The importance of rotating tires?

The measurements I took last oil change showed the front right tire wearing a little faster than the rest; maybe 1/32" less tread. I got a couple little circles and sometimes take left turns hard. It was 12k to18k miles since I last rotated them. Will do so next oil change. It will be warmer then.

 

Yes! And that's why I rotate my tires, so that they all wear down at the same time. When I don't rotate, the front will wear down faster than the rear tires.

 

I usually just replace all 4 since my previous lexus stated that it should be changed all at the same time.

 

From reading some of these posts, I think some may be confused between rotating tires vs changing tires. You rotate tires (usually front to back to ensure the tires will last as long as possible. You change tires when they wear out.

 

Rotate tires from the front two and move those to the rear. Rear tires come up to the front. Keep the tires on the same side you removed them.

I do them myself. Love doing it. I can remove rocks and inspect these bad boys. Plus do any nail repair or whatever. Why do all this myself you ask?

Tires are just the #1 thing you need. They give you everything. Plus the fronts will wear out faster then the rear tires do. If you want to keep the car riding smooth and straight, rotate the tires every 5,000 miles.

If you didn't rotate the front tires and you let them wear out faster then the rear tires, then what will happen is as the tires wear down, they will start to track and pull faster then the ones with the meatier tread.

The tires with more tread tend to drive straighter and be less susceptible to pull from the dips and potholes on the road. I don't know why but they just are. I am not using the 195/65 R15 though. I ride on 225/45 R17 bad boys and I can tell when the car is riding good versus bad.

And tires with less tread on them tend to be less straight and more swirly feeling. That is why I rotate mine on the dot. Do it myself too to ensure EVEN mounting.

 

If you've got snow tires in the equation, tire rotation happens in the process of swapping between the two sets. Toyota recommends to keep them on the same side (which is mandatory, for our directional snows): that's a new one for me, but I've stuck with that.

 

I was starting to feel the same way... that people were confusing tire replacement with changing tires.