Tire Rack's tire rotation recommendation

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Tire Rack recommends the FIRST rotation with new tires at around 3,000 miles. They claim the most wear happens initially, than go to 5,000-6,000 mile rotation thereafter. Any thoughts on their recommendation?
 
Unless I see a tire wearing , I never rotate them . If it is wearing , time to inspect the suspension and repair as needed . Then get an alignment .

Then replace any tires that need it .
 
BMW stated several years ago that to achieve maximum adhesion and safety to rotated every 3,000 miles. Latest recommendation was to NOT rotate because cost would be prohibitive if the 3K were used. I rotate when the tread difference is about 2/32, front to rear. This usually occurs at 7-9,000 miles for my type of driving. Ed
 
Just bought tires a few weeks ago from DT and have never heard that recommendation. Maybe a regional thing?
 
Depends on where and how you drive. 3000 miles in the city and suburbs is very different than 3000 miles highway.

Wait, that's not answering the question...IMO it doesn't matter and problem is that it is a very long test cycle to prove or disprove.

Still, at my next new set of tires I may try it.
 
I rotate once per season, swapping front to rear (no cross) when I install the winter wheels; same with when it's time to remove the winter wheels and install the all-seasons.
 
Purchased tires at Sam's Club, free rotation for life of tires. Drop off at 0700 when they open, do my shopping and by the time I'm done they are done and I go home. I go in every 6k to 7k miles.

So far I have 55k on my MX2's on my 2002 Silverado tires and they are just getting down to the wear bars.
 
When you steer the edge's of the fronts wear. If you don't rotate your tires your fronts will be a glaring notice of neglect to any potential purchaser.
 
I'm sure their must be some kind of data behind what TR is saying, but it honestly doesn't make a lot of sense to me. Is the outermost layer of tire typically softer for some reason??

I've realized that I replace my tires due to shoulder wear more than anything else. Put my summer tires a few months ago and they looked sort of tired (hee hee), but the center tread depth was still OK...had a long interstate drive in the rain about a month ago and found that I felt very stable going straight but even a very shallow curve at speed made me feel like I was losing traction. Looked at the tires again and, yep, the shoulder blocks were pretty much gone.

Had two very long drives coming up so I had my favorite indy tire shop slap some RT43s on there while they also figured a wheel bearing problem that was causing an annoying whine, and I feel very safe in the rain now. I have to say these new tires don't feel quite as sporty as the GY Eagle Sports they replaced, but they are a little better in general wet conditions (if I can trust my memory from when the GYs were new).
 
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I always heard that if a tire wears at the edges , it id probably under inflated .

I have always aired my tires to the max rating listed on the sidewall . More air gives a little rougher ride , but the tire lasts longer & gets slightly better MPG .
 
Originally Posted By: flinter
Tire Rack recommends the FIRST rotation with new tires at around 3,000 miles. They claim the most wear happens initially, than go to 5,000-6,000 mile rotation thereafter. Any thoughts on their recommendation?


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I rotate as recommended in the manual (F to R, cross to F) at each oil change.
I do it myself so there is NC - I believe you cannot rotate too often, but you can rotate not often enough.
 
Originally Posted By: WyrTwister
I always heard that if a tire wears at the edges , it id probably under inflated .

I have always aired my tires to the max rating listed on the sidewall . More air gives a little rougher ride , but the tire lasts longer & gets slightly better MPG .


The only issue with keeping tires at Max inflation is that it will effect the handling of the vehicle. That is why one is suppose to follow the inflation guide that is usually inside the drivers door. That is what the manufacture had tested the performance and handling of the vehicle at that inflation pressure. At least that is my understanding.
 
I've always thought that new, squishy tires wear pretty fast initially, and the wear rate slows down as the tread depth gets shallower. It makes perfect sense to me anyway. I've been cornering pretty hard on the new $1200 Goodyear cop tires I just put on my Tahoe PPV. Did the first rotation at 1000 miles, then I autocrossed it and now I need to rotate again all within 1500 miles. In my daily driving, which is short trips around town, just going to the grocery store is 14 turns in a 2 mile round trip. Tires last like 3 times longer rolling straight down the road. I've been a top-rated Tire Rack installer for over 14 years, and they know tires!!! Everyone I know, including myself, that is the first, and best place to find out everything you need to know about any given tire...
 
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Originally Posted By: JLTD
Originally Posted By: Kira
- edge's -


Sorry, but why the apostrophe?


Grammatical warrior strikes a low blow, dealing [ZERO] damage.

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I like to cross rotate my tires @ about the first 1000 mi. Get them used to going in both directions. Pretty old-fashioned, yes? After that, rotate as recommended by manufacturer every 6000-7500 mi. (Cross to the drive wheels.) That usually means it happens when the oil is changed. Discount Tire rotated & checked balance for me free last time @ 7500 mi. even though tires weren't bought there. (New Jeep) Beats trying to rotate those big 20 inchers myself.
 
Originally Posted By: flinter
Tire Rack recommends the FIRST rotation with new tires at around 3,000 miles. They claim the most wear happens initially, than go to 5,000-6,000 mile rotation thereafter. Any thoughts on their recommendation?


I will usually rotate after a short distance on new tires just to get them all scrubbed in.
 
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