How do you rotate tires???

[hossrn]

So I took my jeep Cherokee to Walmart auto yesterday to have the tires rotated. I thought I knew which tires went where when rotating them but they did it another way.

The tires are Goodyear SR-A and have roughly 8500 miles on them. They were bought new at WM and had never been rotated.

 

[cpttuna]

If the spare was new it should be included in the rotation. If your spare is the worst of the 5 , then it should not be. The best tread should be on the ground.

 

[Squddle]

Walmart always rotates tires "front to back" unless the customer requests a different rotation. When you buy your tires from Walmart, it now always includes free tire balance and rotation for the life of the tire. IF the tire is showing cords, or is at 2/32 or less tread, they won't touch it.

 

[maxpower_hd]

I do front to back and don't include the spare. Mostly because the spares are either non matching or donuts. To me a spare is just that, not a 5th tire. It's to get me to the tire place.

 

[jloehlein]

There isn't a single "correct" way. I worked at a tire shop in college and the method we used was to cross-rotate the non-drive tires, so that eventually a tire would move around every corner. On a FWD car, the front tires would go straight back, the back left would move to front right...you get the idea. On 4wd cars, we did what we would do on 2wd versions. Directional tires obviously can only go front to back, staggered setups (non-directional) only side-to-side.

On my own personal cars, I measure tread depth over time to determine how much I wear each corner. I tend to wear the front left tire the most - right turns are tighter than left ones and cloverleaf off ramps are all right turns I don't pay attention to where a tire came from. I put the one with the most tread on the corner I wear the fastest.

 

[GirlnAgarage]

On my 4wd back to front. Front criss cross to rear.

 

[bulletpruf]

On my 4wd back to front. Front criss cross to rear.

This^^^. Rotated at 8,000 miles on my Excursion and got 100,00 miles out of a set of Michelin LTX AT/2's. Still had decent tread when I replaced 'em with a fresh set.

 

[stimpy]

on my pick up ( 2wd srw) due to the type of tires ( front steer type tread , rear drive type tread ) its side to side ,
on the wifes car ( 2010 Impala ) its the cross rotational pattern lf to rf to lr to rr to lf ( full sized spare , but used tire ) ,
on the Firebird front to rear ( directional tires )
when I had my old 4x4 ( solid axle ) it was front to rear in a x pattern as they always wore the inside edges funny ( front end aligned properly ) and cupped badly ( even with good shocks ) and rotating them to the back straightened it out..

My new 4x4 with IFS , did it the way Gm said to and the tires wore evenly but I also ran higher front tire pressure due to excessive cupping ( ran all 4 tires at 80 psi vs the door values )

 

[APEowner]

There isn't a single "correct" way. I worked at a tire shop in college and the method we used was to cross-rotate the non-drive tires, so that eventually a tire would move around every corner. On a FWD car, the front tires would go straight back, the back left would move to front right...you get the idea. On 4wd cars, we did what we would do on 2wd versions. Directional tires obviously can only go front to back, staggered setups (non-directional) only side-to-side.

On my own personal cars, I measure tread depth over time to determine how much I wear each corner. I tend to wear the front left tire the most - right turns are tighter than left ones and cloverleaf off ramps are all right turns I don't pay attention to where a tire came from. I put the one with the most tread on the corner I wear the fastest.

It may have changed but at one time this was the method recommended by both Ford and GM.

 

[stimpy]

This^^^. Rotated at 8,000 miles on my Excursion and got 100,00 miles out of a set of Michelin LTX AT/2's. Still had decent tread when I replaced 'em with a fresh set.

them damn good tires , I had them on my exploder when I got it ( used ) and we put 60K on our set then had to put latitude tours ( on them due to them not being available at the time ) and ran them 75K till we sold it and still had lots of tread life left . but we ran the tires at higher pressure (36 psi) due to cupping

 

[Bluedodge]

Front to back, same side.

None of our four cars have a full sized spare on a matching rim, so the spares stay in their storage spots.

 

[SJR033]

On my 4wd back to front. Front criss cross to rear.

This is how I do it.

 

[sberry]

There is a correct way so the next guy can do it the same.

 

[nh_yota]

The only thing that really matters is whether or not they are directional tires, because if they are, you can only swap front to back without swapping the tire around on the rim. Other than that, as long as you rotate them in a way such that each tire gets to spend a fairly equal time in each position, you will be fine.

The problem, as sberry mentioned, is rotating them in the same pattern every time so you know that each tire follows the same pattern, which is why manufactures specify a pattern for rotation.

Including the spare in the rotation is optional depending on the situation.

 

[kaffine]

To rotate my tires I just step on the long skinny pedal on the right.

 

[Steevo]

I do front to back and don't include the spare. Mostly because the spares are either non matching or donuts. To me a spare is just that, not a 5th tire. It's to get me to the tire place.

^^ This

Even though my truck and my Explorer both have full-size spares, I only check the air in them, and don't include in rotation.

 

[Jarhead0408]

Front tires go straight back. Back tires are switched to the opposite side when they move up front.

 

[mikegt4]

I rotate my tires at 5K miles. Front to back at each 10K mile interval on the odometer, side to side at 5K mile interval (15K, 25K etc). I use tires with symmetrical tread patterns so that they can go side to side. This schedule seems to really extend the life of tires on my pickup and full size van with their heavy front and light rear.

 

[dougsey]

Front cross- rear tires move to front opposite side, fronts to back, same side.

Obviously won't work for directional tires.

 

[Git]

I keep this handy

 

[nadogail]

IMHO, it depends on whether they are bias ply or radical tires and whether or not they have a directional or non directional tread pattern.

 

[Fishplate]

To rotate my tires I just step on the long skinny pedal on the right.

That's what I was thinking. Mine rotate automagically when I drive...it would be awfully noisy if they didn't.

 

[NWOhioChevyGuy]

I always do front to back & back to front, no crossing.

Keeps it easy to remember and my Camaro has directionals so everything gets the same rotation.

 

[nieuport17]

I also just do front to back. No cross.
Instruction calls for one, but I could never tell the wear difference.

 

[yhprum]

I do it to reverse rotation direction. I find it keeps them quiet because the pattern tend to wear more at the front, you can feel it when you run your hand across the tread, front to back.

 

[yamaha0343]

I've always done fronts straight back, and backs cross to the front. My spare wheel doesn't match the rest.

There's no wrong way as long as you go with the same way each time. I just stick with what I have memorized.

 

[ezriderga]

Front to rear. No cross. Every 5000 miles.

 

[George in Rancho Cordova]

C'mon guys!
Low gear, full throttle!

 

[38Chevy454]

C'mon guys!
Low gear, full throttle!

That is to eliminate cupping

 

[sberry]

Crossing gives it a chance to run on every wheel and lets the same sets run on front and back axle. For general street tires unless there is something special that is the correct way, its really not an opinion I dreamed up.

 

[thool]

Front tires go straight back. Back tires are switched to the opposite side when they move up front.

This is how I do mine. I always say to myself "diagonal up, straight back" when I rotate mine.

 

[simpler=better]

I put it in drive and mash the pedal. It helps more if the road is wet or icy.

 

[NUTTSGT]

I always go front to rear and criss cross the back to the front, every other oil change (8k miles).

Honestly, whatever way you do it, I believe the most important thing is to do it consistently the same way every time.

As far as the next guy, that's his problem, much like changing oil in the vehicle.

 

[Squddle]

front to back, crisscross, cross forward, and cross rearward. Just depends on what the customer wants.

 

[gungatim]

I never rotate my tires. some of my vehicles are directional and different sizes front to rear anyway, the others I just run em til they wear out...I usually get way more life out of tires than normal so I figure why mess with success. I put another 50k on my jeep tires that they told me should be replaced when I bought it, and have 95k on the stock tires on the enclave. we do all highway driving so that may make a difference. I think we replaced the tires once on the Tahoe in 160k miles...

 

[Know Wosad]

It's quite the process. A, Indian guy named Ali owns a tire store in town.
I buy the tires there(Yokohama dealer) and he tells me when to bring it in for rotation.He does the oil and filter( I supply) and greases it for $15. He makes a hell of a brisket too......LOL

I would do as the factory site says and skip all opinions.

 

[zmotorsports]

On FWD cars I rotate the rear to the front in a cross pattern (Right Rear to Left Front, Left Rear to Right Front) and then the front tires straight back to the rear.

On RWD and 4WD vehicles, I do the opposite and move the fronts to the rear in a cross pattern then the rears straight forward.

On my Jeep and other vehicles which include a 5-tire rotation, I do the same as the 4WD and RWD with the exception of taking the spare to the Right Rear and then the Left Front to the spare.

Mike.

 

[K'ledgeBldr]

To rotate my tires I just step on the long skinny pedal on the right.

THIS^^^^^!!!!!
I never have to worry about which direction because the transmission indicator tells me which direction!

 

[mustangmike6996]

Assuming all tires are the same size and non-directional:

I look for cupping (usually on fronts) then those cross to the rear to offset the cupping. Rears come straight forward.

If all tires look good then either front to back/back to front or cross front tor rear/rear to front.

 

[gjz30075]

I do it per the owner's manual.