For people with winter wheels/tyres; do you rotate the wheels - front nearside to rear offside etc. - when you change from Summer to Winter and vice versa?

Yes.

Quick edit:What TP says ......

Front nearside to rear nearside and front offside to rear offside. :yes:

Not nearside to offside but with 2wd then yes but front to back. Winters in particular should stay in the same direction of rotation throughout their lifetime.

TP

Not nearside to offside but with 2wd then yes but front to back. Winters in particular should stay in the same direction of rotation throughout their lifetime.

TP

Thanks - very useful

I must remember to mark the tyres when I take them of, the winters that is, I marked the 17" tyres/wheels when I took them off

Not nearside to offside but with 2wd then yes but front to back. Winters in particular should stay in the same direction of rotation throughout their lifetime.

TP

I didn't know that was the case with all tyres. My winter tyres are Nokian D3's which are directional so can only be mounted on one side of the car. What about when you put the summer tyres back on, do you rotate those front nearside to rear offside, or, keep them on the same side. I thought it was recommended to swap most tyres diagonally but perhaps that is an "old mechanics" tale!

My impression has always been to rotate front to rear rather than across the vehicle, as the tyre picks up the edges and sipes in the given direction of rotation, which aids grip.

Days of old it was recommended to put the deepest tread on the front but that's all changed to the rear. Theory now being the rear is less likely to loose grip if the better tyres are fitted there, thus preventing stepping out, in rain for example and putting the car in a spin.

TP

My impression has always been to rotate front to rear rather than across the vehicle

That's also what the owner's manual suggests.

On a practical note, I can only jack up one side of the car at a time,so the front wheel is swapped with the rear on the same side.

Also very few cars now have a spare wheel you can use.

I also rotate front to rear, but staying on the same side. Marked up summers ready for storage.

Winters on now, also rotated from last winter.

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Wisdom is on front wheel drive (2wd) cars is that the newest tyres go on the back. On many small cars (not necessarily Yeti) the rear tyres can last many years because they suffer relatively low wear rates, so the only way to ensure motorists aren't running on old rubber (which deteriorates with time) is to always put the new ones on the back, then the old tyres from the back will be replaced next as they wear more quickly on the front.

I've just read what I've typed, and I understand it... hope you do too!

And yes, I rotate tyres front to back (on the same side) to even out wear as both my cars are 4wd. I know it means I will have to replace all 4 at once when the time comes, but in theory it reduces uneven loads on the transmission.

Edited 31 October, 201213 yr by speedsport