# Does Rotating Your Tires Make Sense? **URL:** \ **Category:** Miscellaneous and Personal Stuff I Must Share\ **Created:** [January 12, 2008, 1:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224 "2008-01-12T01:49:36Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 15\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![Lust4Life](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/ecc23a/32.png) [@Lust4Life](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lust4Life)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 2:49am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/21 "2008-01-19T02:49:16Z")
[QUOTE=FourPaws] Err, I have tIres on my car. I tried to by tYres but they don’t sell them here in the US 🙂 [/QUOTE] Fair point but over this side of the ocean our farmers cant buy plows in any color for love nor money so they’re reduced to making do with ploughs which can be purchased here in a variety of colours:) ---
**Author:** ![enipla](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/e/54ee81/32.png) [@enipla](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/enipla)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 1:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/22 "2008-01-19T13:52:46Z")
I found that on my last Pathfinder, a ’93. The front and rear tires wore about the same. I drive a lot of mountain highway miles and use 4x4 a lot though. I suppose city drivers would have a different experience. As far as expense. I got my last set of tires at a national (USA) chain. They will rotate them for free. ---
**Author:** ![A.R.Cane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/ee7513/32.png) [@A.R.Cane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.R.Cane)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 4:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/23 "2008-01-19T16:00:24Z")
[QUOTE=Kalhoun] We recently discovered that the guy at the tire store had put our tires on backwards, which didn’t know was even possible. We rotate our tires. It is beneficial to the life of the tire. [/QUOTE] Only some tires are directional, because of tread design, and they are usually marked w/ arrows on the sidewall. Directional tires can only be rotated front to rear, not side to side. ---
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 7:21pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/24 "2008-01-19T19:21:41Z")
I did a little calculation-I assumed front tires wear at the rate of 20% (tread depth) -per 10K miles. The rears wear at 5%/10K miles. under these assumptions, it makes sense to rotate (but it makes no sense to do this at less than a 10,000 mile interval. Where i am, a rotation costs $20.00-so it is cost effective. ---
**Author:** ![mnemosyne](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/m/c4cdca/32.png) [@mnemosyne](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/mnemosyne)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 8:31pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/25 "2008-01-19T20:31:54Z")
I don’t rotate my tires, though I do a full switch from 4-seasons to winter tires in November and then back again in April or so. Over the several years that I own each set of tire for, I just tend to assume that they end up on different points on the car after every switch! ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 8:43pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/26 "2008-01-19T20:43:22Z")
in rwd cars, the driven tires wear differently than the steering tires, rotating them distributes the wear. In fwd cars, the front tires handle both planting the power an steering, which wears the whole tire more quickly. Rotating the tires ensures longer life for all of them and also keeps them aging at the same rate (vs old old tires in back, while you keep replacing the fronts. Further, if you have great differences in tread depth, your car can have a dangerous tendency to over or under steer. Rotating’s good, umkay? ---
**Author:** ![Flander](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/f/8c91f0/32.png) [@Flander](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Flander)\ **Post date:** [January 19, 2008, 8:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/27 "2008-01-19T20:49:24Z")
[QUOTE=Lust4Life] Is "Rotating Your Tyres "some sort of euthamism for something else / As in “Hey Baby Wanna let me rotate your tyres for Ya ?” [/QUOTE] > [@rapper "Ludacris"](#): > > “Ludacris balance and rotate all tires”. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![JThunder](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/e95f7d/32.png) [@JThunder](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/JThunder)\ **Post date:** [January 20, 2008, 7:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/28 "2008-01-20T07:43:07Z")
[QUOTE=Enginerd] Right back at you. Read it again. 😉 [/QUOTE] I wasn’t responding to you. So there. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![wonky](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/wonky/32/393_2.png) [@wonky](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/wonky)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 5:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/29 "2009-10-27T17:24:45Z")
And when you go to get new tires but have rotated them faithfully, you don’t get the tire guy tsking about cupping. Whatever that is. I hate being tsked at by the tire guy. It makes me feel ashamed. ---
**Author:** ![crazyjoe](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f14d63/32.png) [@crazyjoe](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/crazyjoe)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 7:48pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/30 "2009-10-27T19:48:22Z")
> [@A.R.Cane](#): > > Only some tires are directional, because of tread design, and they are usually marked w/ arrows on the sidewall. Directional tires can only be rotated front to rear, not side to side. I was under the impression that with radial tires, you were only supposed to rotate front to back anyhow. With old bias-ply tires, you were supposed to swap sides, but not with the newer radials. ---
**Author:** ![Lamar\_Mundane](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/85f322/32.png) [@Lamar\_Mundane](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Lamar_Mundane)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 8:24pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/31 "2009-10-27T20:24:51Z")
I find that rotating your posts annually keeps them from wearing unevenly. > **[Does Rotating Your Tires Make Sense?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=537546)** > > I don’t think so. Suppose your front tires war at a rate of 25% per 5,000 miles…and your rear tires wear at 10% per 5,000 miles. If you leave your tites alone, your front tires are gone in 20,000 miles, while your rear tires still have 60% left.... ---
**Author:** ![Unintentionally\_Blank](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/unintentionally_blank/32/5418_2.png) [@Unintentionally\_Blank](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Unintentionally_Blank)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 1:56pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/32 "2009-10-28T13:56:02Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > I was under the impression that with radial tires, you were only supposed to rotate front to back anyhow. With old bias-ply tires, you were supposed to swap sides, but not with the newer radials. That’s not entirely true. You CAN rotate side to side, it just requires dismounting the tire from the wheel. (Not something people typically want to do), and I’m not sure what wear situation would warrant doing so. (perhaps a kid who has money to swap sides, but no money for new tires, a lead foot, and a tendency to only turn left.) ---
**Author:** ![Thudlow\_Boink](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/thudlow_boink/32/320_2.png) [@Thudlow\_Boink](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Thudlow_Boink)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 2:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/33 "2009-10-28T14:51:06Z")
> [@DJ\_Motorbike](#): > > Maybe the word should be “revolve.” The wheels rotate on their axle but need to be revolved around the vehicle. It’s rotation in the volleyball sense. ---
**Author:** ![Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/e8c25b/32.png) [@Really\_Not\_All\_That\_Bright](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Really_Not_All_That_Bright)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 3:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/34 "2009-10-28T15:57:23Z")
> [@Shagnasty](#): > > That is a good point but I don’t think that is what they mean exactly. Rotating your tires is done by taking each wheel off, flipping it around backwards and putting it back on. I do it myself every 5000 miles and it seems to have huge benefits. I do hope you mean flipping it to the other side of the car, and not flipping the actual wheel around and bolting it back on. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![Gary\_T](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/3ec8ea/32.png) [@Gary\_T](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Gary_T)\ **Post date:** [November 4, 2009, 4:22am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224/35 "2009-11-04T04:22:30Z")
> [@crazyjoe](#): > > I was under the impression that with radial tires, you were only supposed to rotate front to back anyhow. > [@Unintentionally\_Blank](#): > > You CAN rotate side to side, it just requires dismounting the tire from the wheel. That was the case maybe 40 years ago, but improvements in radial tire design have eliminated this concern for a few decades now. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/433224.md?page=1)