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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Drive more and fill up your tank less*
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Extended mobility PLUS improved performance through the elements
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High performance driving all year long
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Handle it all in your high performance CUV or SUV
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Ready for the long haul
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Built to keep you and your workload going
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Keep your life on a roll
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Built for your truck, SUV, or CUV
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Take on the intensity of on and off road driving
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Ready for heavy-duty hauls
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Handle it all in your high performance CUV or SUV
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Ready for the long haul
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Built to keep you and your workload going
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For winters worst
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Luxury takes on winter
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Impressive grip and control
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Navigate through snow and ice in your SUV, CUV, or truck
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Built for blizzards and winters worst in a commerical light truck or van
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Built to get you through this winter
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Keep your commercial truck or van in commission all winter
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Take control of the track
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Sleek, sporty, and cornering performance
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Take your sports car for a spin
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Next level summer performance for your Sport Truck or SUV
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80,000 miles of quiet, comfort and control*
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Keep your life on a roll
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All-season tires that won't stop until they get you there
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Confident all-weather protection
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Drive more and fill up your tank less*
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Extended mobility PLUS improved performance through the elements
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Built for your truck, SUV, or CUV
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Take on the intensity of on and off road driving
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Tough enough to take a puncture*
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Tires that take you on a thrill ride
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Ready for heavy-duty hauls
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High performance driving all year long
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Handle it all in your high performance CUV or SUV
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Take control of the track
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Sleek, sporty, and cornering performance
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Take your sports car for a spin
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Next level summer performance for your Sport Truck or SUV
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Feel the rush with tires inspired by racing
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For winters worst
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Luxury takes on winter
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Impressive grip and control
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Ready for the long haul
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Built to keep you and your workload going
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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.
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With this crummy economy, we’re all looking for ways to save money. One way to save a few bucks is doing your own auto maintenance. We’ve already discussed how to change your own oil. Today we’re going to tackle another maintenance job that you can easily do yourself.
If you’re not careful, your car’s tires can become a big money pit. Tires aren’t cheap. A new one can set you back at least $80. If you go through a new set of tires every year, you’re looking at dropping at least $400. Boo.
One simple way you can extend the life of your tires is regularly rotating them on your car. Tire rotation means changing where the individual tire is mounted on the car. Some men don’t ever have their tires rotated, and those that do usually let a quick lube take care of it. But this simple 15 minute job will set them back at least $20 at most places. Save yourself the money by doing it yourself. In today’s post we show you how.
Front and rear tires wear differently. For example, the front tires carry more than 60% of your car’s weight; consequently, front tires wear down faster than the rear ones. Also, turning wears the front tires at different rates. In America, we generally take left turns faster than we do right turns.
This puts more load on the right front tire which results in the right tire wearing faster than your left. After thousands of miles of driving, you end up with uneven tread wear.
Rotating tires equalizes these natural wear patterns by changing the positions of your tires. By rotating your tires regularly, you’ll ensure yourself a smoother and safer ride. And more importantly (for me at least) you’ll save money in the long run by extending the life of your tires.
Oh, and it feels manly to flip tires around, too.
Check your car’s owner’s manual for the recommended tire rotation schedule. Most manufacturers recommend that you rotate your tires every 5,000 miles. An easy way to remember to rotate your tires is to do it whenever you change the oil on your car.
Car jack. Using the jack that comes with your car can work, but it isn’t recommended for rotating your tires. It’s designed to lift up your car for a short amount of time so you can quickly change a tire.
The safer route is to use a hydraulic floor jack. A good floor jack will set you back about $100, but your safety is well well worth the investment. A car jack will come in handy for other maintenance jobs as well.
Jack stands. You’ll need some jack stands so you can rest the car on top of them while you switch the tires out. You can buy a decent set of jack stands for about $30.
If you don’t want to fork over the dough, you can jerry rig a jack stand with a cinderblock and a two by four. Just place the cinderblock under a wheel and place the two by four on top of the cinderblock to prevent scratching the bottom of your car. Lower the car jack so the car rests on the cinderblock and two by four. Wala! Instant jack stands!
Before we start loosening those lug nuts, we need to know what pattern we’re going to use to rotate our tires. The way you rotate your tires depends on a few factors, the biggest one being whether your car has directional or non-directional tires.
How to Rotate Directional Tires. Directional tires have a “one-way” tread pattern that are optimized for the direction the tires rotate on the car, so they’re specifically made for either the left or right side. The grooves are angled to optimize handling, and they also do a good job of channeling water out from under the tire on wet surfaces, reducing hydroplaning and improving wet traction.
Little arrows or triangles on the sidewall indicate which way the tire is supposed to turn.
To rotate directional tires, just switch the front right tire for the back right tire, and the front left tire for the back left tire, like this:
How to Rotate Non-directional Tires. The tread pattern on non-directional tires is designed in such a way that the tire can be mounted on the wheel for any direction of rotation. So you can switch which side the tires are on when you rotate them.
To rotate non-directional tires, use the cross pattern.
For cars with rear-wheel drive, move the front tires to the opposite sides of the rear: left-front to right-rear and right-front to left-rear. The rear tires are moved straight forward. Here’s how it looks visually:
On vehicles with front-wheel drive, just do the opposite. Move the rear tires to the opposite sides of the front and move the front tires straight back.
Some old car maintenance guides recommend that drivers rotate their spare tire into use in order to give one of the tires a much needed break. The problem with this advice is that the vast majority of modern spare tires aren’t designed for extended driving. They’re often smaller and feature a lighter-weight construction and shallower tread depth. They’re designed to simply get you to a shop to fix the original tire. That’s it.
Some cars still come equipped with full-size matching spare tires. Off road vehicles and many SUVs usually have them. If you have a car that has a matching spare tire, it isn’t a bad idea to rotate it into use.
Here’s a diagram for the suggested rotation:
Time needed: 20 minutes.
1. Engage parking brake. Just for your safety.
2. Loosen the lug nuts on all your wheels. You don’t want to take them completely off yet. Loosening them now will make unscrewing them when the car is elevated much easier.
3. Lift up one wheel with car jack and place jack stand underneath it. If you just have one or two jack stands (or cinder blocks) you’ll need to do a bit of mental work before you start jacking so you know how you’re going to proceed with lowering and raising your car. Because you have fewer stands, you’ll also spend more time lowering and raising your car in order to switch them out. Despite the extra effort, you still won’t spend much more than 20 minutes on the job. I’ve seen some people place their car on all four jack stands. It’s not exactly the safest thing to do, but it will definitely help you get the job done faster because you don’t have to switch out jack stands.
4. Remove the tires and rotate them according to the appropriate pattern for your type of tires. When you place a tire back onto the wheel mount, screw the lug nuts on by hand as much as you can.
5. Lower the car from the jack stands. Take the lug wrench and tighten the nuts even more. It’s best to work the lug nuts diagonally from one to another. It looks like a star pattern. This ensures even tightening. Tightening the lug nuts unevenly can warp the brake rotor.
Star pattern when tightening lug nuts
That’s it! Now just mark down the mileage when you rotated your tires and remember to do it again in another 5,000 miles.
Tags: Cars
PreviousNextIntroduction
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.
There are four types of car tire tread pattern:
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.
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.
The directional tread pattern is best suited for wet tarmac, as the grooves that widen from the center to the sides 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.
The directional pattern of the winter models excels in raking snow and removing 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.
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.
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.
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.
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 should 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.
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 show their advantages and characteristics without good balance.
Only after that you can proceed to the installation on the hubs. After installation, go around the car in a circle and check the markings. Recall that we need the rotation direction under the Rotation arrow. If you have an asymmetric directional tire, then make sure that only the Outside is visible. Left (Left) and right (Right) asymmetric tires must show the sides of the body in the direction of travel.
You can learn a couple more tips about directional tires from this video:
The article provides information on the correct installation of tires and tread direction features.
A tire is a complex multi-layered shell that is attached to the wheel rim. The shock-absorbing part is rubber or polymer, with a printed pattern, which, as a rule, indicates the direction of rotation of the wheel. The pattern is applied to the protector. The tread is the working area that creates the grip of the car with the road.
Tires are classified according to the following criteria:
Understand! Universal in reliability while driving are inferior to specialized ones. The directional ones provide better grip on wet roads at high speeds. If you correctly determine the direction behind the rotation of the wheels, the effect of aquaplaning disappears, which guarantees good rubber grip in puddles.
Rubber design features are distinctive features that improve the driving characteristics of the vehicle. It is important to understand them for the correct choice of replacement rubber.
Tubeless, long lasting elasticity in case of puncture. The rubber tightens around the stuck object. It does not overheat when driving, due to heat dissipation by the open (metal) part of the rim. Unlike the chamber one, there are increased requirements for rims, the need to apply additional sealant at the junction of the rim and rubber, and the complexity of installation. Tubeless are used more often, properly mounted - high wear resistance.
The difference between bias and radial tires can only be correctly identified by the marking. Radial - r. Diagonal - do not have a letter index. You can understand the marking of the diagonal ones by the presence of the designation TT - operation with a camera. Those who care about speed need to understand the differences.
Summer Drive Protection Sound Comfort
Rating:
4.5
Tires Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 3 SUV
Summer Drive protection
Rating:
4.5
Tires Goodyear Eagle Sport TZ
Summer Drive protection
Rating:
4.
5
Tires Goodyear EfficientGrip 2 SUV
Summer Drive Protection Run On Flat
Rating:
4.5
Tires Goodyear EfficientGrip Performance
Winter Disc protection
Tires Goodyear UltraGrip Arctic 2 SUV
Winter Drive Protection Sound Comfort
Rating:
4.5
Tires Goodyear UltraGrip Ice 2
Winter Drive Protection Sound Comfort
Rating:
4.
5
Tires Goodyear UltraGrip Ice SUV
Winter Disc protection
Tires Goodyear UltraGrip Performance+ SUV
All season Drive protection
Rating:
5
Tires Goodyear Vector 4Seasons Gen-3 SUV
Summer Drive Protection Run On Flat
Rating:
4
Tires Goodyear Wrangler HP All Weather
All season Drive protection
Rating:
4.
5
Tires Goodyear Vector 4Seasons
Summer
Rating:
4.5
Tires Goodyear Wrangler All-Terrain Adventure with Kevlar
Summer Drive protection
Rating:
4.5
Tires Goodyear EfficientGrip SUV
Summer Drive Protection Run On Flat
Rating:
4
Tires Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric SUV
Tire tread provides traction.
You can determine by the tread:
Asymmetrical tread pattern is larger on the outside. Do not purchase with even the slightest difference in the pattern - the tires rotate with a minimum lag - uneven grip with the roadway. Especially important for the highway, sharp descents.
Before determining the direction of a tire, it is important to know that Goodyear's tire direction marking for an asymmetric pattern is: LEFT; RIGHT - right; outside - outer side, inside - inner. install tires on the car according to the pattern on the tread or arrow.
If symmetrical - navigate along a symmetrical pattern, its direction must coincide with the direction of movement of the wheel. If you need to install in the direction - the correct designation is ROTATION - rotation.
How to find out the direction if there is no marking - herringbone pattern? Rotate the tire in both directions - the top of the "herringbone" should be the first to touch the road. This is the correct way to install a wheel without a direction marking.
Recently, manufacturers have switched to symmetrical wheels, as it is impossible to know which one will fail. Correct replacement scheme:
It is also worth understanding that it is impossible to use anti-corrosion agents for processing fasteners on the road - imbalance.
