To Rotate or Not to rotate.

Last Oct I purchased a used car (30000k). Since the front tires had
noticable less trend, I assumed the previous owner seldom or never
rotated the tires, I rotated them. 8000 k later should I rotate them
again? The tires I moved to the rear still have noticable less tread.
BTY, winter is coming in northern Minnesota. Suggestions? Thanks.

 

What is the vehicle (FWD or RWD?)?

Do the more worn tires have any irregular wear patterns, or do they just
in general have less tread remaining, worn evenly across, no cupping?
What about the front tires in that regard? How close to the wear
indicators are the rear tires?

 

I had Costco put two new tires put on my 92 Caravan some time back. They
have a notice in the tire department saying that if only two tires are
replaced, they will ALWAYS put them on the rear. They also had a video
playing to graphically show why they do it that way. My thought would have
been to put them on the front where they would get better traction. Their
reason is that better tires on the rear will provide for better (safer)
stopping - if two lose traction, better the front than the rear - that way
you maintain better control of the vehicle.

However, I don't know what that does when it comes time to rotate them. I
asked, and they said something about just rotating them side to side. When
I took it in to have them "rotated" - I got it back with them in the exact
same position they were in...so who knows. Unfortunately, the transmission
went out 8k miles after the tires were put on. However, I don't think the
front ones were too terribly far behind in life, so they probably would have
been close enough to the others to truly start rotating them.

I bought an 02 Voyager to replace it, and it has nearly new looking
Michelin's on it. Which brings me to pondering just how worthwhile it is to
rotate tires when you have to pay $15 a shot to do so. Obviously if you
bought the tires somewhere that they rotate for free, it's a no-brainer.
But...let's say the tires last 50k miles (and there's a good chance they
will last longer than that). That would be rotating them about a dozen
times (every 4k miles) - at a cost of $180 (12x$15). That's a good portion
of the cost of a new set. Is it really worth it? Another thought for
everyone to ponder in the "to rotate or not to rotate" debate...

Wesley

 

FrontWD. All four (Michelin Energy MXV4 S8) look ok with plenty of
tread. However, the two that were originally on the front just have
less tread. I think the previous owner didn't rotate them often (or
ever).

 

I think that rotating tires are a thing of the past. Not necessary
given the suspension and tire technology we've had for the past 10 or 20
years.

Do you own snow tires? If you live in the snow belt, then you should,
and you should have a set of snow tires on their own steel rims ready to
put on when the winter snow starts to come down. If you regularly
switch between snow tires and regular tires, and if you really feel the
urge to rotate your tires, then that's when you can rotate them.

Otherwise, I don't think it's necessary to rotate tires like it used to
be 20, 30, 40 years ago.

Yea, the driving tires (usually the front) will wear more. Just like
the front pads and rotors wear more.

So when necessary, replace only the front tires with new ones.

If or when the rear tires get worn, then again replace them (and only
them) when necessary.

 

..................... Which brings me to pondering just how worthwhile it is
to

Costco & Sam's Club both offer free rotation (every 12,000 miles??), free
flat repair, balancing, etc.
http://tires.costco.com/TireInformation.xhtml?pn=CostCoAdvantage

 

Here's Sam's Club tire installation package that includes rotation:

http://www.samsclub.com/shopping/navigate.do?catg=12152

 

Thanks for the info.
Two observations-
1. I have used the Sams Club package, but occassionaly they can be
pretty "ham-fisted" in their work- broken lugnuts, etc., Good deal
however in the long run.

2. I heard the Car Talk guys (Tappet Brothers) recommend rotating only
IF you can have it done free. Otherwise it is not worth it.
Interesting.
Thanks again.

 

Around here, they are meticulous about using a torque wrench on
lug nuts.( Also, if you go in for tire work and they find a wheel with a
missing stud, they
will not touch that wheel for liability reasons).

 

They won't replace the stud?

 

lug nuts.( Also, if you go in for tire work and they find a wheel with a

No......

 

Every owners manual for Chrysler FWD cars I've owned since 2000 have
told me to have the tires rotated at every oil change. I find that
extreme in my case because we put less than 7,000 miles per year on
these cars.

 

Our local Sam's has an account with a local repair shop to fix any
screw-ups (broken lugs, etc.,) At one time, on their portraits of
employees, one of the guys had a sledgehammer on his shoulder.
However, they still have a good selection instore and online and I
think the prices are good.

 

Rotating tires is not about whether it's worth it, it's about keeping a
similar tread on all 4 tires for safety reasons and also getting maximum
tire life.

The top tire company Michelin says this:

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-care/tire-saving-tips/