# Does Rotating Your Tires Make Sense? **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [October 27, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317 "2009-10-27T16:26:39Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 20\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![ralph124c](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/r/8797f3/32.png) [@ralph124c](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ralph124c)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 4:26pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/1 "2009-10-27T16:26:39Z")
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. What sense does it make to move the rear tires to the front? Aren’t you better off replacing the front tires, and running the rears till they wear out? ---
**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, 4:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/2 "2009-10-27T16:32:11Z")
I’m no tire expert, but I think if you want the best ride and handling plus I think the best mileage, you want your tires to wear evenly. ---
**Author:** ![Jackmannii](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/jackmannii/32/311_2.png) [@Jackmannii](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Jackmannii)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 4:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/3 "2009-10-27T16:34:29Z")
Since this is GD, what do the Great Philosophers say? Rumor has it that Plato just rode around in his horse-drawn cart until the wheels fell off. ---
**Author:** ![lieu](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/l/c2a13f/32.png) [@lieu](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/lieu)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 4:36pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/4 "2009-10-27T16:36:36Z")
> [@ralph124c](#): > > If you leave your tites alone… I’m not sure what that has to do with tire wear, but I’ll try and answer anyway. First, why not rotate them so they all wear fairly evenly and when it’s time to replace them you just do it once for all tires? This would be especially true if you want to go with a different tire, like from a high mileage 80k tire to an all season tread. Probably not a good idea to mix one type with another. Secondly, tires don’t necessarily wear evenly across each individual tire. Some might wear on the inside, others on the out, etc. Rotating helps prevent one part of a tire wearing out before the rest. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 4:52pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/5 "2009-10-27T16:52:30Z")
In case you forgot, you already asked this and came to a conclusion. > **[Does Rotating Your Tires Make Sense?](https://boards.straightdope.com/sdmb/showthread.php?t=451141)** > > I know your front tires usually wear faster than the rear. Do you gain anything by moving the front tires to the rear, after, say 15,000 miles? Or are you better off wearing out the front tires, and replacing them? Is the expense of rotating paid off... I guess you’re second guessing your conclusion or wanted a debate? ---
**Author:** ![A.Selene](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/3ec8ea/32.png) [@A.Selene](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/A.Selene)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 8:16pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/6 "2009-10-27T20:16:36Z")
Yes. ---
**Author:** ![awldune](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/c77e96/32.png) [@awldune](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/awldune)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 10:27pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/7 "2009-10-27T22:27:53Z")
All four tires don’t necessarily wear in the same way. For example, the outside of the right front can wear quickly, especially if your alignment is off. Rotating your tires can spread the wear around so that you don’t end up with a tire with plenty of tread in the middle but totally bald edges. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 10:34pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/8 "2009-10-27T22:34:12Z")
> [@awldune](#): > > Rotating your tires can spread the wear around so that you don’t end up with a tire with plenty of tread in the middle but totally bald edges. Rotating won’t help much in this case as what you just described is the wear of an under-inflated tire. It will wear like that regardless of rotation, but it should wear less if it’s on the rear of the vehicle (unless the engine is also in the rear). ---
**Author:** ![Mangetout](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mangetout/32/19_2.png) [@Mangetout](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mangetout)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 10:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/9 "2009-10-27T22:37:52Z")
My car won’t even move unless the tyres rotate. Call me old-fashioned. ---
**Author:** ![kaylasdad99](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kaylasdad99/32/3398_2.png) [@kaylasdad99](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kaylasdad99)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/10 "2009-10-27T23:19:52Z")
That joke is a retread, btw. ---
**Author:** ![gonzomax](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/g/e8c25b/32.png) [@gonzomax](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/gonzomax)\ **Post date:** [October 27, 2009, 11:57pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/11 "2009-10-27T23:57:36Z")
Consumers Report did an article on tire rotation many years ago. They said it came down to whether you wanted to buy 5 tires at a time. In American cars your backs wear out faster. Then replace them when needed. You buy 2. Then after a while replace the fronts. You buy 2 again. ---
**Author:** ![Una\_Persson](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/una_persson/32/346_2.png) [@Una\_Persson](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Una_Persson)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 12:56am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/12 "2009-10-28T00:56:33Z")
On our newest car it’s impossible to even rotate the tires without going to an auto shop. ---
**Author:** ![kanicbird](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/k/5f8ce5/32.png) [@kanicbird](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kanicbird)\ **Post date:** [October 28, 2009, 1:08am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/13 "2009-10-28T01:08:11Z")
It is important in some cars with full time AWD that the tires are basically the same in terms of wear, so rotation evens them out, and you want to buy 4 new ones at a time. In FWD cars I’ve heard it said, and done, not to rotate them. You end up replacing the front tires several times and the backs seem to last ‘forever.’ ---
**Author:** ![needscoffee](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/needscoffee/32/1076_2.png) [@needscoffee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/needscoffee)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 7:04am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/14 "2009-11-03T07:04:54Z")
> [@kanicbird](#): > > It is important in some cars with full time AWD that the tires are basically the same in terms of wear, so rotation evens them out, and you want to buy 4 new ones at a time…’ This is correct. I had to replace all four tires when one of my low-tread tires blew out, because with full-time all-wheel drive, one tire with a larger diameter due to the higher tread will cause the wheel to revolve at a different rate and damage the differential whatevers. I thought it was a scam, but it was verified by my mechanic-spouse. ---
**Author:** ![Francis\_Vaughan](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/francis_vaughan/32/3093_2.png) [@Francis\_Vaughan](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Francis_Vaughan)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 1:32pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/15 "2009-11-03T13:32:55Z")
I have unidirectional tires and different width tires front to back. Thus rotation is actually impossible. This isn’t exactly an uncommon configuration now. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 5:01pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/16 "2009-11-03T17:01:08Z")
More information on not replacing all four tires in AWD vehicles [here](http://www.4x4abc.com/4WD101/diffautoAWD_AWD.html). It seems it’s okay to not replace all four tires at a time in certain AWD vehicles. If the vehicle has _true_ AWD, it’s not a problem. In some newer vehicles replacing less than four tires at a time also isn’t a problem even if the vehicle doesn’t have true AWD. ---
**Author:** ![amarone](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/a/e0b2c6/32.png) [@amarone](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/amarone)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 5:05pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/17 "2009-11-03T17:05:18Z")
There are some handling benefits to having tires with equal wear, but the main effect of rotation is, as others have said, to have all four tires wear out at the same time. That is not something I would be prepared to pay for - it would cost about $200 over the life of the tires to do that - about one third the cost of a set of tires on my car. However, if the tire shop provides free rotation if you buy from them, as many do, then it is a service I use. ---
**Author:** ![scabpicker](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/scabpicker/32/8268_2.png) [@scabpicker](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/scabpicker)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 9:15pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/18 "2009-11-03T21:15:47Z")
As has been said before, your front and back tires are doing slightly different jobs. If you have a consistent tire size on all four corners, it is better for you to rotate than not rotate. The issue I see with buying only 2 tires is that now you have older, less grippy tires on one end, and new, grippy tires on the other. Even if you don’t drive like myself, in a emergency situation the car’s not going to handle ideally. ---
**Author:** ![x-ray\_vision](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/x-ray_vision/32/351_2.png) [@x-ray\_vision](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/x-ray_vision)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 9:37pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/19 "2009-11-03T21:37:46Z")
> [@scabpicker](#): > > The issue I see with buying only 2 tires is that now you have older, less grippy tires on one end, and new, grippy tires on the other. Even if you don’t drive like myself, in a emergency situation the car’s not going to handle ideally. If the tires on one end of the vehicle don’t yet warrant replacement, there’s no problem with just replacing just the tires on one end except for in special circumstances, such as the one brought up in this thread with some AWD vehicles. If they’re still good, that they’re “less grippy” than the new ones won’t be an issue. ---
**Author:** ![tomndebb](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/b9e5f3/32.png) [@tomndebb](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/tomndebb)\ **Post date:** [November 3, 2009, 11:06pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317/20 "2009-11-03T23:06:53Z")
IM(NS)HO, this is not a Great Debate. Moving to IMHO. [Next page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-rotating-your-tires-make-sense/515317.md?page=2)