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radial tire rotation

N nazgulMember
hi everyone,

several months ago, we bought a new car, a pontiac vibe, it is time for it's 5000 mile checkup. the dealer on it's e-mail said it is going to rotate the tires.

i have been driving on radials since 1972 and i have never rotated them. i always thought that the radial belts kind of "break in and set into position" dependent upon their location on the car and that moving them around causes the belts to shift, the tires get all screwed up, and the belts are more likely to rip. my nonrotated tires have always worn equally, and have lasted a long time.

i understand that the rotation pattern for radials is front to back (i think), but...should radials be rotated at all ???? should i tell the dealer not to rotate??

thanks for your thoughts

nazgul
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George PGeorge PAdmin.
Wanted to mention the details, if all 4 tires are the same size AND are not uni-directional, they can be rotated in the normal pattern: Left Front to Right Rear, Right Front to Left Rear, Right Rear to Right Front, Left Rear to Left Front.

Unidirectional tires can only be rotated front to back, but can't be crossed left to right.

cowboy from hell
deniscdeniscCaretaker of 8MA1244 '70 Euro Mangusta DRIVE THEM, THEY WERE MEANT TO BE DRIVEN, IF YOU WANT TO LOOK AT ONE, BUY A POSTER!
There a 2 schools of thought on tire rotation. The dominant one states to rotate tires. As stated same size directional front to back, and regular will have the 5 way switch. The intention is to have ALL the tires 'wear' evenly. Fronts have a tendency to wear edges from heavy cornering and 'driven' wheels may wear faster from spin. Tire manufacturers have started training dealership employees in the tire business (notice there a fewer service stations and tire shops) and they are teaching the rotation for the simple reason that wheels are removed for rotation (customer pays) and they can do a visual on brakes and suspension components, if you didnt agree they might have to absorb the technician's wages if nothing found (ha!) There is nothing wrong in not doing the rotation as long as you keep a close eye on brakes, suspension components and tire wear (you can replace 2 tires from the same 'axle' should 2 tires wear faster)
rapidrapidMember
Just in case anyone did not see it, the 5 way switch includes the Spare tire on vehicles with full size spares. Right front to left rear, left front to right rear, left rear to spare, spare to left front , and right rear to right front. On pickup trucks (especially trucks with any kind of heavy lug or off road tire), tire rotation is much more important. If you fail to rotate these tires about every 5000 miles you will probably experience cupping on the fronts and start to have a rough ride from the front of the truck. This does not seam to happen much if your truck has more of a car tire mounted on the truck.
panteradougpanteradougMember
RADIAL TIRES should only be rotated front to rear.
Radial tires take a "set" and don't necessarily like being reversed.

Consult the Manufacturer's recommendations for your application. Who knows what kind of a reciepe these guys are cooking up now? Wink

The Pantera was never a car to really rotate tires on with 7" wheels in front and 8" in back and c60-15s in front and H60s in back. Now that would be a sight to behold I think?
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