Tire rotation can seem like an unnecessary step in your car care routine…
but it’s important to keep your tires at peak performance levels by rotating them from time to time. This process ensures that all of your tires wear evenly and helps maximize their lifespan.
With proper rotation, you can also ensure that you’re driving with evenly worn tires. It will help you feel safer behind the wheel and can reduce your chances of losing control or skidding on slippery roads.
Keep reading to learn how to rotate your tires right and how often you should rotate them based on what kind of vehicle you have.
Table of Contents
What is Tire Rotation?
In essence, tire rotations are needed for two reasons:
First, tires wear out in a non-uniform way. When you rotate your tires, each tire takes a new position on the vehicle. As a result, each tire will wear evenly over time.
Secondly, rotating your tires helps prevent and detect problems with your car (or an issue with one of your tires) before they become big issues (which could end up being very expensive to fix).
Most experts recommend rotating at least once every 7,500 miles or less. A lot depends on how often you drive; if you drive a lot every day, your tires will wear faster than someone who drives less frequently.
Are Tire Rotations Necessary?
The short answer is yes, they are!
Tire rotations are important because tires wear differently on different parts of their tread. Over time, tires will lose their ability to grip if you don’t rotate them. Tire rotations are important because they make sure all of your tires wear evenly, which extends their life and helps them maintain good traction on both wet and dry roads.
Tire rotations may also help reduce fuel consumption by keeping all four wheels rolling at roughly equal speeds so they don’t have to work harder than necessary on turns or acceleration/deceleration.
When Should I Rotate My Tires?
By checking your vehicle’s manual, you’ll learn exactly how often you should rotate your tires. The ideal time for tire rotation is at each oil change. (5,000 miles or 12 months). Note that those are just minimum rotation intervals, it can be done sooner if there are signs of wear on any part of a tire.
How Tire Rotation Is Done? (Recommended Tire Rotation Pattern)
Tires must be rotated in a specific pattern. Most tire manufacturers specify one of two patterns:
Directional Tires
If you use directional tires meaning that they spin in one direction only, you can only change the tires on the same side (right or left). See the following pattern:
Are Tire Rotation And Alignment The Same?
While tire rotation and alignment are both ways of adjusting your tires, they have different goals.
Alignment keeps your car running smoothly by making sure that all of your wheels are parallel to each other (side-to-side) and perpendicular to your car’s direction of travel (front-to-back).
Tire rotation, on the other hand, helps extend your tires’ life by letting them wear evenly.
Both are very important for keeping you safe on the road, so schedule them in your vehicle maintenance routine.
Does Tire Rotation Affect Alignment?
It’s not uncommon for your tires to wear unevenly, but tire rotation can help. Some people worry that rotating their tires will affect their alignment, but as long as you rotate in accordance with your vehicle manufacturer’s recommendations, you should be okay.
Can Tire Rotation Cause Brake Problems?
It will not cause brake problems. It will actually improve braking as it will distribute evenly the wear of each tire.
Will Tire Rotation Stop Vibration?
Tire rotation is often one of those things car owners neglect. They don’t think about rotating their tires until they start feeling a shake or vibration, usually caused by bad wear.
However, rotating your tires every 5,000-7,500 miles will prevent excessive wear and tear on your tires.
As a result, you will get an even tread on your tires which means less tire noise, a smoother driving experience and long-lasting tread life.
Be sure to perform tire rotation with each oil change in order to keep your tires in tip-top shape!