Hey guys, quick question… My front tires are at the end of there life span, mainly due to excessive ware on the outer edge… My inside edge is still ok, and the main tread is just above the ware bars… I would like to get just a little more life out of them so I can get past the holidays, and was thinking of rotating them side to side.
I live in an area with no snow, and my back tires are not in great shape eather…
So this is my question, I remember being told a very long time ago that if tires have been turning one way there whole lives, flipping them side to side which makes the run in the opposite direction will greatly increase the chances of the tire de_laminating and coming apart… (Bubbles, tread separation, etc)… Is this true?? My fear is continuing to ware the edge and eventually showing steel belts …
You need an alignment before you throw money into tires. Write these off as a fairly expensive diagnostic test and get new ones, but only after the car is aligned.
By the time you pay someone to switch the front two tires and rims you might as well get the new tires. Maybe you can find a 4 for 3 sale. And get alignment at the same time.
And to answer the original question that you asked.
Times have changed - and so have tires and it is no longer recommended that the direction of rotation stay the same. That advice was likely questionable and marginal at best.
One caveat to that, CapriRacer - some tires are directional and should only be mounted to roll in one direction while going forward. If the tire has an arrow on the sidewall, that’s the direction it should roll.
True. When radial tires first became widespread, sometime back in the '70s, car owners were warned not to switch sides. The tires developed a set. But a few years later the tire manufacturers overcame the problem and this advice no longer applies. You may switch sides if you like while waiting for a convenient time to apply any of the other good advice given above.
My vote is to just move them front to back.The inner wear is most likely due to too much toe-in but what you could do as a stop gap until new tires and an alignment is to loosen the tie rod lock nuts and adjust the tie rods about half a turn out on each side.
That would give you a full turn more toe-out and should relieve the inner tire wear issue to some extent until such time as a proper alignment can be done; and should keep the steering wheel centered in the meantime.
I would also move the worn front tires to the rear, put new tires on the front and get an alignment as soon as possible. Although the wear may be the result of excessive toe in camber can’t be ruled out. Weak front springs or a heavy load at the front could be the cause as they would rake the wheels outward.
I agree that camber could never be ruled out. The toe is only mentioned because apparently both front tires are wearing the outer edges so any camber issue would be one related to too much positive camber and on both sides to boot.
Of course, if there’s any play in the tie rods or tie rod ends then adjusting the toe is a moot point for the most part.
