 mm on the front and 8 on the rear axle or otherwise.

For me the tread depth is more or less similar on both axles.

[sadgit1]

How many others rotate their tyres front to back or diagonally to balance wear?

I do.

 

Approx every 5,000 miles both to keep wear even (though as my V6 is 4x4 they do wear at a fairly even rate) give the alloys a deep clean inside and out plus allows a full inspection of the tyres for cuts or foreign items embedded in them. I also prefer to change all 4 tyres at the same time, helps if I want to switch brands, don't like running odd tyres

[26DIPP]

When summer / winter tyres gone on back to front and front to back cross wise, unless they are directional.

[SuperbTWM]

I do every time. I like having 4 evenly worn tyres on so I closely monitor the tread! Can't think of a reason why you wouldn't really, extend the life of the tyres!

 

I never rotate mine, that way its not so bad only having to fork out for 2 tyres at a time.

[john999boy]

I never rotate mine, that way its not so bad only having to fork out for 2 tyres at a time.

 

Presumably twice as often though? :peek:

[SuperbTWM]

Presumably twice as often though? :peek:

Of course, but it spreads out the cost.

 

Lazyness probably has something to do with it as well 

[MillsyVRS]

Fair enough, I'm just a bit OCD in wanting to have 4 of the same tyre the whole time, so try and get them worn out at the same point. That way i only have to buy new ones every 2-3 years anyway

Edited 19 August, 2016 by MillsyVRS

[SuperbTWM]

If I had a performance car i would rotate them just to keep the same level of grip on all the corners, but for me plodding about in the superb I may not bother unless the dealer happens to do it for me.

[AGFalco]

On the average FWD car the following happens:-

 

Front tyres wear quicker than the rear tyres.

The nearside tyres ( passenger or kerbside ) wears quicker than the offside tyres ( drivers or roadside ).

This is because we do more turns to the right ( in the uk ) eg. Roundabouts, one way systems, car parks and three point turns.

 

On the front tyres the inside edge wears quickest especially the offside front.

On the front tyres the outside edge wears quicker on the nearside front.

 

On the rear tyres the outside edge wears quickest especially the near side rear.

On some cars this is not the case, especially if you have wide low profile tyres and or adjustable REAR tracking.

 

If you only want to buy two tyres at a time then try fitting the new tyres to the rear and the best worn tyre to the nearside front.

Then when the fronts are worn out move the rear tyres diagonally to the front and fit two new tyres to the rear, and keep repeating this method.

If you want the best out of new front tyres then swap them from side to side when half worn.

WARNING This only works if you have symmetrical or asymmetrical tread patterns.

DO NOT swap directional tyres from side to side without swapping the tyres over on the wheel rims at the same time.

I would not but directional for this reason, and they can also get noisy when worn especially the rears.

 

If you want to buy four tyres at a time then:-

If you want the best out of four tyres then swap them diagonally when the fronts are 2/3rds worn and the rears are a 1/3rd worn.

WARNING This only works if you have symmetrical or asymmetrical tread patterns.

DO NOT swap directional tyres from side to side without swapping the tyres over on the wheel rims at the same time

 

If you run summer and winter tyres then it is best to wear them down as a set then:-

When you fit/refit the tyres fit them as follows:-

Most tread to nearside front.

Second best tread to offside front.

Third best tread to nearside rear.

Most worn tread to offside rear.

 

Always check for feathering on the tyres for possible tracking/alignment problems.

This is less noticeable if you are doing summer/winter tyres as they will only be on for about half a year.

 

The higher the tyre pressures, ( check on the tyre pressure label inside the fuel filler cap  ) the lower the rolling resistance,

the better the fuel economy, the longer the tyres last, the less likely to aquaplane and the less likely to wear the edges out first.

In some conditions lower pressure is better, freshly fallen snow, muddy terrain etc.

 

Hope this helps.

 

Thanks AG Falco.