How long does it take for a tire rotation


"How Long Does a Tire Rotation take?"

05

Oct,

 2017

Don't Forget Tire Rotation During Your Next Tire Service!

Having your tires serviced is an essential part of proper car care. Tire service commonly includes some fairly basic services including tire inspection and repair (looking for tears and pinholes in your tires), checking and adjusting your tire inflation, and making sure that you have the right tires on your vehicle. One of the commonly overlooked forms of tire service is tire rotation which sometimes falls by the wayside during your tire care.

What is Tire Rotation?

A tire rotation involves moving the tires on your car around to different locations so that a different part of the tires touched the road and experiences friction with the road. The friction from the road wears down the tires but typically only touches a portion of the road. By rotating the tires you can reduce the wear on one spot and allocate it to a different part of the tire which lengthens the life of the tire significantly.

How Long Does a Tire Rotation Take?

While many people worry about how long does a tire rotation take, the answer is a relatively short period of time, typically it takes less than an 1 hour of total time. 

How much Do a Tire Rotation Cost?

The cost of a tire rotation is often less than $100, but be sure to ask your tire repair technician for the exact quote. This can result in a significant amount of savings by extending the lifespan of your tires significantly.

Remember: Tire rotation is considered a normal part of tire service. Vehicle owners should consider having it done at least once a year to make sure their tires are wearing properly.

Are you wondering about how long does a tire rotation take? Contact our ASE Certified technicians at Dependable Car Care today for more information about tire service and to schedule an appointment. Our auto shop proudly serves residents in the community of Ventura, CA, and surrounding area.

The time it takes for a tire service is worth it for the extended lifespan of your tires. Ask your tire shop about how long does a tire rotation take.

Don't Forget Tire Rotation During Your Next Tire Service!

Having your tires serviced is an essential part of proper car care. Tire service commonly includes some fairly basic services including tire inspection and repair (looking for tears and pinholes in your tires), checking and adjusting your tire inflation, and making sure that you have the right tires on your vehicle. One of the commonly overlooked forms of tire service is tire rotation which sometimes falls by the wayside during your tire care.

What is Tire Rotation?

A tire rotation involves moving the tires on your car around to different locations so that a different part of the tires touched the road and experiences friction with the road. The friction from the road wears down the tires but typically only touches a portion of the road. By rotating the tires you can reduce the wear on one spot and allocate it to a different part of the tire which lengthens the life of the tire significantly.

How Long Does a Tire Rotation Take?

While many people worry about how long does a tire rotation take, the answer is a relatively short period of time, typically it takes less than an 1 hour of total time. 

How much Do a Tire Rotation Cost?

The cost of a tire rotation is often less than $100, but be sure to ask your tire repair technician for the exact quote. This can result in a significant amount of savings by extending the lifespan of your tires significantly.

Remember: Tire rotation is considered a normal part of tire service. Vehicle owners should consider having it done at least once a year to make sure their tires are wearing properly.

Are you wondering about how long does a tire rotation take? Contact our ASE Certified technicians at Dependable Car Care today for more information about tire service and to schedule an appointment. Our auto shop proudly serves residents in the community of Ventura, CA, and surrounding area.

Dan Winter

Dan Winter

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How Long Does a Tire Rotation Take? Step-By-Step Guide

Tire rotation should take between 40 minutes and two hours, and it should be part of your routine vehicle maintenance. You should do it at least every 5,000 miles to keep your driving comfortable and your vehicle in good condition.

Is your steering wheel vibrating at highway speeds, or is there uneven wear on your tires? Maybe you’ve just bought a pre-owned car, and you don’t know when the tires were last rotated. It may be the right moment to do it. But how long does a tire rotation take?

We’ll walk you through everything you need to know about tire rotation and balancing them.

Why Do I Need to Rotate My Tires?

Periodic tire rotation and tire service can save vehicles, especially older and pre-owned, from damage.

Your car distributes weight unevenly across the four tires. This difference in weight distribution makes the tires wear in different spots. Taking them off and rotating the tires or switching them to a different position on the car is crucial to keeping them in good condition.

Uneven tires are not only uncomfortable to drive with. They’ll wear out faster, and you’ll use more gas when you’re driving. This can eventually cause damage to your wheels and suspension, so taking the time for tire rotations and balancing will save you money in the long run.

How Do I Know I Need to Rotate My Tires?

These are some of the most common symptoms of your tires being unbalanced and needing a rotation or balancing.

Mileage

The first thing you should go with when defining your tire rotation frequency is distance. This will help make sure you do it before you develop problems. If your tires are new, it’s important to rotate them because the tread is deep and more susceptible to getting worn in an uneven pattern.

Aim for tire rotations on your vehicle every 3,000 to 5,000 miles—and more often if you tend to haul heavy cargo. Refer to your vehicle’s user manual for specifics if you’re not sure.

You can probably make a rough estimate of how much you drive in a specific amount of time and set a regular calendar reminder to keep your tires in check.

Vibration

You’ll likely first notice your tires going out of balance from the steering wheel vibrating, especially when driving at high speeds. The speed at which you’ll mostly notice it is between 50 and 70 miles per hour.

Then, you’ll feel your rides getting bumpy. You’ll start feeling the vibration on the seat and the floor. This will all add up to a very uncomfortable driving experience.

If you only feel vibration when braking, check your brakes and especially brake rotors.

Uneven Wear

When your tires aren’t balanced, you may notice them wearing out, especially in uneven patterns and patches. Patchy patterns help you distinguish the problem from other possible issues, like underinflation or wheel misalignment. These two issues would cause wear at the center or the sides of the tire.

Improved Fuel Efficiency

Fuel inefficiency could be caused by many issues in your vehicle’s motor or tires, and can even be caused by underinflation. However, it can also be due to tire imbalances.

If you notice your fuel is running out faster and you know you haven’t rotated your tires in a while, check them. You will likely find some issues in them, and it’s cheaper to fix it than let the problem grow.

Mechanical Issues

If you start experiencing problems with your shock absorbers, axles, drive trains, and wheel bearings, it may be due to a simple tire balancing issue. If you don’t check your tires when you fix these issues, they will keep occurring. You’ll waste your money on fixes that won’t fix anything without tire service.

How Long Does It Take For Tire Rotations and Balance?

Tire balance and rotation shouldn’t take long, no more than a couple of hours. How long it takes depends on the condition of the tread.

How long does it take for only rotating the tires? Just rotating your tires is a bit faster than balancing them. It takes about 45 minutes in an auto shop. If you decide to do the tire rotation on your own, it really depends on how experienced and quick you are.

How To Do Tire Rotation at Home

Tire rotation is easy. Here’s how you do it.

  1. Loosen the wheels. You’ll need a lug wrench to loosen the lug nuts on your wheels a little before you lift it to take off the tire. Otherwise, it will just spin around, and you won’t be able to use it
  2. Lift your car. You’ll likely use a jack for this, but note that you might need more than one to keep the car lifted in several spots.
  3. Take off the tire. Loosen the lug nuts completely and remove the tire.
  4. Clean the tire and inspect it. Wash out any debris from the tire and inspect it to make sure the tread hasn’t worn too thin and that it has no punctures.
  5. Mark the tire. Mark the tire with some chalk to make sure you don’t forget which spot you took it from. This is especially important if you take out all the wheels.
  6. Replace the tire in the new position. Follow the patterns below to determine the right position for your tire.

Tire Rotation Patterns

First of all, note that the right tire rotation pattern depends on your car, but also on the tire type.

Front-Wheel Drive

With a front-wheel drive, you can either do an x-pattern or a forward cross pattern rotation.

The x-pattern rotation means simply rotating your front tires to the back axle and back tires to the front. You’ll also need to move them diagonally from right to left, and vice versa.

A forward cross pattern means moving your front tires to the back axle directly. At the same time, you’ll need to move the back wheels to the front diagonally.

Rear-Wheel and 4-Wheel Drive

Rear-wheel, all-wheel, and 4-wheel drive cars should have their tires rotated with a rearward cross pattern. This means you need to move the front wheels to the back and on opposite sides of the axle, and the rear wheels directly to the front, but on the same side.

Directional Tires

Some tires have a directional tread that you can see clearly pointing in the driving direction. You should only change the position of these types of tires but not rotate the tire itself, since the pattern should always point forward.

With directional treads, you should rotate either from front to back or from side to side, but not diagonally.

Performance Tires

Some cars use different-sized performance tires in the front and back axles. In these cases, you can only move the wheels in a side-to-side pattern on the same axle.

How to Balance Tires

Balancing tires is a bit more complicated than just rotating them. Here’s how you do it.

How to Balance Tires Without a Balancer

If you’re already noticing problems in the balance of your tires, you may need to balance them on top of rotating them.

If you take your vehicle to a car care shop, they’ll use a tire balancing machine to determine the spot where your tires need some extra weight. However, you can do it on your own at home, with or without a balancer. It might take a bit more time to find the exact spot, and the result may not be as accurate.

You will need some weights of different sizes. Some chalk will also come in handy for marking the tire.

1. Lift Your Car and Prepare the Tire

First, you’ll need to lift your car with a jack so that the wheel can freely rotate. Then, clean up large debris wherever you may have it and remove all the previous weights from the tire.

2.  Find the Right Spot

Next, you need to find the spot where the tire is heaviest. To do this, you’ll need to rotate the tire very slowly.

Nudge it just a bit and see if there’s a spot that always returns to the bottom when you let go. If your tire is in balance, it should rotate with no notable differences in speed, and it shouldn’t’ always return to the same spot.

If you do find a spot that’s heavier, mark it with some chalk. You’ll need to add the weight to the opposite side to balance the tire out.

3. Add the Weight

When picking the weights, you have the option of clip-on and stick-on types. You’ll often get a couple of different weight options so you can find the exact right one.

If you keep the tire on, you’ll have to stick the weight on the tire before you know you’ve got the right weight. To avoid going over, start with one small weight and check if the tire is in alignment before adding more.

How to Balance Tires With a Balancer

If you use a bubble balancer, you’ll have to remove the tire, but you’ll get a more accurate result. Here’s how you do it.

1. Lift the Car and Remove the Tire

Use a jack and a lug wrench to lift the car and remove the tire. Clean it up to make sure there’s no heavy mud weighing it down, and remove any old weights your tire may have.

2. Find the Right Spot

Place the tire on the bubble balancer. These work with the same mechanism as a common level tool, with liquid at the center. If the tire is in balance, the bubble at the center of the balancer should be right in the middle. If not, you’ll see the bubble moving to one side of the tire.

3. Add the Weights

With a bubble balancer, it’s easier to make sure you’ve got the weight distributed correctly. You can place the weights on top of the tire and move it around without having to stick or bang it on.

Add as many weights as you need. When the bubble is right in the middle, you know you’ve got the right spot, and you can proceed to stick them on.

When you’re finished, rotate the tire a bit and see if the bubble moves around before putting the tire back on.

Why Do Tires Go Out of Balance?

Tires can go out of balance for numerous different reasons, and it’s nearly inevitable. New tires can go out of balance because of issues when shipping or mounting them, especially if you don’t balance them when they’re new.

Later, tires can go out of balance because you’ve hit a pothole or had some other type of road damage to the rim or the tire. It’s also possible your wheels are out of balance due to a mechanical issue on your rims or your car.

This can especially happen with pre-owned vehicles. If you’re buying a pre-owned car, make sure both the tires and the rims and wheels are in good condition.

Small tire imbalances are nearly inevitable, so you should check your tires regularly to tackle any problems before they grow. A balance checkup every time you do a tire rotation or notice problems is usually enough.

Frequently Asked Questions

How Often Should You Get a Tire Rotation?

Vehicle owners should get a tire rotation done about every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. It may seem like a lot, but doing a tire rotation will keep your tires and your vehicle in good condition for longer. It’s especially important if you’re the owner of an older or pre-owned vehicle.

Do You Really Need to Rotate Your Tires?

Yes, you really do need to rotate your tires. Periodic tire rotation will not only keep them in good condition for longer, but it will also save vehicles, especially pre-owned, from damage. It’s much more comfortable to drive with evenly balanced tires, so make sure you get it done regularly.

How Long Does a Tire Change Take?

A tire change can take anything from 40 minutes to a couple of hours for all four tires on your vehicle. If you do it in a tire shop, it’s likely a short procedure. If you’re going to do it on your own and you’re not experienced, it may take a while longer.

The Bottom Line

If you’re still wondering how long does a tire rotation take, don’t worry. Tire rotation is a relatively quick process, especially if you’ve done it before. It shouldn’t take longer than 45 minutes at the shop or a couple of hours if you’re doing it at home.

Rotating your tires periodically can really extend their lifespan. You’ll also avoid causing damage to your wheels and car, and maximize your fuel efficiency. Doing a tire rotation is especially important if you’re buying a pre-owned vehicle.

The right rotation pattern depends on your vehicle, so make sure you check our instructions to get the right one.

How long does it take to change the wheels of a car at a tire fitting from summer tires to winter tires

The procedure for servicing cars at tire change stations can take a different amount of time. The exact figure depends on the equipment present and the professionalism of the master. On average, changing the wheels of a car at a tire fitting stretches for 20-30 minutes, in the absence of a serious workload of personnel.

Contents

  • 1 How long does it take to change winter tires
  • 2 How long does it take to change tires for summer
  • 3 Life hack to speed up the tire change procedure

In some cases, the installation procedure can take an hour or more. The exact figure will depend on the type of work performed.

  1. Simple reversal of complete wheels. The lightest version for a mechanic. Experienced specialists take no more than 5-10 minutes for the entire car.
  2. Re-shoeing of new skates without balancing. In standard mode, changing tires takes up to 10 minutes / piece.
  3. A full range of services, including balancing, takes 10-15 minutes per wheel.

If you put new skates on the wheels, you need to count on at least an hour. The usual replacement of finished wheels is faster. A savvy master can change all discs in a few minutes.
The need for repairs also affects the efficiency of work. In some situations (vulcanization is required), the procedure may take a day.

How long does it take to change winter tires


Service stations and tire shops in Russia always try to work as quickly as possible. The salary of the master directly depends on the number of clients. Usually the procedure for changing a set of tires from summer to winter does not take more than one hour.

Waiting time can be increased by factors that do not affect the immediate speed of the specialist's work - this is the queue and customer requirements.

How long does it take to change summer tires


Installation of summer tires is more difficult for the master than winter tires. This is argued by the increased rigidity of the rubber. Dense sidewalls are difficult to put on discs, which requires great physical effort.

This difference will not be noticeable to the user. Experienced technicians know how to properly place a product on the machine for fast assembly.

Life hack to speed up the tire change procedure


To facilitate the process of changing tires and speed up service, you can foresee a few points in advance and not wait in a huge queue.

  1. Arrange in advance with the foremen about the time of arrival and the amount of work. If the mechanic is warned about the visit, a window prepared for a specific car is formed at the service station. For complete confidence, you can give the mechanics an advance payment of 30-50% of the total cost of service.
  2. Surcharge for urgency. If you need to change tires immediately, specialists may charge double the rate for high speed work. This works when repairing out of turn. However, in this case, the possible dissatisfaction of other customers can lead to a scandal or even fights.
  3. Pre-replacement. With a sharp change in the weather in the autumn-spring period, a complete emergency occurs at tire shops. At this time, some workshops work around the clock due to many hours of queues. You can avoid this by changing the wheels in advance.

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Scheme of rearrangement of wheels on a truck.

How to change tires on a car

A brand new set of tires can last from 80,000 kilometers or more, however, this applies to ideal working and road conditions. But some of these conditions we can create ourselves. Just a couple of simple rules, and the life of tires can be easily extended by 30-40 thousand kilometers.

Tire wear

Of course, many factors affect the life of car tires. This is the driving style, and the class of the car, its technical condition, the type of tires themselves. And, of course, the tire life of a neat summer resident, who drives a car a couple of times a year, and that of an aggressive street racer, who constantly blows smoke at the start, will be completely different. An important factor affecting the lifespan of rubber is the degree of wear of its elements, whether it be ball bearings, bushings, etc. It is also necessary to set the correct camber, maintain optimal tire pressure.

Why you need to swap tires

Another way to extend the life of tires is swapping wheels. Previously, experienced drivers often used this technique, for many it was the rule, but today it is almost forgotten about it. How does changing tires help? Quite simply, different wheels in a car are subjected to different loads, which, in turn, leads to clear differences in the structure and degree of tire wear. For example, the front tires carry most of the mass of the car, since in the vast majority of cars the heavy engine is located in front. The load increases even more at, up to 80 percent of the weight falls on them during heavy braking. Then, the front wheels are constantly turning, which cannot but affect their accelerated wear.

Rotation period

The wear structure of the front and rear tires is different, the front tires wear off the tread edges, while the rear tires lose the middle part. Timely rotation of the wheels will make it possible to make this wear more uniform: the rear tires will begin to wear out on the sidewalls, while the front tires will wear out flat. Of course, you can just change to new front tires if you have enough money to spare, but it's easier to just swap tires, extending their life by a factor of one and a half. Moreover, tire manufacturers themselves advise rearranging tires every six months or every ten thousand kilometers. And in order to do this, you don’t have to take separate additional actions, because every six months we change our cars from summer to winter tires and back. You just need to swap them.

Rearrangement order

The rearrangement scheme may be different, but it is correct to do it as follows: put the rear tires forward in the same order as they were, that is, left to left, and right to right. The front tires should be placed crosswise on the rear axle, that is, we put the left front on the right rear side, we do the same with the right front.

But there is one significant nuance here - an asymmetric tread pattern. If you have such tires, then the rearrangement is done without changing the sides. On powerful cars or on sports cars, wheels of different sizes are often installed, in which case the tires are transferred only along the sides, from right to left. And before each shift, carefully study the markings of your tires.

Tire rotation scheme

EXCHANGE OF EXPERIENCE

In the article “Rubles and kilometers” (“Behind the wheel”, 1987, No. 10), it was said in passing that the life of tires can be increased if the spare wheel is not put into operation in accordance with the recommendation of the car's operating instructions. Many are asking for more details.

The recommendation to rearrange the wheels so that the tires wear evenly appeared, perhaps, simultaneously with the car wheel and has since wandered from one factory manual to another. It is quite simple: periodically swap the wheels so that each, including the spare tire, works in all positions - front and rear, left and right. True, recently a reservation has begun to appear in the technical literature: a rearrangement is needed only when uneven tire wear appears. Let's see what's the matter here.

One tire may wear faster than others due to incorrect position on the vehicle, play in the hub bearings or steering joints, etc. This applies to the front wheels, although the Cossacks have cases of accelerated tire wear only one rear wheel due to arm deformation. The two front tires on cars with a classic layout wear out faster than the rear ones, because while driving they do not always occupy the optimal position relative to the road and, moreover, travel a longer distance when overcoming turns. The “Cossacks” have a different picture: here the rear tires wear out faster, firstly, due to the greater load, and secondly, due to more frequent violation of the rear wheel alignment angles. In front-wheel drive vehicles, the tires on the front wheels wear out faster than the tires on the rear wheels, because the drive wheel has additional slippage at the point of contact between the tire and the road as a result of the transition of the rubber from a compressed state to a stretched one. Yes, and the load on the front wheels of these machines is greater than on the rear.

So, uneven tire wear cannot be eliminated. Why, then, are they gradually moving away from the traditional recommendation to periodically rearrange the wheels? The main reason is that in the new place, the wear rate of the tire initially increases compared to what it was before the rearrangement. After all, each tire in its place seemed to run in to the road, and after the rearrangement, the specific pressure on a part of the tread ledges increases, that is, the running-in process begins anew. It is also bad when, as a result of the rearrangement, the direction of rotation of the wheel changes - in this case, the accumulation of fatigue phenomena in the cord threads of the tire is accelerated.

But if the wheels are not rearranged at all, then the tires will not reach the finish line at the same time, and this is also bad, since the resource of two tires will not be fully used. How to be? Based on my experience, I propose the following, in my opinion, the most rational scheme for operating tires.

Classic cars.

On a new car (we denote tires as shown in Fig. 1, a), it is advisable to immediately measure the initial depth of the tread grooves - usually it is 9mm. The operation of tires is allowed to a depth of 1.5 - 1 mm, so the new tire has a "wear margin" of 7.5-8 mm. So, if the tires are rearranged, as shown in fig. 1, b, at the moment when the wear of the front will be 1-1.5 mm more than the rear, then all four tires will come to the finish line at the same time. Note that the wear of the front at the time of the rearrangement will be more than a half new wear reserve. (When operating first Moskvich-408, and now IZH-21251, I rearranged the tires after a run of about 30 thousand kilometers.)

When the tires are completely worn out, the spare tire and three new tires should be put into operation, as shown in fig. 1, c. If possible, the old ones should be welded on or exchanged for refurbished ones (they are shaded in Fig. 1), and a spare set of five tires should be attached somewhere indoors (a balcony with its fluctuations in temperature and humidity is not the best place for storage).

The fourth permutation is shown in fig. 1, d, and the fifth - in Fig. 1, e, Now it is advisable to leave new tires on the front wheels until they are completely worn out (Fig. 1, f). The fact is that welded tires often have a large imbalance, and wheels with them are not even taken to balance at the service station. BUT on the rear wheels, the imbalance is not so terrible, since the force from it is perceived by the widely spaced axle shaft supports.

The last picture shows that there are three spare wheels left. This is theoretical. In practice, for sure, you will have to prematurely part with one or more tires due to accidents (cuts, breakdowns) or due to internal defects (cracks, cord delamination, etc.).

The above is also true for the "Cossacks", only this car will have everything "on the contrary" - the tires of the rear wheels wear out faster.

Front wheel drive vehicles (Fig. 2). In principle, the same scheme for rearranging the wheels applies here. But, given that the rear tires here wear out almost twice as slowly as the front ones, you can simplify things and not rearrange the wheels, if, of course, you can get a new set of tires in time or purchase at least two new ones (Fig. 2, b) .

The proposed schemes, in comparison with the classical scheme of wheel shifting, allow increasing the resource of each tire by 15-20%. But it is advisable to use them if you are not going to change the type of tires, for example, universal tires for winter tires, bias tires for radial tires, etc. With an upcoming replacement of this kind, you need to apply the classic rearrangement scheme so as not to create a problem with a spare tire that is different from the rest. After all, the use of different types of tires on a car greatly worsens its stability and controllability and therefore is not allowed by the traffic police.

All tires are divided into several types and types. During manufacture, tires are marked with a marking that indicates its main parameters and characteristics. We will not delve into the markings, but we will consider the main differences. Tires are divided into two large groups according to the way the cord is laid inside the tire during its manufacture.

These are radial tires and bias tires. Tires of these two types can be winter, summer and all-weather. Each of these three tires can have a regular or directional tread pattern.
A tire with a regular pattern can be installed on either side of the car, a tire with a directional pattern is installed strictly in the direction of rotation. Regular and directional tread patterns can be symmetrical or asymmetrical. A tire with such a pattern is placed according to the rule of a tire with a regular or directional pattern.

It is possible to buy 4 identical tires and assemble them with rims according to the right and left sides of the car. You will get two left wheels and two right ones. Very rarely come across directional tires with an asymmetrical pattern and with an indication of the inside and outside. These tires need to buy two on each side. Two right and two left, but it is better to refuse such tires altogether. They are not convenient to use.

Which tires are better

Radial tires are preferable for cord construction. Such tires are more reliable, they withstand heavy loads during movement, and are more stable during deformation. Radial tires wear longer than diagonal tires. Therefore, tires with a diagonal ply are currently practically not produced. Almost all car owners have two sets of tires. For the operation of a car in the winter - these are winter tires, for the summer period - summer.

All season tires can be used in both summer and winter. may be studded. Such tires are allowed only in a few countries, where snow often and abundantly falls in winter, frost forms on the road surface. This list also includes Russia. All-season, summer and winter tires have their own pattern characteristics that increase the car's handling.

Front or rear wheel drive vehicles can be fitted with different tire patterns. Such tires are installed in pairs on one axle, for example, tires with one pattern are in front, and with another in the back. It is forbidden to install diagonal tires on one axle and radial tires on the other. The dimension must be the same. On all-wheel drive vehicles, the same tires must be installed.

Tires with different treads and dimensions are strictly prohibited. This is due to the design of the transmission. If you operate a car with different tires, then the car's transmission will quickly fail. In addition, driving on different tires becomes dangerous, a car on a slippery road will behave unpredictably.

Tire Swap Rule

All car manufacturers and tire manufacturers recommend changing tires while driving. What is it for? During the operation of the car, all tires wear out unevenly. This is due to several factors. Heterogeneity of the road surface, operating conditions and vehicle transmission device. Therefore, in order to extend the life of the tires and the transmission of the car, the tires must be periodically replaced.

On all-wheel drive vehicles, uniform tire wear is more relevant. Car manufacturers recommend several tire rotation schemes. But in practice, as is often the case, it is impossible or impractical to apply such tire swap schemes. Many car owners never swap tires. Which of course is wrong.

How do you change tires and how often should you do it? The frequency is approximately 8 - 12 thousand kilometers. Therefore, tire swapping can be timed to coincide with the change of tires from summer to winter and vice versa. Winter tires may be studded. When using these tires, the studs tilt to one side. This is due to frequent wheel slip.

Therefore, these tires must be installed in the same direction as they were before. In this case, the tires from the front axle must be put on the rear axle, and the tires from the rear axle should be put on the front axle. In order not to get confused where which wheel was, in a tire shop, the master usually puts a mark on the wheel. If you apply one of the recommended schemes and change the direction of rotation to the opposite when installing the tires, the spikes will begin to tilt in the other direction, their fastening in the tread will weaken and they will start to fly out.

Which, of course, does not justify the expediency of rearranging the tires strictly according to the scheme. There is no point in this, the tires will wear out evenly, but the spikes will almost all fall out. If ​​the tires are not studded, but have a directional pattern, the tires must also be rearranged, from the front axle to the rear, from the rear axle to the front without changing the installation side on the car. If the tires do not have a direction of rotation, then it is possible to apply a more complex scheme.

In this case, the rear tires are moved to the front axle in accordance with the sides. And the front tires are placed on the rear axle, but at the same time the right wheel is placed on the left, and the left wheel is placed on the right. There is another scheme for rearranging wheels. In this scheme, a spare wheel is also involved. The spare must of course be identical. When using such a scheme, the tires wear out a little longer during operation. In this case, the rear tires are rearranged to the front axle without changing sides, the spare wheel is placed on the rear axle on the right, and the right front wheel is placed back on the left. The front left wheel becomes a spare. But such a scheme can be applied if non-studded tires and tires with a non-directional pattern are installed on the car.

If the vehicle is fitted with all-season tyres, it is best to change the tires in the middle of the season. That is, in summer and winter, and not during periods of changing seasons. And it turns out that some wheels constantly "ride" on the snow in front, and the other pair - on asphalt in the summer on the rear axle. Wear will again be uneven. When using a rearrangement scheme without the participation of a spare tire, the latter does not wear out. There is a situation when you have to put a spare tire on the car and drive it.

The difference between the tread height of worn tires and the spare wheel adversely affects the vehicle's transmission. But you can still drive several tens of kilometers. It is advisable to drive as short a distance as possible using the spare wheel.

It happens that a car owner has two sets of fully assembled wheels. That is, when replacing tires, you do not need to constantly bead tires. You just need to change the wheels, for example, from winter to summer. Before changing wheels, they must be balanced. Which will also increase their service life, as well as the service life of the car suspension. Many car owners balance their wheels only when replacing tires with new ones and then drive their entire life. It is not right. During tire wear, the point of imbalance changes. During wheel spin, for example in deep snow, the weight on the disc may move. Therefore, it is necessary to balance the wheels periodically.

The cost of a set of tires for prestigious cars is quite high, so owners of premium cars seek to extend the life of tires. One of the proven ways to extend the life of tires due to uniform wear is to rotate the wheels. In order to do everything right, it is important to consider several important points.

Changing times

The main reference point for various preventive maintenance operations is the vehicle owner's manual. It tells you when to change the wheels. The more often this operation is performed, the more evenly tires wear out.

But common sense dictates that it makes no sense to carry out such prophylaxis every week. Most manufacturers recommend changing the wheels after 10-20 thousand kilometers. The lower limit of this interval is relevant for those who constantly travel on bad roads or adhere to an aggressive, sporty driving style.

Other factors also increase wear: the condition of the suspension and steering, low tire pressure, regular overloading of the machine. The upper limit is acceptable for lovers of careful driving and owners of high-quality branded tires.
It resists abrasion longer and gets damaged less often. When removing a summer or winter set, before sending it to storage, make notes by which you can determine which axle and which side the wheels were on - PP, PL, ZP, ZL.

Do the wheels need to be swapped?

It may seem to some that changing tires is an extra operation. However, experienced car service employees advise not to neglect this preventive measure, because not only the timing of tire wear depends on it, but also safety on the road.

The fact is that the tread on the rear and front wheels is not erased in the same way. When cornering, braking and complex maneuvers, the same zones are involved, and as a result, the tire loses its shape. If you don't want to throw away your tires because of abrasions in some areas, it's worth taking the opportunity to extend the life of your wheels.

Rotation patterns

Although manufacturers do not produce left or right tires separately, it is important to follow certain patterns when rotating. If you decide to rearrange the tires yourself, mark them before starting work so as not to be confused.

There are several common ways to change tires. The choice depends on the drive axle and the type of rubber. For front-wheel drive cars, two options are used. In the first case, the rear wheels are rearranged to the front axle (left - to the left, right - to the right), and the front wheels to the rear. In this case, the left and right tires are swapped. The second scheme is a little more simple: the left rear wheel becomes the right front, the right rear becomes the left front, and vice versa.

Tire rotation is essential for long tire life and confidence in driving safely.

The causes of uneven wear can be both wheel imbalance and the lack of correctly set toe and camber. These are factors that can be corrected by driving to the technical center. But, there are other reasons for uneven wheel wear. So, for example, during braking, abrasion occurs as on the wheels of both axles, but during acceleration, the drive axle wears out more. When driving the steering wheel, the front axle is subject to abrasion, and factors such as vehicle weight, wheel inflation, temperature, and others also play the role of uneven wear.

Each manufacturer recommends permutation differently. Bridgestone recommends every 5,000 to 8,000 miles, Continental every 10,000 to 12,000 miles, Dunlop recommends changing every 6,000 miles, and on 4WD vehicles every 4,000 miles, GoodYear every 8,000 to 10,000 miles, Michelin strongly recommends first change at 5,000 and second after after 50% tire wear.

We recommend timing the rotation of the wheels for a periodic, mandatory technical inspection, or, for the seasonal change of summer tires to winter tires and vice versa, in this case, in order not to forget the location of the removed wheels from the car, we recommend marking each wheel with chalk.

The procedure for changing tires on a car can be seen in the diagrams below.


Swapping 4 tires

Alternate wheel alignment suitable for all types of vehicles (recommended for 4WD)

Direct interchange
A simplified and now obsolete swapping method used in the early days of the tire industry.

Changeover for vehicles with different size tires on the front and rear axles

Swapping 5 tires
If you have a fifth spare tire of the same make and model as the other 4, then that should also be included in the rotation. The inclusion of the fifth wheel in the rearrangement process will allow more even distribution of tread wear, and in the event of a puncture of one of the wheels, the spare tire will have a more worn out, and, therefore, a tread pattern that is more suitable in depth to the rest of the tires.

Sincerely, the administration of the store Shina-onLine .


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