How to Rotate Your Tires - Vol.369
You can't drive a car without tires -- they play a large part in keeping you in control of your vehicle and enable you to drive smoothly on different surfaces.
Because front tires usually carry the major part of your vehicle's mass, they wear out faster than rear tires. Depending on the type of vehicle you drive, replacing a single tire can set you back anywhere between $300 and $1,000. However, if you rotate your tires regularly, you can extend their life cycle and save some money in the process.
Why You Should Rotate Your Tires
When you rotate your tires, those in the front go in the back and vice versa. This change allows for the equalization of natural wear patterns. It also protects you and your car from all the damage that can come as a result of bumpy rides caused by defective tires.
What Tools You Need
To rotate the tires, you will need a car jack and a set of jack stands. Car experts recommend the use of a hydraulic floor jack, as the one that comes with your vehicle is designed to lift it up only for the amount of time it takes to do a quick tire change.
Now, a hydraulic floor jack and a set of jack stands will cost you about $150 but think of it as an investment in your car and your own safety. You will also find a use for both these tools whenever you do some further maintenance work. After all, this is much cheaper than buying new tires.
Determine the Type of Tire
Different types of the tire have different rotation patterns. Before you proceed with the task, it is necessary to establish which type of tires you have - directional tires or non-directional tires.
Directional tires will have a one-way pattern, as they are designed to roll only in one direction. The arrows on the sidewalls are pointing in the direction these tires need to be mounted in. Directional tires are made either for the left or the right side of the vehicle, so you can only switch them rear-to-front and front-to-rear without changing their sides.
On the other hand, the design of non-directional tires allows them to be mounted on the wheel in any direction of rotation, which means that you can also switch their sides according to the rotation pattern.
Rotating Your Tires
Before moving on to actually rotating your tires, you should engage the parking brake and loosen the lug nuts on your wheel.
1. Lift up the wheels one by one using the car jack. As you lift each wheel, you should place a jack stand underneath each of them. Remove the tires now and switch them out.
2. If you have directional tires, switch out the front right tire and the rear right tire and do the same on the left side of the vehicle.
3. If you have non-directional tires, there are two ways of doing it.
- For cars with rear-wheel drive, you should move the front tires to the opposite sides of the rear, while moving the rear tires straight forward.
- For cars with front-wheel drive, its rear tires that are moved to the opposite sides of the front, while the front tires are simply moved to the rear, retaining their sides.
4. Once you've switched out the tires, screw the loose lug nuts and lower the car from jack stands. When the vehicle is down, screw the lug nuts even tighter using a lug wrench.
And that's it - you're done!
How Often Should You Rotate Your Tires?
Manufacturers recommend rotating your tires every 3,000 to 5,000 miles, but the latter is widely accepted as a norm among car experts. If you're afraid you'll forget to do this, there is a trick to prevent that from happening: every time you change the oil on your car, follow it up by rotating your tires.