Tyre rotation

[Eddie Deguello]

I vaguely remembered seeing something in the owner's manual about rotating the tyres, and upon checking it suggests that it's done every 10000km "to achieve even wear on all wheels and to obtain optimal tyre life."

Our Scout's on >10000 miles now, so it'd be a bit late, but is it really worth doing?

I know it might even out the wear, but that'll just make it more likely that we need to replace all four tyres at once, rather than two at a time. It can't make the tyres last longer.

Does anybody bother?

[Reds]

I'm going to - but only because I'm about to take the winter tyres off, so I'll put the old rears on the front and vice versa (same side of the car though).

If it wasn't for that I probably wouldn't bother.

[eccleshill]

I vaguely remembered seeing something in the owner's manual about rotating the tyres, and upon checking it suggests that it's done every 10000km "to achieve even wear on all wheels and to obtain optimal tyre life."

Our Scout's on >10000 miles now, so it'd be a bit late, but is it really worth doing?

I know it might even out the wear, but that'll just make it more likely that we need to replace all four tyres at once, rather than two at a time. It can't make the tyres last longer.

Does anybody bother?

On my last Octy I partially rotated the tyres to make use of the full size spare - but I only rotated the spare with the front wheels.

I don't have a spare with this one so won't bother to rotate, so the bill comes 2 tyres at a time. I will however put the new tyres at the back on the first change to get rid of the awful noisy oem Bridgestones as soon as possible.

[Grizzle]

New tires always go on the back anwyay.

[rob_e]

Yes. I rotate. I'm getting about 21-22k miles out of a set so I swap over at bout 10/11k miles.

I like to replace a full set of 4 at the same time.

[gregoir]

Assuming we are talking about 4WD then it is a good idea to rotate to keep the front and rear axles going at approximately the same speed.

For 2WD I usually do not rotate as it is easier on the pocket changing only two at a time. My preference is to have the better pair on the front where most of the braking and steering are done. Of course, I do not have near bald tyres on the rear as that is plain silly.

[Jeeves]

Assuming we are talking about 4WD then it is a good idea to rotate to keep the front and rear axles going at approximately the same speed.

For 2WD I usually do not rotate as it is easier on the pocket changing only two at a time. My preference is to have the better pair on the front where most of the braking and steering are done. Of course, I do not have near bald tyres on the rear as that is plain silly.

Agree on all the above (despite recommendation from tyre industry to fit new tyres on rear). Can you expand on the issue with 4WD - I posted a thread about odd-sized spares and their effect on Haldex, but didn't get a definitive answer.

At least when buying 4 tyres you can normally do so at a lower unit cost than just 2.

[silver1011]

I prefer to change two at a time as it's rare I have the neck end of £600 available to pay for four at once.

If your supplier is able to offer a discount on four tyres then you would have been paying over the odds for tyres one, two and three.

The Scout is my first 4WD car and it now has 25,000 miles on it with the original Dunlop SP Sport tyres.

I reckon there is a few more thousand miles in them before I reach the wear bars however all four tyres are wearing evenly so will have to replace all four at the same time.

So, on the Scout at least changing only two at a time (for me at least) won't be an option.

[Lady Elanore]

I am putting my regular wheels tyres back on my car this week and will rotate the front and rears. They seem to have worn pretty similarly though, which I guess might be something to do with the 4x4 system and the car having slighlyt better wieght balance than regular fwds? However having stuck sticky labels on them last year to remind me which wheel was which, I couldn't get the sticky stuff off. I soaked and rubbed at them this afternoon and even though i used a clean soft sponge I have removed a bit of lacquer (and have put lots of fine scratches on them) and the wheel will no doubt get dirty quicker on one of the spokes. I don't know whether to laugh or cry as I was daft enough to do it to all 4 wheels. Still we learn from our mistakes..........so they say :(

[Jeeves]

I prefer to change two at a time as it's rare I have the neck end of £600 available to pay for four at once.

If your supplier is able to offer a discount on four tyres then you would have been paying over the odds for tyres one, two and three.

£440 fitted for my 4 (17"apples v 18"oranges though). There's always a deal to be had, and as I used to buy tyres I can vaguely remember the discounts off key billing (list) price by brand which helps. At least when you find a tame supplier/fitter they're normally quite good for free puncture repairs and swaps, although Costco only charges about £2 per wheel for swaps (still more than a haircut)!

[TsvRS]

New tires always go on the back anwyay.

I always put them on the front ?

[nickguzzi]

Rotated the tyres a couple of weeks ago when I was fitting front mud flaps. Possibly the first time in many, many years. Like others, I prefer to shell out for two at a time.

My reasoning is, as the suspension geometry is not the same at both ends, the wear profile across the tread will be different and some scuffing and scrubbing will take place until the required profile is achieved. However, the A5 chassis does seem prone to producing unacceptable wear patterns and rotation is a way to optimise tyre life.

As far as 4X4's are concerned, being haldex controlled awd, my understanding is that the speed differential which is caused by different F-R tyre circumferences is much less of a problem than in "conventional", mechanical 4X4, part time or not.

[alanjonesbath]

New tires always go on the back anwyay.

I always put them on the front ?

The logic is that older tyres with less grip on the front will make the car understeer, whereas on the back it would cause oversteer. "Popular opinion" (whether you think it's correct is up to you of course) is that, for the average driver at least, its easier to correct understeer than oversteer, and if uncorrected, is likely to cause less damage etc. than oversteer left uncorrected.

[TsvRS]

The logic is that older tyres with less grip on the front will make the car understeer, whereas on the back it would cause oversteer. "Popular opinion" (whether you think it's correct is up to you of course) is that, for the average driver at least, its easier to correct understeer than oversteer, and if uncorrected, is likely to cause less damage etc. than oversteer left uncorrected.

My logic was that my front wheels do 70% of the braking, 100% of the power transmission and 100% of the steering so I put the best tyres on the front.

[eccleshill]

I am putting my regular wheels tyres back on my car this week and will rotate the front and rears. They seem to have worn pretty similarly though, which I guess might be something to do with the 4x4 system and the car having slighlyt better wieght balance than regular fwds? However having stuck sticky labels on them last year to remind me which wheel was which, I couldn't get the sticky stuff off. I soaked and rubbed at them this afternoon and even though i used a clean soft sponge I have removed a bit of lacquer (and have put lots of fine scratches on them) and the wheel will no doubt get dirty quicker on one of the spokes. I don't know whether to laugh or cry as I was daft enough to do it to all 4 wheels. Still we learn from our mistakes..........so they say :(

For next time...

Ponds Cold Cream is fantastic for removing sticky stuff left behind from labels.

Rub it in well and go have a coffee while the oils soften the glue

Then wipe off with a clean cloth.

You may need to repeat for really old labels.

Neighbour followed this advice to remove glue residues when he debadged his Audi - worked perfectly and no scratches.

[Lady Elanore]

For next time...

Ponds Cold Cream is fantastic for removing sticky stuff left behind from labels.

Rub it in well and go have a coffee while the oils soften the glue

Then wipe off with a clean cloth.

You may need to repeat for really old labels.

Neighbour followed this advice to remove glue residues when he debadged his Audi - worked perfectly and no scratches.

Brilliant top tip!

Can I give Sheldons of Manchester a plug too. Just had an email from them saying they will swap my regular wheels back for me, free of charge! Anyone wanting wheels and tyres in the North West could do a lot worse than to give Darren a ring at Sheldons. They wer brilliant when I got the winter from them too. They found wrapping and protected my car from the dirty wheels that came off during my winter tyre fitting. Great service and really friendly

[Eddie Deguello]

However having stuck sticky labels on them last year to remind me which wheel was which, I couldn't get the sticky stuff off.

Next time, put the stickers on the tyres, not on the wheels!

[Jeeves]

Next time, put the stickers on the tyres, not on the wheels!

Or chalk. I also store mine in a pattern LRLR (like marching) just in case, although you can generally tell L from R by the wear.

[Lady Elanore]

Well hindsight is 20/20 so they say. But I will write on the reverse of the spokes as I did yesterday.........after the tears :(

[charles]

For next time...

Ponds Cold Cream is fantastic for removing sticky stuff left behind from labels.

Rub it in well and go have a coffee while the oils soften the glue

Then wipe off with a clean cloth.

You may need to repeat for really old labels.

Neighbour followed this advice to remove glue residues when he debadged his Audi - worked perfectly and no scratches.

Does this work for removing the sticky black pads that hold wheel weights in place? had new tyres today and they've removed the old weights but left the adhesive on the wheel!