tire rotation

[azn712]

my 3 hatch has 17k right now. I haven't done any tire rotation since i bought the car. how should i rotate them?

should i do front to back, side to side or front left to back right?

thanks in advance for any advices

 

[hworth18]

Typical FWD rotation would be front to back diagonal (right front to right rear, left front to left rear, left rear to right front and right rear to left front) or straight front to back.. I rotate mine every other oil change (6,000 miles)..
Hope this helps..

 

[waveride]

left rear to right front and right rear to left front

That's a common mistake, if you rotate them this way that could damage the inner structural wire mesh of the tire. Since the mesh accomodates depending on the direction of its rotation; in other words if you rotate your left rear to right front and right rear to left front that cold create blisters in your tires since its interior wire mesh structure has already accomodated to a diferent direction of rotation.

 

[BrianG]

Yeah, and what about those people who have tires that have to be mounted a certain way because of the tread design? Is it just a matter of moving the back tires to the front and vice versa on each side? I suppose it would have to be...

 

[ZoomVT]

That's a common mistake, if you rotate them this way that could damage the inner structural wire mesh of the tire. Since the mesh accomodates depending on the direction of its rotation; in other words if you rotate your left rear to right front and right rear to left front that cold create blisters in your tires since its interior wire mesh structure has already accomodated to a diferent direction of rotation.

really? then why do people recommend it so often? i have no clue but i kind of recall something along these lines in the manual. I could be mistaken.
So the best rotation is just back to front? how would that help other than the amount of wear? it will be always be wearing in the same side (in theory).

 

[goldwing2000]

It wears the same side but the front tires on a FWD do the majority of the stopping plus all of the acceleration and turning. They wear out much faster than the rears. The rear tires are mostly just along for the ride.

Proper rotation is front to back and proper interval is 5,000 miles for USA,
Canada and Puerto Rico. See page 8-32 of your owner's manual.

 

[azn712]

thanks for all the advice ppl but i am a little confused now. So should i just do front and back?

 

[goldwing2000]

thanks for all the advice ppl but i am a little confused now. So should i just do front and back?

*ahem*

Proper rotation is front to back and proper interval is 5,000 miles for USA,
Canada and Puerto Rico. See page 8-32 of your owner's manual.

 

[Protege52003]

i rotate mine usually arond 7500K.......i have not been driving much and i use snow tires so usually i just rotate when i swap tires between seasons!

-R

 

[goldwing2000]

Protege interval may be different than the 3.
I dunno. I don't have a Protege owner's manual to consult.

 

[rodslinger]

Goodyear actually recommends a modified "X" pattern for rotation on their tires. Most other manufactures suggest the same.

http://www.goodyeartires.com/faqs/Driving.html#4

Basically move the front tires straight back and cross the rears when moving them back up front. This is unless you have directional tires of course. I always cross rotate and never buy directional tires so I can. I've always had a problem with the tread blocks "feathering" when they stay on the same side/same direction for too long. Swapping sides keeps them smooth and even.

 

[SkeeM]

yea i'm a lil confused too....so can we safely do this our selves?? (readin bout the mesh and wutever scared me).....can we jus move front to back and back to front...or is there something else special we need to do

 

[awsmp5]

yeah i just pull out the spare and take the front right off, put spare on, put that one on the rear right, take that one tot he front left take that to the back left then put that one where the spare was! all done... if that made any sense to you. o well it gets the job done and i have symetrical tires so i can do that

 

[rodslinger]

yea i'm a lil confused too....so can we safely do this our selves?? (readin bout the mesh and wutever scared me).....can we jus move front to back and back to front...or is there something else special we need to do

Step 1 - Get Sunday paper
Step 2 - Find coupon from local tire/lube shop for $20 oil change and tire rotation
Step 3 - Take car to tire/lube shop and have tires rotated and oil changed for $20.....

 

[awsmp5]

thats works too

 

[azn712]

i guess i will do the modified x rotation but how do i know whether i have directional tires or not

 

[BrianG]

i guess i will do the modified x rotation but how do i know whether i have directional tires or not

The sidewall should have some sort of arrow or pointer.

 

[goldwing2000]

i guess i will do the modified x rotation but how do i know whether i have directional tires or not

What kind of tires do you have? In addition to an arrow in the sidwall that says "rotation" and points in one direction, usually a directional tire has diagonal tread lines that form a sort of "arrow" in the tread. Think of monster truck tires.
Directional:

Non-Directional:

Here's a neat little animation for rotation:
http://www.kumhousa.com/Care/TireRotation.asp