What is the best tire rotation figure for rotating radial tires. All were bought about 6 months ago or so.
A good round mileage number is 10K miles. Check your owner’s manual, it might mention when to rotate the tires.
But should I just rotate them front to back or front left to back right, etc.,or something else?
It depends on the tires. Many tires now have rotationally oriented designs that require that they stay on the same side. Typically, these will have a “V” pattern in the tread and/or in some cases the tread may be asymetrical, wider on one sode than the other.
People today that rotate their tires typically just go front to back, staying on the same side. If the tires are wearing evenly with no anomolies that accomplishes the goal of evening out the wear so they wear out as a set.
Some tires cannot be rotated. Specialty cars like 'Vettes, 270Z’s, and Porches will have different size tires on the front than the back.
Most owner’s manuals have a suggested rotation pattern. Tires with a directional tread pattern, however, can only be rotated front to back.
As with most other things pertaining to the operation and maintenance of your car, the Owner’s Manual is the best source of information. Personally, I would hesitate to take the well-meaning, but possibly incorrect, advice from friends, neighbors, and even members of this forum.
The people who designed and built your car are the best source of information, and that information is in your Owner’s Manual.
Front to back, back to front, to keep the tire turning in the same direction. Done about 15-20,000 miles.
I will add only one thing. If the tyres are not very evenly worn, then make sure the two best are on the back. If they are closely worn then I would rotate front to back, same side, unless the car manual says otherwise. Note: If they have a directional arrow on the tyre, follow that arrow.
SPECIAL NOTE FOR AWD cars. They have special needs when it comes to tyres and rotating them. Check the owner’s manual. In general they need to be closely match in wear all the way around.
One key thing though is the tires may be directional. Which limits your rotating options front to back only. A car manual does not reflect what type of tire installed except OEM ones.
There are different rotation patterns available. For our front drivers I use front to back same side. Back to front, opposite side. Do approx every 8k miles at first but this can be stretched a little to 10k as the tires wear.
Failure to rotate tires on time can result in noisy tires with odd tread wear patterns, mainly flat spots on the outer tread row.
When we bought new Michelin X tires for a rear driver in the late 1970s, Michelin said in their literature that rotation was not needed.
As was said, do what your owner’s manual says regarding frequency and pattern.
For years I was under the (mistaken) impression that the best tread should be on the front. I felt that better tread would help prevent hydroplaning. I now understand the rationale behind having best tread on the back (to stabalize the rear of the car in an emergency) Arguably it could be said that tire rotation is unnecessary when one considers that when you rotate you are actually putting the more worn tread to the back. When you consider the ongoing cost of these rotations might there be an argument to never rotate and to use the money saved on rotation to periodically put a new set of tires on the back and move the rear tires to the front?