Every vehicle component needs love and care. This also includes your tire. The tires suffer the most wear and tear. If you want to extend the service life of tires, you need to rotate tires periodically. Here we look at the different reasons to rotate your tires. 

What Is Tire Rotation?

Tire rotation refers to a procedure where the position of the tires is changed at regular intervals. You need to rotate tires every six months or every 6000 to 8000 miles whichever is earlier. However, if you notice too much unevenness of tires then you can rotate the tires immediately ignoring the tire rotation intervals. 

Why Is There Uneven Wear of Tires?

There are several reasons behind the uneven wear of tires. Some of them are improper wheel alignment, worn-out suspension, under-inflation, and over-inflation. Under-inflation and over-inflation can be taken care of by maintaining the right tire pressure. You need to get a wheel alignment done or repair suspension to eliminate the root causes of uneven wear of tires.

Why You Should Rotate Your Tires?

There are primary 3 reasons to rotate your tires on a regular basis. They are:

  • Rotating tires help achieve even tire wear.By allowing the tire to work in different positions in your vehicle, you can promote ever wear across the tread pattern. This helps maximize tire life.

  • Many tire manufacturers require you to rotate your vehicle to keep the tire warranties valid. Some tire manufacturers offer free rotation for their brands as long as they are on customer's cars. 

  • Tire rotation helps maintain traction and preserve balanced handling. In simple words, even worn-out tires result in better steering performance than uneven worn-out tires. 

Six Tire Rotation Patterns

Front to Rear

In this tire rotation pattern, all tires are moved to different axles but the tires don't switch sides.  The rear right tire moves to the front right axle and vice versa. Similarly, the rear left tire moves to the front left axle and vice versa.

Side-to-Side

In this tire rotation pattern, the tire remains on the same axle but switches sides. For example, the front left tire moves to the front right and vice versa. The rear left tire moves to the rear right position and vice versa.

Rearward Cross

This tire rotation pattern is important for 4-wheel drives or rear-wheel drive.  The rear tires move straight to the front axle without changing the side. The front tires move diagonally. For example, the front right tires move to the rear left axle and the front left tire moves to the rear right axle. 

Forward Cross

This is exactly opposite to the Rearward cross pattern. The front tires move straight to the rear axle. The rear tires move diagonally.  In simple words, the rear right tire moves to the front left axle and the rear left tire moves to the front right side. 

X-Cross

In this tire rotation, both front and rear tires move diagonally. The front left moves to rear right and vice versa. The front right moves to the rear left and vice versa. 

Tires maintenance is crucial for better handling of the vehicle and safety. Rotating tires can help you get maximum service life from the tires which actually save money.Â