The importance of rotating your tires

Rotating tires is one of the most important (and easiest) things you can do to prolong their service life. But why? Why is it so important?

It’s simple. Front and rear tires wear differently. Parallel parking, cornering, acceleration, three-point turns all put different stresses on the front and rear tires. Not rotating them means that they are going to show different wear patterns, which will affect their tread life and your car’s ride and handling.

Regular rotations mean that your tires will wear more evenly, and will improve your car’s drivability. Chances are you’ll notice a difference in ride and handling with every rotation. So how often should you rotate?

Every other oil change seems like a pretty good rule of thumb (in other words, every 7-10,000 miles). Doing rotations yourself in your driveway isn’t difficult, but it isn’t exactly fun either, as you’ll have to have all four wheels of the car safely elevated on jack stands as you rotate (remember, rotate front-to-rear, and don’t rotate right rear/left front or vice versa).

Most dealerships will offer free rotations for the life of the tire, as long as you bought the tires from that store; just make it easy on yourself and let the tire dealer do it. By doing so, you’ll easily extend the life of your tires by 20,000 miles or more.