how often to rotate/balance

[kleung]

How often do I need to rotate the stock tires? balance?
Does the warranty cover it? I suppose not. Do most tire places do it cheap?

[CX-7owner]

When you buy tires from them it's free at some places, when you don't, someone like discounttire will charge about 48.00 for the lifetime of your tires.

Oh and they should be rotated every 5,000 miles and balanced every 10,000 miles.

[Killer]

Tire Kingdom rotates free if you buy the tires there.

[cruzdreamer]

OOps...19,000 miles and ticking and no rotation done yet.....at least I don't recall it being done...though dealer says I have 50% wear on my tires already.

[erhayes]

I usually do the first two at 6 and 12,000 miles. Then I rotate when I measure a tread depth difference of 2/32 inch. That equates to the maximum circumference difference that AWD Subaru allows but, I do it on my FWD CX7 the same way out of habit. If the tires are running smooth and absolutely no shake, then no wheel balancing needed IMO. If I rotate and balance every 5-6,000 miles, I will have bought 2 new tires in unnecessary maintenance.

[kleung]

Wal-mart says they do lifetime balancing (and rotation according to the lady on the phone) for about $7.5 per tire. I'd probably go that route.

[AWmustang]

I have it done every 7500 with the oil changes. Just don't have time to bring it in for those services separately, plus if you have them done together you can usually get a deal.

Not sure I'd trust Wal-mart with my car.

[kleung]

AWmustang, why the distrust of Wal-mart? They sell crappy consumer products, maybe. But their tire center, just like costco's, handles tires all day along. I'd trust that over some mechanic shops. Where do you do it at?

[AWmustang]

AWmustang, why the distrust of Wal-mart? They sell crappy consumer products, maybe. But their tire center, just like costco's, handles tires all day along. I'd trust that over some mechanic shops. Where do you do it at?

Took it to the dealer for the only one i've had so far. Previous cars, I've done the rotation myself. But it's just so time consuming if you can't lift the whole car up at once.

My roomate's sister worked at at a Wal-mart and she has some horror stories about what those car center guys did.... or didn't do. but I suppose everyone can find horror stories about every place that works on cars.

[astraelraen]

I have a general distrust of taking my car anywhere to have anything done that I can't see or feel that they have done right.

If my shocks or brakes are screwed and I take it somewhere... obviously afterwards I can tell if its fixed.

If my tires need rotated or my oil needs changed... I can't directly see/feel if they have changed those things, so I generally do that maintenance myself.

Also, I'm afraid of liability. If (insert name here) forgets to screw my oil filter on all the way and my engine blows up I have no doubt they will eventually replace the engine. I also have no doubt they will create a hassle of claims/BS/anything else to disclaim liability during that process, which will also create tow truck bills and lost time at work, home, etc that I have to deal with that I can't get back.

For the simple things I'll take the peace of mind that I know the oil filter is on tight, etc.

[BlackCherry06]

I have a big reluctance to taking my car anywhere to get wheel work done. I've been down the warped rotor road and it wasn't fun. Lugnuts are not supposed to be tightened with an impact wrench. If I can stand by and watch them torque my wheels down to 85 ft/lbs, I'm cool with having it done, but since that seems to be too much to ask at most places, I jack 'er up and do it myself.

[mikomi]

I do tire rotations and oil changes at the same time, every 8,000km (~5,000 miles).

[joevac10]

How often do I need to rotate the stock tires? balance?
Does the warranty cover it? I suppose not. Do most tire places do it cheap?

Check out NTB, they usually charge $10 for a rotate.

[charlie32]

For the past 30 + yrs.--I never rotate IF they are wearing equal all
over. Why mess up a good thing ??(drinks)(drinks)

[mazdaspeed777]

You are supposed to or I guess I say it is suggested that you rotate your tires every 5,000 miles. That is what every mechanic, dealer, and manual has told me. As far as balancing your wheels it only needs to be done when you are feeling any steering wheel vibration, have added any weight to your wheels, and are sure that this is what is causing the vibration.

[altaski]

When tires ar mad ein teh mold, the lighter rubber goes to the outside of tread. This is a little softer than the deeper rubber. Thus rotate at 500 mi, 1,000 mi, 1,500 mi, and then 5,ooo there after. This allows the tire to wear evenly thru the soft part and get a good base in to the harder part. If you didn't rotate those first several times, the tire would wear poorly in the soft part and continue the life of the tire.