Recommended tire rotation

[mrt6644]

I read in the owners manual that the tire rotation means moving fronts straight back and rears straight forward, not switching right to left or left to right.
Why wouldnt you switch sides at all?
The rotation pattern for other vehicles was to switch sides of either the fronts or rears.
Maybe it doesnt make a difference?

The manual also shows a pattrern where you swap the spare tire into the right side cycle.
I generally do not mis the spare into the mix. For some reason I just leave the spare as the spare and not rotate it. I can see how it would make sense to rotate the spare if it had the identical rim as the others. But isnt the spare on a cheap steel rim?

 

[Go JayBee]

Rears move to front, same side.
Fronts move to back, opposite sides.
RWD.....4WD

 

[mrt6644]

Rears move to front, same side.
Fronts move to back, opposite sides.
RWD.....4WD

Thats what Ive always done, wonder why Toyota recommends not switching sides at all.

 

[1engineer]

Thats what Ive always done, wonder why Toyota recommends not switching sides at all.

Why would you switch sides? Just curious.

 

[BlackWorksInc]

 

[NoDak]

depends if the tires have a rotation requirement. if it does, it will have a directional arrow on the sidewall.

personally, on a full time 4wd (LE), I never rotate cause guess what, they are usually evenly worn and 5-10% within each other.

same goes for the higher end Subaru's and the audi's with Quattro drive (not the haldex systems).

cant speak for awd systems outside of those since they are were originally a fwd/rwd based system converted to do awd duty.

 

[nevada]

Rears move to front, same side.
Fronts move to back, opposite sides.
RWD.....4WD

yep, or straight back. crossing isnt always necessary.

Why would you switch sides? Just curious.

it helps to clean up the fronts, if they have been ran on the front too long. which is VERY common.

depends if the tires have a rotation requirement. if it does, it will have a directional arrow on the sidewall.

personally, on a full time 4wd (LE), I never rotate cause guess what, they are usually evenly worn and 5-10% within each other.

same goes for the higher end Subaru's and the audi's with Quattro drive (not the haldex systems).

cant speak for awd systems outside of those since they are were originally a fwd/rwd based system converted to do awd duty.

interesting. even tho they are worn close to each other, are they wearing the same?

typically the front end is harder on tires, due to the added forces from braking AND steering.

I know that my front get a slight bit of feathering on the edges, whereas the rears do not.
crossing them to the back will help fix that, before they end up on the front again, only to continue that uneven wear.

 

[1engineer]

yep, or straight back. crossing isnt always necessary.


it helps to clean up the fronts, if they have been ran on the front too long. which is VERY common.


interesting. even tho they are worn close to each other, are they wearing the same?

typically the front end is harder on tires, due to the added forces from braking AND steering.

I know that my front get a slight bit of feathering on the edges, whereas the rears do not.
crossing them to the back will help fix that, before they end up on the front again, only to continue that uneven wear.

I've skipped several rotations in the 100K+ miles I've driven in the 4Runner. Depth gauge is usually very close for all four and the front outside is hardly worn. I don't go over 20K but skipping a 10K rotation is not a sin on this vehicle.

 

[JB.]

Why wouldnt you switch sides at all?

On my FT4wd I've done it both ways with 2 different sets of tires. Can't say I've noticed a tread wear difference between the 2 methods.

Given the above, Toyota's advice makes sense to me based on not making it any more complicated than it has to be.

Tire manufacturers generally recommend the patterns like in the pic, but the vehicle manufacturer has the final word and rightly so. Just like tire pressure.

 

[ben550]

I don't rotate in the spare cause I only buy 4 new tires.

My spare is usually the best tire from my previous set of tires mounted on the spare rim or the most corroded rim...

 

[NoDak]

well im never hard on my tires so I don't get most of the issues people have. I can usually get 40-50k from oem tires and I rarely keep a vehicle past a 2nd set of new tires (7-10 yrs for both sets).

helps that I coast to stop lights/signs since the lights in the city are easy to remember the patterns (we don't have that many really).

in all 30 lights/signs cover about 80% of my town (that I drive and use all year)

I do notice that my brake pads never get below 50% after 5-7 yrs of use on a vehicle also.

edit: forgot to add, funny how this came up and I was looking up this article http://stoptech.com/technical-support/technical-white-papers/-warped-brake-disc-and-other-myths

 

[nevada]

I've skipped several rotations in the 100K+ miles I've driven in the 4Runner. Depth gauge is usually very close for all four and the front outside is hardly worn. I don't go over 20K but skipping a 10K rotation is not a sin on this vehicle.

the more aggressive the tire, the more you will notice it.


I cant speak to the 4runner specifically, but I see a LOT of cars that burn through the front tires, meanwhile the rears are still in great shape, due to lack of rotation. as in never rotated. you can typically expect to replace the fronts 2:1 compared to the rear, if never rotated.

again, that is not specific to the 4runner, or even 4wds, but just in general.

 

[4x4Runnr]

I do the 5-tire rotation shown on the top right of the chart. Tires wear evenly, and I get about 20% longer tire wear, but only because the wear is spread across 5 tires. Costs more for 5 tires when they need replacement, so the cost is the same. At least you can be pretty confident that your spare will be good if /when you have a flat.

 

[catrains]

I do the 5-tire rotation shown on the top right of the chart. Tires wear evenly, and I get about 20% longer tire wear, but only because the wear is spread across 5 tires. Costs more for 5 tires when they need replacement, so the cost is the same. At least you can be pretty confident that your spare will be good if /when you have a flat.

this is a couple of years old but if the spare rim is the same as others , rotation of the 5 tires is a good way to go. the tire [spare] is exposed to the elements so rotation of it does make sense since the rubber will breakdown. so if not part of the rotation the spare will have full tread depth but damaged rubber.

 

[chiz45]

Sorry to drag up an older thread, but i didn't want to create a new one. I acquired a 5th trail wheel to start 5 tire rotations. While I am familiar with the above-mentioned 5 tire pattern, Discount Tire, where I purchased my 5 tires, has a different pattern, where the PF gets moved to DF. This seems to contradict the moving fronts and rears together, as suggested by the other diagrams. Any thoughts?

Here is Discount's page on rotation:

Rotating Tires | Proper Tire Rotation Patterns | America's Tire

 

[JG4runner]

63,000 miles on my KO2’s and the wear is even with plenty of tread left. I only rotaded them once or twice. Did i just get lucky?

 

[daytonaviolet]

Thinking about rotating for the first time since getting 285/70/17 AT tires. I’m planing on using this methods. sounds good ?

 

[LandCruiser]

Thinking about rotating for the first time since getting 285/70/17 AT tires. I’m planing on using this methods. sounds good ?

Everybody and their mother has a scheme for rotating tires, some people like to get extra freaky and put a fifth tire in the rotation.

I have been told by independent mechanics and tire shops and lift shops some more aggressive all-terrain and mud terrain tires do not like to be cross rotated and you should only do front to back.