Theory On Rotating Tires.

[Corey]

So, I’m a mechanic (still a novice). Trying to improve as much as I can, and want to learn to do the right thing. So, I ask you all —
A discussion came up at work today…

What would you all say is the correct way to rotate tires?

My theory is…put the tires with the lowest tread under the engine…regardless if it’s RWD, FWD, or AWD.

Let’s say you have tires on a car that are 11/32 in the rear, and 13/32 in the front on a FWD car.
I’d recommend rotating the tires and putting the tires with the better tread in the read.

Reason being…
Even if it’s FWD, you have the weight of the engine on the tires. So, even if the tread is lower, you’ll still have traction.
Whereas…you have not a lot of weight in the rear. If you put low-tread tires in the rear with no weight, that’s even less traction.

I was doing some research…and some guy got sued because he put the tires with the most tread on the front, and the rear had almost no tread. The car ended up getting into a wreck because the car slid-out from the rear. He got in trouble because he put the tires with better tread in the front rather than the rear, so the rear lost traction.

Reading that also influenced my thoughts.

Any input is appreciated.
Thanks.

Topic

[Dave]

Your thoughts are dead on and that is why the tire industry recommends that unless the tires are within 2/32 of each other the better ones ALWAYS go on the rear. But just have fun trying to explain this to customers.

And you only put a full set of snow tires on a vehicle never only 2.

[Mathieu]

The case you put is unsual. 2 good tire and 2 trash tire. In this case, you need traction and rotation in X to be sure you got a good tire in front and rear. Don’t forgt to sign the customer the responsabilityH refuse to buy 2 new ire and thia might cause and acident during driving in rainy day and eventualy dead. You must refer to the owner manual to know how the manufacturer want to rotate the tire.

AAA (American Automobile Association) not anonimous acholic assosiation :silly: http://aaa.mynapatools.com/category/tire-rotation-and-balancing/

[Corey]

Well…not two tires and two bad tires…
I’m saying if the two front tires are 12/32, and the rears are 10/32. I’d rotate them and put the better tires in the rear.

[Mathieu]

The thing whit the best tire in the rear is the wears tire in the from wears more rapidly anyway because they have more weight on It. That will cause in the long term a wear out tire in the front and good tire in the rear. You can se on big pick up the front tire wear really more rapidly then a car because the engine is really more heavy then a car.

[Trent “Teddy” Martin]

I believe that it is best to have the best tires on the front because most cars have the most breaking power at the front because of the extra weight. If you have bad tyres on the front you are more likely to lock up under heavy braking and begin to skid. The best way to rotate tyres is like this pic

[Dave]

Front tires on pickups wear faster because trucks are rear wheel drive, The non drive tires wear faster than the drive tires.

[Dave]

Having the best tires on the rear is safer that having them in front, sure the tires might lock up easier but you will still have more control than if the rear tires lock up and send you into a spin fly off the road and crash into a tree.

[Trent “Teddy” Martin]

Not entirely true especially in the case of fwd cars

[Dave]

I hate to tell you this but you’re wrong. Tire industry guidelines are that the best tires always go on the rear no matter what vehicle, because the front has all of the weight on it so you need the tires with more traction on the rear where there is a lot less weight. Doing it this way will give drivers more control in all driving conditions.

I work in a tire shop and have to keep up on these things for liability reasons. Because some shop put new tires on the front then the customer crashed-died and the family sued the tire shop and won because the rear tires lost traction and the car spun off the road.

[Trent “Teddy” Martin]

So your going to tell me that most dealerships are doing it wrong and are going to risk getting sued in the case of an accident or death … I don’t think so.

[Corey]

A lot of opposing answers here…

[Dave]

I can only tell you so many times teddy the tire industry states that they want the best tires in the rear

[Author]

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