Rotating Tires

T

Timotee

Member

:

2007 Mazda 5 GS

• Oct 18, 2008

• #1

Good day to all!

Is it compulsory or necessary to have all four tires balanced after rotating them? (nailbyt)

Next question, do you simply rotate clockwise or do you exchange the rears with the fronts?

So sorry for the ignorant questions, I was hoping to learn and hear from your experiences.

Thanks in advance.

 

B

blacktalon13

Member

• Oct 18, 2008

• #2

rotate them front to back.. do u feel any vibration on the highway? if u do.. get them balance...

 

T

Timotee

Member

:

2007 Mazda 5 GS

• Oct 18, 2008

• #3

Thanks for the immediate reply my friend.

I am just on my 16k with my M5 and no vibration so far, I was hoping to rotate them myself and was thinking of switching the fronts with rears, same sides.

Thanks again for the tip!

 

C

coyfish

Member

• Oct 18, 2008

• #4

Ive got a speed 6. How often do you rotate?

 

H

HondaNoMore

Member

:

2003.5 MazdaSpeed Protege

• Oct 18, 2008

• #5

depending on tire style (directional, asymmetrical, not specified) and wear patterns are how i always rotate my tires. if the tires are cupping, i cross them, if not, straight front to back is the way to go. but ONLY cross them if they're NOT directional (obviously). as far as balancing goes, the more often you can have it done, the better. it may not have a huge effect on your tire life, but you will ride more comfortably and it may help prolong the life of your suspension components (wheel bearings, ball joints, etc.). most tire places will offer some kind of rotation warranty and some will include the balancing with it. if so, have them balanced every time they are rotated... if it doesn't cost anything extra, why not?

 

B

blacktalon13

Member

• Oct 19, 2008

• #6

i have just over 19K on my 08.. travel a lot during the summer... lots of fishing trip and casino trip... hahaha

 

J

jeebusm3

Member

:

yes

• Oct 19, 2008

• #7

I just rotated front to back. The tires aren't directional, but it shouldn't be necessary to rotate AND switch sides unless one side is wearing more, in which case you have another problem.

In any case, I rotated at around 8k miles. The fronts were worn evenly (if they were worn at all). The rears had a little more inner wear, as I expected.

If you aren't rotating every 7-8k on this car, expect to buy yourself new rears sooner than you want to because the insides will wear and you'll have rough, noisy, possibly dangerous tires....

I suspect it's a combination of negative camber and some toe in the rear.

 

L

LtScheiskopf

Member

• Oct 19, 2008

• #8

I just rotated mine, and made the mistake of doing it myself with the supplied jack. Probably the CHEESIEST jack I have ever had the displeasure of using. I hope I never get a flat on a deserted road at night!

 

H

HondaNoMore

Member

:

2003.5 MazdaSpeed Protege

• Oct 19, 2008

• #9

switching the tires side to side is only necessary if there is any cupping of the tire tread.... run your hand one way on the tire and then the other, if you can feel the tread catching your hand going one direction, the tires are cupping, and said tires should be crossed. as tires rotate the friction with the pavement pulls the leading edge of the tread block upwards. if you cross the tires, obviously they are rotating the opposite direction so the tread block will be forced into the pavement and reverse the cupping effect. as i said before, this will prolong your tire life and increase ride quality...

 

J

jeebusm3

Member

:

yes

• Oct 20, 2008

• #10

LtScheiskopf said:

I just rotated mine, and made the mistake of doing it myself with the supplied jack. Probably the CHEESIEST jack I have ever had the displeasure of using. I hope I never get a flat on a deserted road at night!

Click to expand...

I completely agree. The supplied jack is AWFUL.