anyone ever hear of tires that don’t EVER need to be rotated? just put them on the car and drive em? a buddy of mine got tires a few months ago on his SUV and the guy at the shop told him that these tires don’t ever need to be rotated. He also told me that the front and the back tires have different treads.
This to me sounds WAY off to say the least. Rotating tires keeps the treads more even to promote longer life. I’ve been looking on the net for these tires but have found no references to them. I have found tires that shouldn’t be rotated from the left hand to the right, only front to back, but that’s it, nothing on never rotating. I don’t remember the brand, but he said they are called RT or something similar for “rotationless tire”. I think he got scamed. anyone have the straight dope and a link?
My Yokohamas have RT in their designation, but I’m not sure what it stands for. They may be completely different tires, but mine sure need to be rotated. Sorry I can’t help you, but it does sound fishy to me, as well.
On an SUV, this sounds a little bit suspicious, but I’m no expert.
As you mentioned, tires with directional treads must stay on the same side of the vehicle. There are some cars (usually performance cars) on which the front and rear wheels are not the same size. A friend of mine, for example, has a BMW M3 like this; he has now put directional aftermarket tires on it, and thus cannot rotate them - each wheel is unique. If the front and back tires have different treads, and are directional, then it could be something like this. Rotation would prolong tire life, but it can’t be done.
The guys at Car Talk recently answered a letter on tire rotation - see here. The upshot was that BMW recommended in the owner’s manual for the 528i against rotating the tires. The reason turns out to be that, unless they’re rotated really often, there will be a noticeable drop in performance right after a rotation until they “wear in” to their new locations. Tom and Ray point out that, in general, this only applies for rather aggressive driving.
I suppose that it could be something like that, but again, on an SUV I’m wary of that advice. SUV’s aren’t known for their remarkable corner-hugging abilities and needs for racing-quality tires.
the only reason that tires should not be rotated are thus:
some tires have directional tread. Those tires can ONLY be rotated front to back. They can be swapped sides, but it involves dismounting the tire from the rim and flipping it over. Time consuming and expensive
some of the newer high performance cars have different diameter tires front and rear. they should not be rotated front to back ESPECIALLY if there is a 4wd system that seperates torque to the 2 drive axles. Those have different gear ratios on the axles to make up for the different tire sizes. having the wrong size tires can lead to gear bind and spectacular driveline failure.
Again new Hi-Po cars sometimes have different tread width front and rear. Rotating them can cause interferance between the tire and suspension, frame and brake calipers.
IIRC, tire rotation was to increase treadlife back when getting only 10000 miles out of a tire was the norm. Now with our much longer lived tires, you’d be gaining only a 5% or so treadlife. I, for one, don’t rotate my tires, and I’ve never had a problem.
This Cartalk column says that a BMW owners manual says “In the interest of safety and optimal vehicle response, we advise against rotating tires. Braking and traction may be adversely affected.” Tom and Ray respond that the difference in handling is minor and temporary and that rotating still prolongs the life of the tires.
Tire rotation can be avoided at the expense of hydroplaning and poor snow traction. The reason tires are rotated is to even out directional wear. What is directional wear? If you inspect modern tires the tread pattern can be described as a variation on a checkerboard (not necessarily squares, but there are grooves that run around the tire and grooves that cut across it). With me so far?
As you drive forward the leading edge of the “checkerboard square” is deformed as it impinges on the road. This causes wear. The trailing edge of the “square” does not see the same wear and you get eventually get uneven “squares”. You can rotate the tire so it rotates the other way to even it out. In the case of directional tires the “squares” have been designed to minimize this directional wear as long as they are rotating in the correct direction. You rotate front to back to even out the additional wear turning puts on the fronts.
If you put on old non-checkerboard tires with grooves running around the tire, but not across, there is no leading edge to wear. You have no directional wear to compensate for by rotation. You also have no channels for water to escape to the edge of the tire…hydroplaning. Pick your poison.
A car can also have the same tires mounted on different offset rims, making it impossible to rotate front to back.
Corvettes, Porsche 911s, etc, often have uni-directional tires with different widths front and back. Instead of a spare tire, they give you a can of Fix-a-Flat and wish you good luck.
If you have a front wheel drive, and you don’t rotate, you will wind up wearing out the front tires a lot sooner than the rear. I didn’t get around to rotating, and had a pair on the front that were shot when there was still plenty of good tread on the rear. I’d rather replace 4 at a time than in pairs, even if I don’t get any more total life out of them.
A couple of years ago, Australia’s foremost racing driver, who has a big interest in road safety, was asked his opinion on tyre rotation. He was less than enthusiastic, on the basis that once a tyre has been “bedded in” on a corner of your car, then it should stay where it is.
That said, I admit to doing it, because I can’t afford to be buying new tyres all the time. I drive a front wheel drive vehicle, and the only way to maximise tyre life is to swap the front and back tyres to even out the wear.
BTW, could rotationless tyres be considered a bit of a drag?
I just came across this: Goodyear sells a tire that they claim does not need to be rotated. They give no real explanation for why, other than saying that they tread design is “axle specific.”
The trouble with rotating radials is that the steel belts dig into the tread above.
If you change them left to right sides, then then they pull out of the groves and the tire treads can separate.
So you only can “rotate” them front to back on the same side of the car.
Thus, if you have have different back tires, you can’t rotate them at all.
The different back tires may be needed for either weight-load needs or different traction needs.
FWIW, I have never rotated the tires on any car I’ve ever owned. I’ve always been able to meet or exceed the expected treadlife, and have never had unusual or strange wear on the tires except when I had a bad tie rod end.
I do think the “bedding in” concept has some merit, but am not sure enough to recommend it to others.
Tires end up “cupping”, showing round areas of wear, if driven long enough unrotated. With performance cars, you might burn enough rubber to even out any cupping.
I have heard this, but I’ve also heard contradictory advice from some pretty reputable sources. I seem to recall hearing that bias-ply tires cannot have their rotation direction changed once one has been established, but that such tires are pretty rare today.
The owner’s manual for my pickup truck (which came with Firestone radials) recommends a modified X pattern of rotation - front wheels directly back, rear wheels to opposite front.
Goodyear, on [this page](http://www.goodyear.com/cgi-bin/faq/expand.pl?entry=Should I rotate my tires?&Categories=rotation), says that “All-season tires should be rotated in a ‘modified-X’ pattern,” and that “The only exception to this would be the use of ‘directional’ tread tires.”
That said, most places that I’ve been to to have tires rotated seem to do a simple front-back switch (no crossover) by default. When asked why, they kind of wave their hands and say (unconvincingly) that it’s better that way, despite the fact that vehicle and tire manufacturers specifically recommend otherwise. My guess is that it’s just simpler for them.
