Tire rotation

[bgmac]

Ok, from past experience i always had the front tires crossed to the rear, then the rear tires move foward to the front (without crossing those). But today I had them done while getting my oil changed and of course they didn't cross them. So I called them up to complain and their explanation was that since I have a solid rear axle that there was no need to cross them?? Does this sound right...??

 

[Martinjmpr]

Assuming you have radial tires you shouldn't cross them at all. Front to rear and rear to front. At least that's what I've heard. :shrug:

Only bias ply tires get crossed.

 

[inshore4runner]

if your mechanic says that you dont have a solid rear axle, either your axle is broken or you need a new mechanic. we have solid rear axles with coil springs instead of leaf springs...

 

[bgmac]

if your mechanic says that you dont have a solid rear axle, either your axle is broken or you need a new mechanic. we have solid rear axles with coil springs instead of leaf springs...

"since I have a solid rear axle that there was no need to cross them"

 

[nunya]

Since my stuff generally isn't alligned correctly my fronts tend to feather a little the way they wear. So when I rotate mine I cross the fronts to the back and the backs stay on their same side, just moved to the front axle. My only reasoning though is so I don't have more road noise while they are wearing themselves back to smooth on the back.

 

[JeremyH]

Only bias ply tires get crossed.

That's not true. It is perfectly fine to cross radial tires. It is almost necessary to cross radial MT tires or else you will get terrible wear from them (the front of the lug will wear faster than the back). It's not as important with street tires because of the tread spacing.

The most important part of rotating your tires and including a cross is to rotate them in the same pattern each time. Either bring the fronts straight back and the backs crossed to the front or vice versa.

...their explanation was that since I have a solid rear axle that there was no need to cross them?? Does this sound right...??

It sounds like they were making an excuse for not listening to their customer.

 

[bgmac]

It sounds like they were making an excuse for not listening to their customer.

Ya, thats pretty much what I was thinking. Im sure they figured I would never know...Little do they know I have the tires marked!! The manager offered to correct their mistake...but I am wondering if I should take it back due to all of the mixed opinions on this issue?

 

[JeremyH]

I would take it back and have them do the work that you asked them to do. Then never return....

 

[bgmac]

I would take it back and have them do the work that you asked them to do. Then never return....

Ya, thats what im doing...Just got off the phone with a friend of mine who is a manager at another garage and he said that they should have crossed them. He said thats how they always do it at their garage when a vehicle is rear wheel drive.

 

[LINY4Runner]

Assuming you have radial tires you shouldn't cross them at all. Front to rear and rear to front. At least that's what I've heard. :shrug:

Only bias ply tires get crossed.

Untrue.

From my experience in the field I can tell you that 98% of shops will do back to front, front to rear regardless of axle configuration, drivetrain configuration or tire type, etc.

The reason is that it eliminates the confusion of rotating tires on a car with directional tires. Instead of telling techs "On a car with directional tires we don't cross them but if it has universal tires we can cross them", they just leave it simple and across the board.

 

[004Gunner]

Almost all shops suck, so I never go with what most shops would do. I go option C and always have since I have only owned rear wheel or 4 wheel drive vehicles. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43 If you want it done right, Google it to see how's it done :jk: