Tire rotation, that is routinely repositioning your vehicle’s tires in specific patterns from front to back or side to side, is an important element of tire upkeep and safety. Additionally, rotating your tires may also be required to keep your tires covered under warranty. For a quick visual summary of tire rotation, check out our Tread Life episode about tire rotation. Read on for more information about what tire rotation is, why tire rotation patterns matter, and the correct pattern for your vehicle’s needs.
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Tire rotation means periodically changing the position of each of the tires on your vehicle. You should rotate your tires as recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, or every 5,000 miles. For many of you, that will mean when you get your vehicle’s oil changed.
Regularly rotating your tires also gives you a good opportunity to visually inspect them for damage, check their air pressure, have them rebalanced if you’re noticing any vibration, and check their tread depth.
There are several reasons why tire rotation is an important element of your standard tire care. First, by routinely rotating your tires, wear is spread evenly across all four tires, and their tread life is maximized. That’s because each specific position on your vehicle requires a different give from each tire—(for example, tires on the front of a front-wheel drive vehicle will take a larger proportion of the torque and friction that’s needed for turning, accelerating and braking)—and can lead to more, or less, wear on the tire. It is especially important to rotate new tires by 5,000 miles because deep, fresh tire tread is more susceptible to uneven wear.
Secondly, even tread wear keeps the tread depth on your tires uniform, which can help keep traction and handling consistent across all four tires. This will improve cornering and braking performance and keep your vehicle safer for driving overall.
Finally, if your vehicle has all-wheel-drive, evenly worn tires lower the stresses on the drivetrain, reducing wear on expensive drive components.
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The tire rotation pattern that’s best for your vehicle will depend on the type of tire you’re using, whether your vehicle is front, rear, all, or four-wheel drive, whether your tires are directional or non-directional, whether or not your tires are the same size on the front and rear of your vehicle, and whether you have a full-size spare that can be rotated through as well, unlike a temporary spare.
. Let’s take a look at tire rotation patterns recommended by the standardizing body of the tire industry, The Tire and Rim Association, Inc., for all of these possibilities.
For vehicles that are 4-wheel, all-wheel, or rear-wheel drive, the rearward cross pattern is recommended. Rear tires are moved to the forward axle and kept on the same side of the vehicle while the front tires are moved to opposite sides of the rear axle.
2. X-PATTERNRecommended for front-wheel drive vehicles such as light-weight trucks and sedans, all tires are moved diagonally, meaning tires are switched from one axle to the opposite as well as being repositioned from one side to the other.
3. FORWARD CROSSThis is the most common pattern for front-wheel drive vehicles. The front axle tires are moved directly back while the rear tires are moved up diagonally to the opposite side of the front axle.
In order to insure that all of the tires on your vehicle have even tread wear, you’ll want to be sure to rotate your full-size spare tire along with the other four. This is especially vital for all-wheel or 4-wheel drive vehicles where even small differences can put undue strain on your car’s drive train.
1. REARWARD CROSS (REAR-WHEEL OR 4-WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES):Both rear axle tires move directly forward to the front axle while the spare tire moves to the right side of the rear axle. The right front tire moves diagonally back to the left side of the rear axle while the left front tire becomes your new spare tire.
2. FORWARD CROSS (FRONT-WHEEL DRIVE VEHICLES):Rear tires are moved diagonally to opposite sides on the front axle while the right front tire becomes the new spare tire. The spare tire is positioned on the right side of the rear axle while the left tire on the front axle is moved directly back into the left rear position.
All tires are switched with their same-sized partner and remain on the same axle. The two rear tires switch to the opposite side with one another while the two front tires do the same.
2. FRONT-TO-BACK (FOR DIRECTIONAL TIRES)All tires are moved from one axle to the other but remain on the same side of the vehicle. For example, the front left tire is moved to the left side of the rear axle while the rear left tire is repositioned on the left side of the front axle.
By Wayne Scraba,www.automedia.com
Rotating tires is important (and always has been) for car maintenance. If you rotate the respective wheels and tires on a given axle, tire wear is even. The result is almost always balanced traction and handling over a period of time.
Most tire warranties demand the tires be rotated on a specific mileage schedule. And many tire manufacturers recommend rotation at between 3,000 and 5,000 miles.
Tire balancing
Making each tire function in as many of the vehicle’s wheel positions as possible makes evening out tire wear feasible. Naturally, this can’t make up for tire wear caused by tired or malfunctioning mechanical components or improper inflation. When considering the mechanics of a motor vehicle, keep in mind that the front end often has a more difficult task than the rear. For example, in a front-wheel-drive car, the tires are tasked with steering, stopping, moving up and down, and, of course, pulling the vehicle forward. In a high-performance rear-wheel-drive car, you’ll likely find that the rear tires take more abuse than the front. Four-by-four vehicles and all-wheel-drive models bring their own tire wear peculiarities to the party. The bottom line: No matter what the car or truck, the wheel position can cause different rates and types of wear on a tire.
Replacing four versus two
As a tire wears, the tread depth is reduced. If all four tires wear out at more or less the same time, you can replace four tires at once. This is actually advantageous when compared to replacing tires in pairs, simply because you’ll always have equal fresh rubber on all four corners. Additionally, you have to consider that the manufacturers are constantly releasing new and improved tire configurations. The result is that your old tires could become obsolete by the time they’re worn. If replacing only two at once, there’s a good chance you’ll end up with mixed tire technology that could negatively affect how your vehicle drives.
Tire rotation pattern
So far so good, but tire rotation isn’t anything like it was a few decades ago. Way back when, most cars had identical wheels and tires on all four corners, and the spare was also a full-size job that matched the road wheels. That’s a difficult combination to find today, with space-saver spares, spare tires mounted on dedicated steel wheels (with the rest of the rolling stock on aluminum wheels), different wheel offsets and sizes front and rear, mixed tire sizes, and so on.
Because of this, the rotation process differs. Here’s a look at some of the many different tire rotation pattern options.
Four same-size tires, non-directional
If the tires are non-directional and the tires and wheels are all the same size, there are three different four-tire rotation patterns most commonly used:
The right front goes to left rear.Different-size directional tires, or different offsets
What if the vehicle in question has different-size directional wheels and tires or is equipped with wheels with different offsets (wheel backspace) front and rear? In this case, the tires will definitely require dismounting, remounting and rebalancing in order to rotate the tires. Four other typical rotation patterns are as follows:
The left rear goes to the right rear. And the right rear goes to left rear.
Front-wheel drive : The left front goes to the left rear. The left rear goes to the right front. The right rear goes to the left front. The spare goes to the right rear. The right front goes to the spare.
Rear-wheel drive or four-wheel drive: The left rear goes to the left front. The left front goes to the spare. The spare goes to the right rear. The right rear goes to the right front. The right front goes to the left rear.
The idea here is to distribute the wear over five tires throughout their life. This is particularly important on many all-wheel-drive vehicles in that all tires, including the spare, are, in theory, worn identically.
Author: Editorial, https://www.motofocus.eu/ 22 Serpnya 2016, 23:56
It is recommended to include tire rotation as a mandatory part of vehicle maintenance. Swapping tires contributes to their uniform wear on the front and rear wheels, while reducing the intensity of wear and there is no reason for the increase in tire noise due to uneven wear, which ultimately increases safety and saves the car owner's money, creates comfort, incl. acoustic. nine0003
Changing tires as part of regular maintenance is an absolute advantage, as it contributes to uniform wear of the tires of all wheels and allows them to be replaced at the same time, without additional tire fitting and tire balancing during operation.
It is important to note that changing the wheels will not correct wheel wear problems due to other worn parts of the vehicle or correct incorrect tire pressures.
Tires must be changed at all four wheel positions, as the wheels perform different tasks and carry different loads at each position, and therefore may differ in tire wear patterns. nine0003
Don't forget the spare tire. Full size spare tires (not reduced size spare tires) of the same size and design as the main tires must be included in the swap. Always check and adjust the pressure of the spare wheel when installing it.
Which scheme to follow? Follow the vehicle manufacturer's recommendations for wheel alignment charts and intervals. Unless otherwise specified by the vehicle manufacturer, rotate the wheels every 10,000 to 12,000 kilometers, or earlier if uneven tread wear begins to appear. If this happens, the wheel alignment needs to be checked and/or corrected, as well as other possible mechanical problems.
nine0003
It is very important to observe the correct direction of rotation of the tires when rearranging. Just like summer or all-season tires, winter tires must be balanced to achieve their maximum performance and service life. Do not forget that the correct direction of rotation of studded tires is especially important for their service life.
Basic tire swapping schemes
On front-wheel drive vehicles, it is recommended to change tires in a cross-circular pattern (front to back on the same side, rear to front diagonally). nine0003
On rear-wheel drive vehicles - in a cross pattern with the reverse direction of shifting diagonally (rear forward on the same side, front back diagonally.
If non-directional tires of different diameters are fitted on the front and rear axles, the right and left tires on each axle are simply swapped.0003
If the vehicle has spare tires that are fully compliant with the specified parameters (except in the case of a directional tread), it also makes sense to use a spare tire during the replacement process.
Unless recommended by the vehicle manufacturer, place the spare on the right side of the rear axle at every change. And the tire that should have been installed instead of the right rear wheel (when rearranging without a spare), install in place of the spare.
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Introduction
What is the feature of the directional tread pattern?
Advantages and disadvantages of
directional tiresHow to properly install directional tires
Conclusion
When choosing good tires, you often face the problem of not only a huge number of models, but also a variety of tread patterns, which also need to be sorted out. One of the most popular patterns is the traditional directional pattern, which has been used on the tread surface of a wide variety of tires for decades.
What are directional tires and why are they still in demand not only among motorists, but also among professional motorcycle racers? In the article, we will reveal all the secrets and technologies of directional tires, as well as show you how to install them correctly. Here, nuances and discoveries await us at every step. nine0003
There are four types of car tire tread patterns:
directional symmetrical,
non-directional symmetrical,
non-directional asymmetrical,
directional asymmetric.
Each drawing is designed for its own version of the road and has its own set of advantages. Different tread patterns have different functionality and behavior on the road. When mounting tires on wheels, their own installation principles also work, which will need to be strictly observed so as not to create an emergency. We will talk about them in the corresponding section.
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The essence of the directional tread design is clear at a glance: the blocks, ribs and tread grooves of the V-pattern are directional, spinning the wheel in a certain direction. Most often, directional tires are found in winter models, but there are many of them among summer ones. In symmetrical tires, both halves of the directional tread are mirrored, in an asymmetric design, both halves have a different structure and different functionality.
It is necessary to mount the wheels only in the right direction, otherwise all the advantages will come to naught, and at the same time problems with handling and accelerated wear will be added. Excessive strong pressure will accumulate in the center of the working area, due to which the tire will begin to rise above the road and harm traction in how many areas. nine0003
The directional tread pattern performs best on wet asphalt trails, as the grooves that widen from the center to the side zones are much better at shedding water from the contact surface.
This not only improves grip on wet surfaces, but also works in favor of protection against the effect of hydroplaning. This works even better for a rear-wheel drive car - the front wheels will quickly clear the water before the rear axle sets foot on the road. Accordingly, contact with the track in such a car will be much more thorough. nine0003
The directional pattern of the winter models excels in raking snow and clearing dirt from the contact surface - ideal for snowy trails in the winter.
On a dry summer surface, they also give the car a couple of advantages - first of all, it concerns directional and lateral stability. For high-speed tires, this is one of the most relevant designs, as directional tires have a positive effect on the reactions of the car at high speed. nine0003
However, their driving disadvantage is the increased noise level during active work on asphalt, and the higher the speed, the stronger the rumble. Also, directional tires are more expensive than non-directional tires, but cheaper than asymmetric ones.
It is better not to install directional tires if you often drive on dirt roads or are completely forced to drive off-road. They will not show effective work on soft and medium hard surfaces. For rural areas, a tread pattern with a non-directional arrangement of large lugs is better suited. Remember that, being put on disks, wheels with directional rubber can only be changed from the front axle to the rear and vice versa, but not rearranged on the sides. To do this, the tires will have to be disassembled and put as needed. nine0003
Although we've talked about directional tires, it's the symmetrical design that's most common. Asymmetric directional pattern is very rare. This is due to the fact that such tires are not only much more difficult and expensive to manufacture, but they have one serious drawback for car owners. Due to the very strict installation scheme for the car, constant difficulties arose with spares - I had to constantly carry two spare wheels with me instead of one, because you never know which tire will be damaged, and you can’t change directional asymmetric tires with sides.
In addition, the warehouses constantly accumulated tires for only one side, which are completely useless without a paired wheel. nine0003
As mentioned above, one of the "secrets" of directional tires is their installation pattern. Simply put, you need to find the inscription Rotation (from the English. "Rotation") with an arrow on the sidewall. It is this marker that is an indicator - in which direction the tire pattern should “look” when installed on a car. If you make a mistake with the direction of rotation and put the rubber against the arrow, then the drainage system will rake in water like a mill, and not discard it, leveling all the advantages of the model, or even exacerbating them. The fact that the tires are installed incorrectly will tell you a sharply increased noise in the cabin. nine0003
If for some reason you could not find this marker, then you can do it even easier - pay attention to the tire tread pattern itself. The rubber of the directional design is a kind of "herringbone" that is directed forward.
Simply mount the tires so that the tread pattern faces the direction of travel of the vehicle.
Rubber with an asymmetric device must only be mounted according to the marking, since each individual side is designed for its own tasks and should never be confused. The correct direction of asymmetric tires will help determine the labels:
Outside, or the outer side of the tire, must face outward.
Inside, or the inner side, respectively, looks inside the car.
Right and left asymmetric tires are much less common. Left (or simply L) will be written on one tire - it means that it must be placed to the left of the body, Right (R) - to the right. You can change them only on one side of the body - front with rear and vice versa. nine0003
But much more often, directional tires can be mounted on a rim on either side, the main thing is to follow the direction of the pattern.
And don't forget to balance freshly assembled wheels - tires will never reveal their advantages and characteristics without good balance.
