Tire Rotation Tips

Tire rotation is a form or tire care that will extend the life of your tires. It helps you get the rated mileage from the new tires you purchase.

It's a frugal living tip that costs you next to nothing if you purchase it as part of a new tire protection package.

A long wearing passenger car tire is about $125, so you'll want to make certain that you get all the mileage you can out of the $500 you spend on a set of tires.

Tire wear is normal. As you drive, the tire leaves rubber dust on the road as your tires wear. Tire wear will be a little different on each tire because some wheels are drive wheels, and some simply follow.

Did you know that front and rear wheels are not necessarily aligned the same? Suspension design also has an influence on tire wear. The front and rear wheels on your vehicle aren't necessarily in line with one another - by design.

To equal out tire wear, a rotation of your tires should be performed based on the number of miles traveled. I like to have my tires rotated at least each 6,000 miles. Some "tire care packages" provide for a rotation at 12,000 or 18,000 miles.

When you rotate isn't as important as the regularity of rotation. The idea is to distribute unique wear characteristics across your set of tires so they all wear out at about the same time.

I travel with a full size spare in addition to that little midget tire that comes with the car, so I purchase 5 tires and then rotate the full size spare with the rest of my tires. That way, all my tires wear at about the same rate, and I'm not installing a spare tire that is smaller, narrower or has better tread than the one it replaces. That gives me consistent handling characteristics even when riding on the spare.

To make this tire care part of your approach to frugal living, you'll want to investigate purchasing a "tire care package" where mounting, balancing, flat repair and rotation are all part of the purchase price of the tire. That makes tire rotation a breeze, and gives you flat repair peace of mind.

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