I use a tire shop in my town that is dead set that crossing the tires when rotating is what should be done, if they are non-directional that is. They know me well enough now that when I come in they tell the tech not to cross my tires. About 6 or 7 years ago I finally told them to stop because I had a radial pull and every 3rd or 4th rotations the stupid tire with the problem would make the car pull again so by just going front to back and not crossing it stopped the issue. I also called a different tire shop in town and they said they do NOT cross them and said that the wear on the drive wheel is negligible unless you are drag racing it or something. I purchased a new set of tires for my van and sure enough they have a freaking radial pull in one of the tires so I had them cross fronts and now I only go front to back on this vehicles as well and no longer have to hassle with any radial pull. Do any of you have an opinion on this and do you any of you chose not to cross when rotating?
Rotating Tires...cross vs straight front to back?
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Discount Tire shows either as acceptable, assuming your alignment is good.
Obviously having directional and/or asymmetric tires can impact the rotation strategy, as well as staggered fitment.
Obviously having directional and/or asymmetric tires can impact the rotation strategy, as well as staggered fitment.
I rotate front to back , but only because I don't want the belts to go bad when I change direction.
Miller88...you say belt wear...but here is something else I've always noticed and people think I'm crazy. I'll preface this by saying I always keep my cars aligned and my struts and shocks are always in good shape. But when I cross my tires in the past it seems that I always encountered chopping. But this does not happen just going front to back. In my experience anyway.
I have had good luck with what the Michelin, Toyo and BF tire manufacturers recommend.
FWD- fronts straight back, rears cross forward.
RWD- fronts cross back, and rears straight forward.
4WD- cross back and forward
that's how I remember it too
FWD- fronts straight back, rears cross forward.
RWD- fronts cross back, and rears straight forward.
4WD- cross back and forward
that's how I remember it too
Yeah, this is one of those cases (like "My engine under the valve cover is clean as a whistle, should I change my brand/weight of oil?"), where people refuse to believe their lying eyes...
Of course, if you observe excess wear on the driver's front tire, (i.e. more wear on that tire than others), a not atypical experience, then you ought to cross rotate it...if not, then straight front to back is fine...
Of course, if you observe excess wear on the driver's front tire, (i.e. more wear on that tire than others), a not atypical experience, then you ought to cross rotate it...if not, then straight front to back is fine...
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For me it's easier to lift one side of the car at a time, therefore, a front/back swap. Tires stay on the same side of the car.
Mine get rotated according to the owner's manual.
Simple ....
Simple ....
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
Mine get rotated according to the owner's manual.
Simple ....
+1
Mine get rotated according to the owner's manual.
Simple ....
+1
First, THEE most important thing is rotating tires. The fronts and the rears do different things and the tires wear differently. Evening out the wear (both wear rate and pattern) has benefits.
The differences between cross rotating and front/rear is slight and I think a tire shop shouldn't be hung up on one pattern or the other (nor should you). But I can see a tire shop getting into a habit - and habits are difficult to break. Habits make following procedures easier.
But the advantage of cross rotating is getting a tire to experience all the wheel positions. Each wheel position will have a different wear pattern and rotating a tire through all the positions just further minimizes the differences.
Choppy wear? Probably an alignment issue (toe) and where this plays out is rotating a tire from a position that is generating the choppy wear pattern, but is not felt by the driver, into a position where it is felt. It isn't the rotation that is causing the choppy wear. It's about be able to feel it.
Pull? That's probably the result of both a tire problem and a vehicle alignment problem - and when the worst tire gets to a certain position, the net affect exceeds the vehicle sensitivity level.
The differences between cross rotating and front/rear is slight and I think a tire shop shouldn't be hung up on one pattern or the other (nor should you). But I can see a tire shop getting into a habit - and habits are difficult to break. Habits make following procedures easier.
But the advantage of cross rotating is getting a tire to experience all the wheel positions. Each wheel position will have a different wear pattern and rotating a tire through all the positions just further minimizes the differences.
Choppy wear? Probably an alignment issue (toe) and where this plays out is rotating a tire from a position that is generating the choppy wear pattern, but is not felt by the driver, into a position where it is felt. It isn't the rotation that is causing the choppy wear. It's about be able to feel it.
Pull? That's probably the result of both a tire problem and a vehicle alignment problem - and when the worst tire gets to a certain position, the net affect exceeds the vehicle sensitivity level.
I usually do front to back these days since it's quicker than cross-rotating for this DIY'er.
Refusing to cross rotate radial ply tires are probably the same old dogs who still talk about 10 ply tires. Both are old, old facts that should have been dead and buried long ago.
Originally Posted By: Ken2
Refusing to cross rotate radial ply tires are probably the same old dogs who still talk about 10 ply tires. Both are old, old facts that should have been dead and buried long ago.
Unidirectional tread tires are not cross-rotated:
Tire Rotation Methods
The advantages of cross-rotation of non-directional tires in a vehicle which is properly aligned are de minimus at best.
Refusing to cross rotate radial ply tires are probably the same old dogs who still talk about 10 ply tires. Both are old, old facts that should have been dead and buried long ago.
Unidirectional tread tires are not cross-rotated:
Tire Rotation Methods
The advantages of cross-rotation of non-directional tires in a vehicle which is properly aligned are de minimus at best.
Originally Posted By: Wilhelm_D
The advantages of cross-rotation of non-directional tires in a vehicle which is properly aligned are de minimus at best.
I totally agree with Capri where he stated:
"But the advantage of cross rotating is getting a tire to experience all the wheel positions. Each wheel position will have a different wear pattern and rotating a tire through all the positions just further minimizes the differences."
There are very few "dead on" alignments out there and cross rotating the tires distributes the "harm" throughout the set.
Is that worth it ? It's up to the owner who's buying the next set of tires ...
The advantages of cross-rotation of non-directional tires in a vehicle which is properly aligned are de minimus at best.
I totally agree with Capri where he stated:
"But the advantage of cross rotating is getting a tire to experience all the wheel positions. Each wheel position will have a different wear pattern and rotating a tire through all the positions just further minimizes the differences."
There are very few "dead on" alignments out there and cross rotating the tires distributes the "harm" throughout the set.
Is that worth it ? It's up to the owner who's buying the next set of tires ...
I have only done front to back on my Focus. It chewed up the OE tires in ~25K miles. The inside was worn clean on both - I'm not sure cross rotating would have helped an obvious alignment issue.
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
... I totally agree with ....:
"But the advantage of cross rotating is getting a tire to experience all the wheel positions. Each wheel position will have a different wear pattern and rotating a tire through all the positions just further minimizes the differences."
The cure is to fix the alignment, not spread the damage.
... I totally agree with ....:
"But the advantage of cross rotating is getting a tire to experience all the wheel positions. Each wheel position will have a different wear pattern and rotating a tire through all the positions just further minimizes the differences."
The cure is to fix the alignment, not spread the damage.
Originally Posted By: Wilhelm_D
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
... I totally agree with ....:
"But the advantage of cross rotating is getting a tire to experience all the wheel positions. Each wheel position will have a different wear pattern and rotating a tire through all the positions just further minimizes the differences."
The cure is to fix the alignment, not spread the damage.
But I can see cost being an issue here. I can see someone not willing to spend money to fix a relatively minor alignment problem - or stated differently, doing a cross rotation pattern to avoid having tires removed prematurely due to a minor alignment problem.
Originally Posted By: Papa Bear
... I totally agree with ....:
"But the advantage of cross rotating is getting a tire to experience all the wheel positions. Each wheel position will have a different wear pattern and rotating a tire through all the positions just further minimizes the differences."
The cure is to fix the alignment, not spread the damage.
But I can see cost being an issue here. I can see someone not willing to spend money to fix a relatively minor alignment problem - or stated differently, doing a cross rotation pattern to avoid having tires removed prematurely due to a minor alignment problem.
As long as we are talking regular tires that don't require special rotation procedures...
Backs go to front and fronts go to opposite side rears. Every tire makes it to every location that way and wear evenly. Have been doing this for my entire vehicle owning life.
RWD, 4WD, AWD all get the same.
Backs go to front and fronts go to opposite side rears. Every tire makes it to every location that way and wear evenly. Have been doing this for my entire vehicle owning life.
RWD, 4WD, AWD all get the same.
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