Tire rotation - absolutely necessary?

[Mr. PNW]

This only pertains to vehicles with the same size all around of course.

Yeah I could hardly drive when I rotated my 12” wide rear tires to the front.

 

[6PKRTSE]

I can only rotate the tires on my truck as well as my kids cars as all of my cars all run wider tires in the rear. I even have 245/40/20 in the front & 275/40/20 in the rear of my 2012 Challenger also to try to help fill up those huge wheel wheels. Yes, as mentioned all of the rears do seem to wear faster then the fronts on my V8 powered rear wheel drive cars....

 

[1967coronet]

The guy that had a shop for years next to ours sold tires. He always said rotating tires was a waste of money.

But then he was selling tires.

 

[toolmanmike]

some possible mechancis reasons......
1. If a tire starts wearing unevenly, you want to know where you need to do suspension adjustments to fix the problem. If you rotate tires, you loose this information.

2. The tire rubber and reinforcing metal take a certain 'set' with each other for any given position on the car. If you rotate tires you change that 'set' and therefore make the tires wear faster.

3. If the tire wears out normally, just replace the worn tire(s) and keep the good tire(s) in their original locations.

4.Just switch the fronts to the back when there is noticeable wear on the fronts. Then when the rears--now on the front-wear down, replace them all!

5. tire rotation is of marginal value in terms of saving you money. Why? Because the cost of tire rotation roughly equals the amount you'd save by extending your tire life. Of course unless you are getting a free rotation.

Bingo!!!!!

 

[MoparLeo]

The true benefit of a tire rotation is that on the ground, unless the front tires are turned to one side, you really can't get a good look at the font tires inner wear. Looks good on the outside but could be past the tread on the inside. A proper tire rotation includes a full tire inspection. Can only do that up in the air. Doesn't matter the size. You would check for tread and s/w cuts, punctures, extreme edge wear, s/w or tread cracking. Bubbles on the tread or s/w. Rocks and debris in the tire treads or sipes. They will eventually cause more damage if not removed. Number one cause of tire failure is under inflation. Most people do not inspect their tires or check air pressure on a regular basis. How often do you check your oil and coolant levels ? Air is the tires coolant. Run them low and they will over heat and depending on load, speed, damage, outside temp etc... they will eventually fail, blow out, separate. Be safe. Inspect your tires and check your air pressure weekly and be sure to use your own air gauge. Cheap ones are not usually accurate but if you use the same one each time at least it should be consistent.

 

[Kern Dog]

if they are all the same size they will last twice as long if rotated every 6000 miles

This is absolutely true.
I had our 2015 Challenger R/T on the lift out back changing the oil last weekend. The car has 34,000 miles on it. I replaced the original tires at 22,000 miles and may have only rotated the tires once in 12,000 miles on this second set. The REAR tires are almost to the wear bars, the fronts look about 50% tread.
Rotating absolutely helps spread the wear out among all 4 tires.

 

[Pops1967GTX]

 

[toolmanmike]

I don't rotate tires. I like to leave them where they're at. If I start getting funny tire wear, something needs fixed or adjusted.

 

[Richard Cranium]

When I buy new tires, the place I purchase them from, gives free rotations.

Do they give them the 180 or 360 degree rotation treatment?

 

[Ron H]

I have been a fan of tire rotation having two occasions where the front tires (FWD) cupped causing a **** ride and high noise needing to be replaced before they were intended to die. I rotate with the oil change around every 5k. For my old car when I dropped a ton of money for new 7x15 Magnums and 235 radials I decided to have all the sizes the same for rotating, then regretted it wanting 8" in the rear as my 1st preference. I drive my car only in the summer and lucky if I put on more than 500-600 miles a year! So at a 5k rotation I'm talking what upwards of 10 years before rotating? Dumb decision I never thought of..