why only rotate spare on right side?

[Will_4R]

I have read many threads discussing various rotation patterns, as well as merrits and drawbacks of including the spare in the rotation. I cannot however find an answer as why the owners manual 94th gen) only says to rotate the spare on the right side.

At first I thought this would (in the long run) result in uneven wear as the left tires see more road time than the other three. Best I can tell from reading stuff online is that the right side of the vehicle sees more wear since right turns are tighter than left turns, and parallel parking can be hard on sidewalls.

thoughts?

 

[Uneek]

Maybe for the back in the non-radial bias tire days swapping tires side to side would cause the "go backwards".

 

[chayos00]

Maybe for the back in the non-radial bias tire days swapping tires side to side would cause the "go backwards".

Correct me if I'm wrong but I'm 99% sure if you follow the rotational patttern in my 4G manual all of your tires will see all 5 spots on you truck not just one side. you criss cross the tires around and take them front to back or however it goes. the manual shows exactly how it's done.

 

[Will_4R]

No criss cross pattern in my manual or factory service manual. See attached page from service manual.

 

[chayos00]

From this site, it's idential to what my manual says. http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=43&currentpage=38

My manual show the one on the reward cross.

 

[JB.]

I cannot however find an answer as why the owners manual 94th gen) only says to rotate the spare on the right side.

The front/back rotation in the manual (at least thru '07) undoubtedly reflects Toyota's conservative approach to the subject based on the behavior of radial tires in the early days. Modern best practice rotation is some form of cross pattern.

Once Toyota has specified a front/back pattern, the way the spare is integrated in the pattern makes sense based on never exceeding 1/8 inch tread depth difference, presumably for drive train reasons, during the life of the tires.

In this case, following the manual results in an unnecessary owner expense.

 

[JB.]

My manual show the one on the reward cross.

Are you sure?

All the manuals from '03 thru '07 show this pattern.

 

[chayos00]

Are you sure?

All the manuals from '03 thru '07 show this pattern.

I stand corrected. I checked my manual and it does show your picture. But I follow this rotation pattern (pic below) that I found on the internet.

 

[Will_4R]

The front/back rotation in the manual (at least thru '07) undoubtedly reflects Toyota's conservative approach to the subject based on the behavior of radial tires in the early days. Modern best practice rotation is some form of cross pattern.

Once Toyota has specified a front/back pattern, the way the spare is integrated in the pattern makes sense based on never exceeding 1/4 inch tread depth difference, presumably for drive train reasons, during the life of the tires.

In this case, following the manual results in an unnecessary owner expense.

Ok, so maybe I should start rotating with a criss cross pattern. I notice the dealer so far has not done that. They don't incorporate the spare either, but it is a different model anyway. I notice the previous owner of my truck, who always had it dealer servied, didn't have the spare rotated in since it is bran new. I guess I will have to draw a diagram for the dealer and hope they follow it. It seem Toyota dealers are not big on rotating in the spare according to their manual.

I still don't understand why the spare is only rotated in on the right side with the front/back rotation. What does that have to do with never exceeding 1/4 inch? Wouldn't rotating it on the left side every other time keep things more even?

 

[JB.]

...I still don't understand why the spare is only rotated in on the right side with the front/back rotation. What does that have to do with never exceeding 1/4 inch? Wouldn't rotating it on the left side every other time keep things more even?

The wording of the 1/4 tread depth thing was poor, sorry.

The key point is that same side rotation keeps the tires spinning in the same direction which used to be considered desirable for belted radials. Putting the spare in on one side maintains this practice for it, as well.

Obviously, this will result in tread depth difference over time but Toyota, apparently, has determined these wheel circumference differences will remain, for the life of the tires, within acceptable tolerances for the front and rear diffs. Keeping the spare in rotation this way also keep things consistent -- front to back -- for the more sensitive Torsen center diff.

This is the most logical explanation I've been able to construct based on the info available. It may sound excessively conservative, but we're talking about a company that specified dino oil on the same vehicle.

 

[Will_4R]

Thanks JB, that makes sense now.

Part of my thinking for rotating in the spare is that not only will my tires overall last longer (which in practice may make no difference), but if one of my tires is damaged I can just use the spare full time and replace the spare. At that point I won't continue to rotate the spare in, but it will save me having to replace all 4 tires as per Toyota's recomendation. Of course if the damaged tire were on the driver side I would not be complying with Toyata because the the replacement tire would now be rotating in the opposite direction from what it had previously been doing. (I guess I could just have the tire remounted to resolve this.)

My new plan: rotate tires according to the plan Chayos00 follows.

 

[JeremyH]

Part of my thinking for rotating in the spare is that not only will my tires overall last longer .....Of course if the damaged tire were on the driver side I would not be complying with Toyata .

A 5 tire rotation will get more mileage out of your tires.

What Toyota doesn't know, wont hurt them.

 

[JB.]

Thanks JB, that makes sense now.

It's not a 100% satisfying explanation. It's just the only one I'm aware of that comes reasonably close.

Part of my thinking for rotating in the spare is that not only will my tires overall last longer (which in practice may make no difference), but if one of my tires is damaged I can just use the spare full time and replace the spare. At that point I won't continue to rotate the spare in, but it will save me having to replace all 4 tires as per Toyota's recomendation.

Having a matching spare that's been in rotation is nice. My current spare is a same size, different brand. I may have to give more thought to getting a new, matching spare since the set of 4 is still new. Either way, I'll be doing a cross rotation.

My new plan: rotate tires according to the plan Chayos00 follows.

Good plan.

 

[chayos00]

Well I'm glad to hear that you guys like my rotation plan. I looked for a little while when I first got to the point of needing to rotate my tires, then I came across the method that I use. It seemed to make the most since to me! So I'm glad my rotation pattern is something you guys like!

Speaking of which I'm going to need an oil change here ASAP, plus a rotation. I'm going to get Toyota to do it now that I had to get my appendix out last night. I'm not one to take my vehicles in if I'm capable of doing it myself, but I guess I just became incapable for the time being.