Which tire rotation method?

[JB.]

I haven't rotated yet. I'm still deciding which way to go. I'm leaning towards the cross rotation with the spare so I get my moneys worth out of all 5 tires.

This may die on the vine, but hopefully we can consolidate much of the tire rotation info here.

 

[Kanab]

I haven't rotated yet. I'm still deciding which way to go. I'm leaning towards the cross rotation with the spare so I get my moneys worth out of all 5 tires.

This may die on the vine, but hopefully we can consolidate much of the tire rotation info here.

If you are doing it yourself include the spare. If you are paying for it you will spend enough more for the spare being included that you could buy another tire by the time you need new rubber. I got the Michelin Cross Terrains and just do the cross rotation without the spare. I will save enough that when I need new tires I can buy 3 use the spare for the 4th and keep the best used tire for the spare and the savings on the rotation without including the spare will pay for one of the 3 new tires. I will be buying new Cross Terrains when these wearout, but that will be at about 60++K miles.

 

[jharris2]

I just switched to 5-tire rotation when I bought the Revos.

 

[JB.]

I just switched to 5-tire rotation when I bought the Revos.

Cross or same-side? Or to put it another way, did you listen to the tire manufacterer or Toyota?

 

[jharris2]

Cross or same-side? Or to put it another way, did you listen to the tire manufacterer of Toyota?

Cross-side. I don't like the idea of same side rotation because you effectively have 3 tires on one side, 2 on the other. May be wrong, but I don't believe you gain much in that case.

 

[spyne]

I've used the following rotation on every vehicle I've owned that had a full size spare and never regretted it. Rotate them myself every 5000 miles or so.

spare -> lr
lr -> rf
rf -> lf
lf -> rr
rr -> spare

 

[Kanab]

The best method of rotation is to watch the wear on your tires and rotate based on that wear. My first rotation I let the Toyota tech's do it the Toyota way. based on the wear pattern, I decided to have them X'ed the next rotation. Seems to be working well and based on wear I will decide again at the next rotation which method I will use. I do think the X pattern has a better wear correction affect on your tires versus keeping them all on the same side rolling the same direction.

 

[Boaz]

The best method of rotation is to watch the wear on your tires and rotate based on that wear. My first rotation I let the Toyota tech's do it the Toyota way. based on the wear pattern, I decided to have them X'ed the next rotation. Seems to be working well and based on wear I will decide again at the next rotation which method I will use. I do think the X pattern has a better wear correction affect on your tires versus keeping them all on the same side rolling the same direction.

I agree! I just keep an eye on them and when its starting to show some wear, I rotate em!

 

[greasefingers]

Funny thing that I have observed on every vehicle that I have owned is that: the front passenger tire always wears faster than the drivers

 

[Kanab]

Funny thing that I have observed on every vehicle that I have owned is that: the front passenger tire always wears faster than the drivers’ side front. And it’s always the outer edge. Also it does not seem to matter if it is an independent front suspension or not.

I see less of this on the AWD vehicles and the 4runner and my old Landcruiser are both very easy on tires (but I have the Michelins on my 4runner and I ran BFG AT/KO's on the LC)

 

[jeober]

A tire tread depth guage is cheap and a useful tool to own. This can help determine which tire to rotate in with the spare and also monitor for wear rate across each tire for inflation pressure and alignment issues.

 

[spyne]

There seem to be a very low number of responses to this poll, considering how long it's been out there. So I'm going to go out on a limb and guess that for most owners the answer is, I never rotate my tires. They just don't want to admit it.

That's not the case for me as I'm one of the two (so far) who voted for cross rotation, including the spare.

 

[tomhaney1]

Funny thing that I have observed on every vehicle that I have owned is that: the front passenger tire always wears faster than the drivers

 

[SConnors]

Tom ,the crown produces a tendancy for the vehicle to drift to the right... Counteracting that tendancy on crowned roads may be what produces the wear.

In general, most tires at driving pressures will contour to the road, producing (for all intensive purposes) even pressure throughout the contact patch.

 

[HiVel-JR]

cross with out spare, should have done it the way the manual said to, they probably would have lasted longer...... oh well