Tyre Rotation And Important
If you want your tyres to last, you’re going to have to rotate them. Knowing how to rotate your tyres is as essential to your car’s regular maintenance routine as changing the oil (to be discussed later). It’s also a relatively simple process, although it does require some preparation and the right tools. Here’s how it’s done.
Why rotate?
Rotating tyres is one of the most straightforward car-maintenance tasks, but it’s also one of the most essential. Tyres wear at different rates, and switching their position periodically ensures that they wear more evenly. That means you won’t have to buy new tyres prematurely. If tyres all wear at the same rate, it also means they respond the same way, ensuring your car’s handling characteristics stay safe and consistent.
Tyre rotations should be done once every 5,000 miles or so (depending on your driving pattern), and it’s a good idea to check the tread and pressure while you’re at it. You can time tyre rotations to correspond with other maintenance like oil changes, and have them done while the car is in the shop. That’s probably the more convenient route, but it’s a snap to rotate your own tyres.
Know your tyres
The way tyres are rotated varies depending on the vehicle, so consult your owners’ manual to find the exact procedure. You may want to mark the tyres with chalk to help keep track of them.
Assuming all four wheels are the same size and the tyres are non-directional, you’ll want to rotate the tyres in a “rearward cross” pattern for rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive/all-wheel drive cars. In this pattern, the front tyres move diagonally, so that the left front tyre is mounted in the right rear position, and the right front tyre is moved to the left rear position. The rear tyres are moved to the front, but stay on the same side.
The pattern for front-wheel drive cars is the opposite. You do a “forward cross” where the rear tyres are moved to the front and change sides. Alternatively, you can shuffle the tyres in an “X” pattern, where each tyre is moved diagonally, regardless of which wheels are driven.
Some cars have directional tyres (you can usually tell by the V-shaped tread pattern), and these can only be rotated back-to-front, front-to-back, not side-to-side. If your car’s front wheels and rear wheels are different sizes, you can only rotate side-to-side. If your tyres are directional and the wheels are different sizes, the tyres have to be removed from the rims and remounted, which is not really something you can do at home unless you have a tyre-mounting machine.
Most modern cars have four full-size tyres and a compact spare tyre, typically called a “donut.” That donut tyre should only be driven on in emergencies, but you can use it as a placeholder while rotating your tyres. If your car has a full-size spare (meaning it’s identical to the four tyres you drive on), you might want to institute a five-tyre rotation so that it wears at the same rate as your other tyres.
Finally, dually pickup trucks — which have two sets of rear wheels — have their own rotation pattern. Again, this can vary if the front and rear wheels are different sizes, so check your owners’ manual for specific details.
Getting started
First, prepare to jack up your car. Find a flat piece of ground to work on, apply the parking brake, and place chocks in front of the front wheel and behind the rear wheel on the opposite side of the one you’re working on (the wheels on that side will be off the ground)
.
You’ll need something to hold up the car while you’re moving tyres around. Jack stands are the most straightforward solution, but you can also mount the spare tyre on any hub that’s currently missing a tyre as a placeholder. If your car has a full-size spare, you may want to rotate it anyway.
Once the tyres are in their new, correct, positions, you’re all set. Since you’re already playing with your tyres, this is a good opportunity to check their pressures and tread depths. Other than that, you should be good to go!
Why rotate?
Rotating tyres is one of the most straightforward car-maintenance tasks, but it’s also one of the most essential. Tyres wear at different rates, and switching their position periodically ensures that they wear more evenly. That means you won’t have to buy new tyres prematurely. If tyres all wear at the same rate, it also means they respond the same way, ensuring your car’s handling characteristics stay safe and consistent.
Tyre rotations should be done once every 5,000 miles or so (depending on your driving pattern), and it’s a good idea to check the tread and pressure while you’re at it. You can time tyre rotations to correspond with other maintenance like oil changes, and have them done while the car is in the shop. That’s probably the more convenient route, but it’s a snap to rotate your own tyres.
Know your tyres
The way tyres are rotated varies depending on the vehicle, so consult your owners’ manual to find the exact procedure. You may want to mark the tyres with chalk to help keep track of them.
Assuming all four wheels are the same size and the tyres are non-directional, you’ll want to rotate the tyres in a “rearward cross” pattern for rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive/all-wheel drive cars. In this pattern, the front tyres move diagonally, so that the left front tyre is mounted in the right rear position, and the right front tyre is moved to the left rear position. The rear tyres are moved to the front, but stay on the same side.
The pattern for front-wheel drive cars is the opposite. You do a “forward cross” where the rear tyres are moved to the front and change sides. Alternatively, you can shuffle the tyres in an “X” pattern, where each tyre is moved diagonally, regardless of which wheels are driven.
Some cars have directional tyres (you can usually tell by the V-shaped tread pattern), and these can only be rotated back-to-front, front-to-back, not side-to-side. If your car’s front wheels and rear wheels are different sizes, you can only rotate side-to-side. If your tyres are directional and the wheels are different sizes, the tyres have to be removed from the rims and remounted, which is not really something you can do at home unless you have a tyre-mounting machine.
Most modern cars have four full-size tyres and a compact spare tyre, typically called a “donut.” That donut tyre should only be driven on in emergencies, but you can use it as a placeholder while rotating your tyres. If your car has a full-size spare (meaning it’s identical to the four tyres you drive on), you might want to institute a five-tyre rotation so that it wears at the same rate as your other tyres.
Finally, dually pickup trucks — which have two sets of rear wheels — have their own rotation pattern. Again, this can vary if the front and rear wheels are different sizes, so check your owners’ manual for specific details.
Getting started
First, prepare to jack up your car. Find a flat piece of ground to work on, apply the parking brake, and place chocks in front of the front wheel and behind the rear wheel on the opposite side of the one you’re working on (the wheels on that side will be off the ground)
You’ll need something to hold up the car while you’re moving tyres around. Jack stands are the most straightforward solution, but you can also mount the spare tyre on any hub that’s currently missing a tyre as a placeholder. If your car has a full-size spare, you may want to rotate it anyway.
Once the tyres are in their new, correct, positions, you’re all set. Since you’re already playing with your tyres, this is a good opportunity to check their pressures and tread depths. Other than that, you should be good to go!
Comments
Post a Comment