Tire rotation

[doctorhrdware]

I am going to rotate the tires on my wife's truck. 2000 silverado, when rotating the front tires to the rear. Do I put the right front on the left rear, and the left front to the right rear. Or do I keep the tires on the same sides, and just move the tires to the rear. We have a having a heat wave in Chicago, time for the shorts.

[rjeffery]

Cross the fronts, bring the rears forward. In other words front left to rear right, front right to rear left, rear right to front right, rear left to front left. This is the procedure outlined in the owners manual.

[doctorhrdware]

That is what I thought, I will be doing this on the weekend, having a heat wave in Chicago. Thanks for the info.

[rockwood84]

these are radial tires? i was under the assumtion that radial tires stayed on the same side as running left front to left rear and so on as to not run belts backwards and cause them to break

[j cAT]

Originally Posted by rockwood84

these are radial tires? i was under the assumtion that radial tires stayed on the same side as running left front to left rear and so on as to not run belts backwards and cause them to break

unless tires are directional it is best to rotate as described.tires on passenger side wear faster than driver side. i rotate every 10kmi and my firestone steel tex tires had 93kmi when replaced with same. all tread looked the same and i had 1/3 tread left. this method of rotation is best for the most even wear ........use torque wrench to secure lugs properly. retorque after 50-100mi........

[old_master]

Tire rotation is done to even out the wear pattern that is caused by the front wheels needing an alignment. Rear wheel alignment on rear wheel drive vehicles is not adjustable, therefore tire wear is even. The "old snow job" is to rotate the tires to make them last longer. The fact is, if the front wheels are properly aligned, they will wear evenly and you don't need to rotate the tires. If you're still inclined to rotate tires, always keep radial tires on the same side of the vehicle. Tires on the driver side rotate counter clockwise, tires on the passenger side rotate clockwise. Switching sides tends to cause premature breakage of the steel belts in the tire.

[J-Ri]

Front to back only, no side to side is what the tire manufacturers say. I rotate the least worn tire to the most worn position. I've never had a problem, but that's not to say that you won't if you do it.

[SLJ2137694]

Originally Posted by old_master

Tire rotation is done to even out the wear pattern that is caused by the front wheels needing an alignment. Rear wheel alignment on rear wheel drive vehicles is not adjustable, therefore tire wear is even. The "old snow job" is to rotate the tires to make them last longer. The fact is, if the front wheels are properly aligned, they will wear evenly and you don't need to rotate the tires. If you're still inclined to rotate tires, always keep radial tires on the same side of the vehicle. Tires on the driver side rotate counter clockwise, tires on the passenger side rotate clockwise. Switching sides tends to cause premature breakage of the steel belts in the tire.

Way too much OLD advise being given out here! Todays tires can wear the individual tread blocks on a vehicle that has perfect wheel alignment. The tread blocks squirm and induce uneven wear and rotating the tires helps to even out the wear. Radial tires have been rotated side to side for many many years. Reversing the rotation does no harm or premature damage. When radial tires were first developed the design did not allow reversal of rotation and damage to the tire could be an issue then but that was A LONG TIME AGO! Check your vehicle owners manual and it most likely will show a rotation pattern that will swap tires side to side. As serious as tire safety is, do you think General Motors or other manufacturers would say you could reverse rotation of radial tires if there was even a chance of a problem? I had responsability for Tires and Wheels with General Motors for 20 years so I think you can take what I say to the bank!!!

[doctorhrdware]

Could not find the manual, but still rotated the tires, did the old front to rear, and no right to left and left to right. Took about 45 minutes to complete. Replace bad shocks in the front, but the damage was done. The tires are cupped on the inside of the tire, causing the front end to vibrate, and you feel the vibration in the steering wheel.

[old_master]

Originally Posted by SLJ2137694

...Way too much OLD advise being given out here! ... I had responsability for Tires and Wheels with General Motors for 20 years so I think you can take what I say to the bank!!!

33 years with GM is impressive... I've got 33 years in the field as a tech diagnosing and reparing them in the real world... choose your bank.

[old_master]

Originally Posted by doctorhrdware

Could not find the manual, but still rotated the tires, did the old front to rear, and no right to left and left to right. Took about 45 minutes to complete. Replace bad shocks in the front, but the damage was done. The tires are cupped on the inside of the tire, causing the front end to vibrate, and you feel the vibration in the steering wheel.

Cupping on the inside edge indicates excessive toe out. Check the suspension and steering linkage for worn parts and align the front end.

[SLJ2137694]

Originally Posted by old_master

33 years with GM is impressive... I've got 33 years in the field as a tech diagnosing and reparing them in the real world... choose your bank.

I'll use the bank that Automotive Engineers and Systems Designers use. Also in line you will find Engineers from GM Tire and Wheel Systems, Tire Manufacturers and everyone else that is not working 33 years in the past. The line at your bank will be short!!! Of course in your mind you will always be right so lets just end this discussion. As I said previously, if a manufacturer endorses swaping tires side to side as they have for many, many years, there must be some science behind it. Very few people are actually smarter than the folks in line at my bank.

[rjeffery]

I'm with SLJ, if today's tires were unidirectional, there would be explicit instructions printed on the tires themselves and in the owners manual as to which direction which tire should be run. Some high performance tires are unidirectional but most all season/general purpose tires are not.

Also, rotate your tires before you begin to see wear, they will last much longer that way. I rotate mine every 3k (maybe overkill but I do it when I change my oil and it makes me remember, and tires aren't cheap).

[j cAT]

old master you are wrong on this one. as i stated i got 93,000 on my tires and they were firestone tires. i used the instructions that GM recommended not that i always agree with MR.GM if this were not the proper way to rotate how could this result be obtained. also what does banking have to do with this. i cheated on this though as i do my own wheel alignments when vehicle had 800 miles on it I did the wheel agnment . also i use bilstein shocks i have no tire issue with this vehicle...........