Just do it.

No charge to rotate the Michelins at Road Mart where I purchased. Have them check alignment too. Guess it depends on vehicle, how driven, as well as wear of steering components maybe and manufacturer recommendations ... or not.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: Hobbs,

I can't rotate the tires on my car; the front and rear tires are different sizes. And, since they're radials, changing them to the other side isn't advisable, either.

BMW doesn't recommend tire rotation and dealers may advise against it if requested. BMW seems to have a different philosophy in general about driving and car maintenance, that maximum performance, comfort and safety count more than expense. With tires, I think BMW doesn't really care what they cost, just put new ones on when they get a bit worn. I think they believe that a tire worn on the back will not perform optimally on the front, so just replace them.

They also seem to think you are nuts to drive anything but the newest model car since all systems and safety have been upgraded, so why should you care how long anything on the car lasts. Their ideal customer buys a new one every few years, lets the dealer replace anything worn or on the schedule during that time.

I ignore BMW recommendation and rotate. I'm not BMWs ideal customer.

I had almost 40 years in the tire industry, there is no reason not to rotate, if you have the same size all around. I do it every other oil change, around 7000 miles.

It will add life to the tires, give you or the mechanic a chance to check brakes etc.

quote:

Originally posted by UTsig:
I had almost 40 years in the tire industry, there is no reason not to rotate, if you have the same size all around. I do it every other oil change, around 7000 miles.

It will add life to the tires, give you or the mechanic a chance to check brakes etc.

Are you still supposed to rotate tires from back to front if the front tires are worn more than the rear tires on a FWD car? I was advised to put the newest tires on the rear which seemed like it would negate any reason to rotate them.

quote:

there is no reason not to rotate,

I can think of lots of reasons on basic front or rear wheel drive vehicles. The only cars that I rotate tires are my Subaru's that require the difference in rolling diameter to be very small. That means you absolutely have to do it. I have found based on measuring diameters that for me on the tires I drive, the way I drive, that has to be less than 5K so that's when I do it.

Every car and truck I've owned since I sold my 1988 Chrysler Conquest (different sizes, front and rear)had the tires rotated at each oil change. It evens out the wear. Even had all 6 rotated on my International 4700.

I rotate my tires at my intervals (everyone will be different) because they lost longer. They get rotated and rebalanced every 5k miles. Whatever interval you do it, just make sure it’s consistent.

One, buy your tires through a reputable tire seller and you'll either get for free or can purchase for little coin, a lifetime rotation and balance on them. Then take the vehicle in every 5-10K miles and have your tires rotated and balanced. This process will insure you get the best longevity out of your tires, and occasionally, identify a potential problem before it becomes one (i.e. nail or screw in tire).

Absolutely rotate and balance.

The only reason we got 109,000 miles out of 4 Michelin's on a Honda, averaged 50,000 on tires on my old Corvettes, averaged 50,000 out of dedicated summer tires for my current car, is because we had them balanced and rotated every 8k miles.

Most don't get anywhere near the miles we get out of tires and I lay the cause thereof of getting them routinely balanced and rotated and my keeping them properly inflated.

Also like others have mentioned, if you get them at Sams Club for example it includes lifetime balance and rotation. If you didn't buy them at Sams, you can pay Sams $40 and that grants you lifetime balance and rotation. Firestone offers a similar deal but it costs more than Sams.

This message has been edited. Last edited by: h2oys,

On our Highlander, I rotate around 5,000 miles which is each oil change. I don't bother on my Honda Civic. Won't own the car long enough to need another set of tires. I did on our Kia Sportage and we got rid of it when it had around 60,000 miles, the tires had worn quite evenly and there wasn't much wear. I did not rotate on my Hyundai Tucson and those tires did not last as long as the Kia.

If you are made of money don’t rotate. For even wear which directly translates into tire life there is no reason not to. Quoting some specifics make of car that doesn’t is not a good argument. Who cares what BMW M3’s require? If you are driving any other car please enlighten us on why you wouldn’t. Almost every place that will sell you tires will rotate for free so that’s not much of an argument either.

On our 4 cars I can easily measure the wear difference. If I wanted to replace a pair of tires at a time I would never rotate. I prefer to have 4 good tires at all times. Not 2 brand new and 2 soon to be replaced.

This thread is almost sounding like guys are convinced it’s an old wives tale.

I'm a proponent of regular tire rotation. I buy premium tires, and I want them to wear in at the same rate. I rotate tires at 5k miles on vehicles that allow it. My oil changes are at 7.5k, so I spend more time on my tires than on the oil.

However, are there reasons NOT to? Sure.

First, rotating takes time. On most occasions, rotating and balancing will take 40 minutes. With the drive to and from and a reasonable wait, I leave 2 hours of my morning available.

My wheels and lug nuts have plenty of chips and scratches from the frequent handling. I don't care much about it, but they're there.

The last time I had my tires rotated, there's some evidence that they cross threaded the lug nut and over torqued it on there. The wheel stud broke right off when I got my brakes done, and was without my vehicle for a day while a new stud was ordered.

Will it stop me from getting my tires rotated? No. But everything has a cost.

I rotate every other oil change and seems like the tire wear is even on all vehicles cars and trucks

quote:

Originally posted by sjtill:
I have heard—but can’t cite the source—that rotation is unnecessary with FWD cars.

This has not been my experience in 30 years of owning front wheel drive cars.

I have a Taco, very light in the back, engine weight wears the front faster than the back so I rotate. Wife drives a Camry, FWD, rotate those too.

quote:

Originally posted by Sportshooter:

quote:

Originally posted by UTsig:
I had almost 40 years in the tire industry, there is no reason not to rotate, if you have the same size all around. I do it every other oil change, around 7000 miles.

It will add life to the tires, give you or the mechanic a chance to check brakes etc.

Are you still supposed to rotate tires from back to front if the front tires are worn more than the rear tires on a FWD car? I was advised to put the newest tires on the rear which seemed like it would negate any reason to rotate them.

New tires or best tires go on the front of FWD for sure. The back just basically follow you around. They don't drive and do less than half of the braking.

quote:

Originally posted by Krazeehorse:

quote:

Originally posted by Sportshooter:

quote:

Originally posted by UTsig:
I had almost 40 years in the tire industry, there is no reason not to rotate, if you have the same size all around. I do it every other oil change, around 7000 miles.

It will add life to the tires, give you or the mechanic a chance to check brakes etc.

Are you still supposed to rotate tires from back to front if the front tires are worn more than the rear tires on a FWD car? I was advised to put the newest tires on the rear which seemed like it would negate any reason to rotate them.

New tires or best tires go on the front of FWD for sure. The back just basically follow you around. They don't drive and do less than half of the braking.

Not this again

quote:

Originally posted by AirmanJeff:

quote:

Originally posted by Krazeehorse:

quote:

Originally posted by Sportshooter:

quote:

Originally posted by UTsig:
I had almost 40 years in the tire industry, there is no reason not to rotate, if you have the same size all around. I do it every other oil change, around 7000 miles.

It will add life to the tires, give you or the mechanic a chance to check brakes etc.

Are you still supposed to rotate tires from back to front if the front tires are worn more than the rear tires on a FWD car? I was advised to put the newest tires on the rear which seemed like it would negate any reason to rotate them.

New tires or best tires go on the front of FWD for sure. The back just basically follow you around. They don't drive and do less than half of the braking.

Not this again

I understand your response as it relates to the whole thread. But I just answered a specific question within the thread. Not sure why you singled this out.