Wheels and Tires:
Tire Rotation
Tire rotation means periodically moving tires to different wheels around an automobile. Through tire rotation, tire tread wear is evened out and tire life is prolonged.
However, according to a recent survey, 72 percent of polled drivers didn’t know that tire rotation should be done approximately every 6,000 miles or every other oil change.
Personal driving habits can affect tire wear, but so can the tire’s position on the car. Front and rear tires wear differently because of the different forces that act on them when cornering or depending on which tires are mounted on the drive wheels. Tires mounted on drive wheels tend to wear more quickly. In other words, tires mounted on the front tend to wear faster on front-wheel drive cars and vice versa for rear-wheel drive cars.
In addition, the type of wear is important to consider when rotating your wheels. Patterns can vary, but the most important factor is that you rotate tires in all applicable wheel positions, including the full-size spare tire, if you have one. Before you begin your routine, check to see if you have any unidirectional tires. These tires must always roll in the same direction, so don’t switch them from the left side of the car to the right. The sidewall will indicate which direction the tire should roll by using arrows or the word “rotation.”
Bias tires are frequently rotated with the front tires being moved to the opposite rear, while the rear tires are simply moved forward on the same side.
On the other hand, radial tires remain on the same side and the front and rear tires are simply switched. |