Tyre rotation strategy

warewolf · Post by **warewolf** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 11:52 am

Apologies if this has been discussed before; I tried search but didn't find anything.

What would you recommend as a tyre rotation strategy?

When I bought my 4wd (fresh import) I replaced all five tyres, thinking I could rotate them such that they would all wear evenly as a set. I did this after finding a suggested rotation scheme that moved tyres diagonally across the vehicle. I've since found advice that says you should not move radial tyres from one side of the vehicle to the other, so the tyres are only swapped front/rear on the LHS, and front-spare-rear-front on the RHS. Doing this means the LHS tyres will wear 33% faster than the RHS.

So what gives? I thought the idea of rotation was to keep the wear even, particularly as part-time 4wd needs to have the diameters pretty similar?

Thanks for your help,
Colin

DaveM · Post by **DaveM** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 3:34 pm

I don't bother with my spare, and only occasionally swap front to rear.
I have been told that to do it properly, you should do the diagonal swap, as well as the spare, but if you run directional tyres, that would mean having them taken off the rim to turn around.

I have tried it in the past, and found it made bugger all difference (that I could notice anyay).

Dave

WACKO · Post by **WACKO** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 4:38 pm

i dont botherwith my spare either. 4wds tend to wear the outside shoulder of the front tyres so every second rotation i get all 4 tyres fliped on the rims aswell. but i have access to tyre changers so it doesnt cost as much as normal for me.

warewolf · Post by **warewolf** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 5:54 pm

Thanks gents.

Yes I am seeing wear on the front outside shoulders. Glad it is not something I should be "fixing". The tyres aren't directional so that is not a concern.

wopass · Post by **wopass** » Sat Jun 10, 2006 8:51 pm

just do front to back same side, keep the spare as just that, a spare. thats what i have allways found to work best, some say diagonally but, pfft thats just a crok i reckon.

my 2c :wink:

De-Ranged · Post by **De-Ranged** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 9:05 am

I'm a lazy bastard I don't bother and I haven't seen enough evidence from trucks that do to warrent bothering, if I'm swopping over a sets (road/play) then I'd consider it ... if your only interested in getting the most out of your tires then get your truck alligned it'll do more for tire wear than swopping them round
As for diff tire size unless you've got one of those new torque converter style transfer cases on a full time 4wd then the diff in rolling diameter isn't gona do a thing, if you do then rotate them (and when you replace them do them all at once) as the diff will make the trans run hot and kill it early'er

Cheers Reece

WACKO · Post by **WACKO** » Sun Jun 11, 2006 10:29 pm

rotations do save tyre wear but alingments are also important. falcons and commodores are also bad for shoulder wear. think of it this way... do you want too pay for 4 tyres or 2 at a time?

warewolf · Post by **warewolf** » Mon Jun 12, 2006 6:51 pm

I don't want to pay for a fifth that'll never get used...

warewolf · Post by **warewolf** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:30 pm

OK, I did some more research online. Seems there are a few different recommendations (from the tyre companies) depending on the type of vehicle, eg front wheel drive, rear wheel, 4wd etc with and without the spare.

Here's what I've used, which seems to be the common strategy for a 4wd with spare:

Spare - Left Rear - Left Front - Right Rear - Right Front - Spare.

Cheers,
Colin

albundy · Post by **albundy** » Fri Jun 23, 2006 4:45 pm

As in another thread about tie rods, wheel alignments need to be done properly, ie: to centre the alignment correctly they need to adjust both sides not just one side as most of them do.
Al

warlord225 · Post by **warlord225** » Thu Nov 23, 2006 6:00 pm

from a profesional stand point, I only ever front to rear, reason being in a radial tyre, once you have drivn it for a while thats the way the wire want to lay, if you turn them around you can get some nasty vibrations, but from a personal stand point, if you front' to rear it and then only swap the rear tyres from left to right you should be sweet,
if you are doing a rotation it pays to lean all the mud off the rims before puting them on the front, and perhaps even rebalancing too

Aaron · Post by **Aaron** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 9:33 am

Allways go front to back with radials as said before,

If you are wearing the outside shoulder off the tyres you may want to get a wheel alignment check as it might have too much positive camber.

warlord225 · Post by **warlord225** » Sat Nov 25, 2006 3:43 pm

not to shoot you down, but 9 times out of 10 tyre wear problems are caused by toe

Tyre rotation strategy

Tyre rotation strategy

;-p