5 tire rotation questions

[DT444T]

I rotate street tires at 5,000 km. Fronts go to the rear on the same side, rear go to the front on the opposite side. Spare comes down every spring for a cleaning, inspection and oil spray.

Jeez, do you get your tires rotated between trips getting them rotated? This seems like WAY too often.

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[Racket]

Discount Tire also recommends replacing any tires that are 6 years old. This nixes leaving the spare up under there forever.

I'm about to replace my factory tires and am at about 25K miles - almost two years old. Clearly I'm not getting six years out if the stock set, though I intend to switch to Michelens- already have a spare Lariat rim with the Ford TPMS and one mounted. If I travel and have to change tires I don't want to feel restricted due to an oddball wheel. Return on investment is not the top reason to do this.

 

[JACKSMYDOG]

Jeez, do you get your tires rotated between trips getting them rotated? This seems like WAY too often.

No trip to do it. Floor jack, cordless impact gun, 20 minutes in the driveway.

WAY too often... for what? Arguably every aspect of lifespan, performance and fuel mileage are served from lower mileage rotation.

I've been doing 5KM changes for over 30 years, and very happy with the result. YMMV

 

[charwest]

A five tire rotation is one of those things that seems to over complicate life for the benefit received.

i think that depends on how likely you feel you are to need the spare, and how far from the tire store you will be when you blow a sidewall.

we go offroading and 'overlanding' a fair bit and we are happy to have a matching fifth tire in case we need it. i want to buy a matching rim with TPMS so i can start a 5th wheel rotation but they arent available here.

advantages are numerous. disadvantage is that tire rotation is going to take an additional five minutes per rotation, every what- 6-12 months?

when i did the napkin calculations, based on our relatively expensive tires, i think the cost of the matching rim was offset within 35k miles of driving by the theoretical 20% improved tire life from incorporating an additional tire into the rotation, which sounds fine to me.

 

[dtech]

I have also had great experience with Discount Tire (America's Tire here). I only had 1 bad experience with them to date, but since I have used them for years and been very happy with their service, I let it go.

What happened was my wife took her car in because she had a slow leak, and for a rotate and balance. They found 2 tires had screws in them in areas that were not repairable. The tires had valid certs on them, but they claimed the screws were similar and both looked fairly new and decided they were not going to honor the certs, so I had to buy 2 tires. They would not budge. I wasn't happy, but I have taken all of my personal and business vehicles there for years and never had an issue like that, so I let it go.

water over the dam but did you contact their HQ in AZ at the time ? I did so when I was given a verbal price over the phone for 4 Michelins MVx4s, then when I went in to get them mounted the price was $100 higher - I contacted HQ and they provided me a price some $50 lower than the original verbal price - I think it was $300 for 4 tires and at the time I had 2 Saabs and 6 months later took the other one in and the price was the same - I was actually shocked.

Now my wife picked up a screw in the sidewall - ruined the tire, where she works they were building a new wing - I had her contact HR and make the case the screw was from the construction as she showed the HR person the screws and nails where she drove thru- I never buy the tire replacement certs but the hospital stepped up and paid to replace the tire - as they should have.

 

[Bludrok]

water over the dam but did you contact their HQ in AZ at the time ? I did so when I was given a verbal price over the phone for 4 Michelins MVx4s, then when I went in to get them mounted the price was $100 higher - I contacted HQ and they provided me a price some $50 lower than the original verbal price - I think it was $300 for 4 tires and at the time I had 2 Saabs and 6 months later took the other one in and the price was the same - I was actually shocked.

Now my wife picked up a screw in the sidewall - ruined the tire, where she works they were building a new wing - I had her contact HR and make the case the screw was from the construction as she showed the HR person the screws and nails where she drove thru- I never buy the tire replacement certs but the hospital stepped up and paid to replace the tire - as they should have.

No, I just let it go. It's been a year or so ago now, maybe a bit more.

 

[Colo_Ranger]

I'm about to replace my factory tires and am at about 25K miles - almost two years old. Clearly I'm not getting six years out if the stock set, though I intend to switch to Michelens- already have a spare Lariat rim with the Ford TPMS and one mounted. If I travel and have to change tires I don't want to feel restricted due to an oddball wheel. Return on investment is not the top reason to do this.

The tires put on at the factory are not the same as tires you'd buy after. There is no mileage warranty on OE tires. As for the 6 years, that's not how long you *should* get out of them, that's when the RMA (Rubber Manufacturer's Association) has determined most tires fail due to dry rotting and cracking. They had to assign a time frame after someone started a legal battle because they tires were old and failed but there wasn't anything that said they should be replaced. Americans love to sue and that means you have to have rules for everything.

 

[Radioman]

The tires put on at the factory are not the same as tires you'd buy after. There is no mileage warranty on OE tires. As for the 6 years, that's not how long you *should* get out of them, that's when the RMA (Rubber Manufacturer's Association) has determined most tires fail due to dry rotting and cracking. They had to assign a time frame after someone started a legal battle because they tires were old and failed but there wasn't anything that said they should be replaced. Americans love to sue and that means you have to have rules for everything.

Because of the low mileage I put on my three vehicles, I never replace them because I have worn them out, but because they are old. I will run the tires 7 - 8 years if they don't show signs of age.

 

[Joeiconic]

i think that depends on how likely you feel you are to need the spare, and how far from the tire store you will be when you blow a sidewall.

we go offroading and 'overlanding' a fair bit and we are happy to have a matching fifth tire in case we need it. i want to buy a matching rim with TPMS so i can start a 5th wheel rotation but they arent available here.

Huh? Of course. Who doesn’t want a serviceable spare? I don’t think that was the question. In any event, a non-rotated spare saves the day the same as a rotated one.

 

[Bludrok]

One thing to consider with rotating your fifth spare is mileage warranty.

Lets say you buy tires with 50,000 mile warranty and rotate every 5000 miles. Tires are rotated 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (being the spare tire, let me know if that doesn't make sense)

At 5,000 car miles, tires 1, 2, 3, and 4 have 5,000 miles. Tire 5 has 0.

At 10,000 car miles, tires 1, 2, and 3 have 10,000 miles. Tires 4 and 5 have 5,000.

At 15,000 car miles, tires 1 and 2 have 15,000 miles. Tires 3, 4 and 5 have 10,000.

At 20,000 car miles, tire 1 has 20,000 miles. Tires 2, 3, 4, and 5 have 15,000

At 25,000 car miles, all tires have 20k miles on them.

Now, repeat this out to 50,000 miles, and all tires will only have 40,000 miles on them, but your mileage warranty is now gone.

If they know you are doing a 5 tire rotation and adjust accoringly, none of this matters. If not, you are losing out on 20% of your mileage warranty.

Doesn't bother me either way, just keep that in mind.

 

[charwest]

One thing to consider with rotating your fifth spare is mileage warranty.

Lets say you buy tires with 50,000 mile warranty and rotate every 5000 miles. Tires are rotated 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (being the spare tire, let me know if that doesn't make sense)

At 5,000 car miles, tires 1, 2, 3, and 4 have 5,000 miles. Tire 5 has 0.

At 10,000 car miles, tires 1, 2, and 3 have 10,000 miles. Tires 4 and 5 have 5,000.

At 15,000 car miles, tires 1 and 2 have 15,000 miles. Tires 3, 4 and 5 have 10,000.

At 20,000 car miles, tire 1 has 20,000 miles. Tires 2, 3, 4, and 5 have 15,000

At 25,000 car miles, all tires have 20k miles on them.

Now, repeat this out to 50,000 miles, and all tires will only have 40,000 miles on them, but your mileage warranty is now gone.

If they know you are doing a 5 tire rotation and adjust accoringly, none of this matters. If not, you are losing out on 20% of your mileage warranty.

Doesn't bother me either way, just keep that in mind.

interesting point. i was assuming the warranty will be less than the life of the tire in typical use so it wouldnt matter. wouldnt know how it really pans out.

 

[charwest]

Huh? Of course. Who doesn’t want a serviceable spare? I don’t think that was the question. In any event, a non-rotated spare saves the day the same as a rotated one.

serviceable i guess is relative. imagine putting 25k on the tires, tearing sidewall in the backcountry, and then driving home 300 miles on the spare which is actually a different size now because it doesnt have any wear on it (becuase it was not incorporated into the rotation). how much it matters i dont know, but people say discrepancies in tire size matter at highway speeds and id rather not tempt fate.

 

[Bludrok]

interesting point. i was assuming the warranty will be less than the life of the tire in typical use so it wouldnt matter. wouldnt know how it really pans out.

Depends on how you drive. I tend to have a lead foot and go through tires well before the treadwear warranty is up.

 

[Joeiconic]

serviceable i guess is relative. imagine putting 25k on the tires, tearing sidewall in the backcountry, and then driving home 300 miles on the spare which is actually a different size now because it doesnt have any wear on it (becuase it was not incorporated into the rotation). how much it matters i dont know, but people say discrepancies in tire size matter at highway speeds and id rather not tempt fate.

When I have a flat, I put on my spare and head to a tire store at my first opportunity to remedy the situation. I get the flat tire fixed, or buy a new tire to match the spare (along with a new spare), or I buy a new pair or set of tires. I would not drive 300 miles without a spare if I could avoid it (the tempting fate thing). However, If circumstances require that I drive home on the new tire, that wouldn’t worry me much. You’re probably talking less than a quarter inch difference between new and half worn most cases and I don’t think our trucks are that fragile.

Obviously, there isn’t a right or wrong to the rotation question, this is just MY take on this.

 

[Racket]

One thing to consider with rotating your fifth spare is mileage warranty.

Lets say you buy tires with 50,000 mile warranty and rotate every 5000 miles. Tires are rotated 5, 4, 3, 2, 1 (being the spare tire, let me know if that doesn't make sense)

At 5,000 car miles, tires 1, 2, 3, and 4 have 5,000 miles. Tire 5 has 0.

At 10,000 car miles, tires 1, 2, and 3 have 10,000 miles. Tires 4 and 5 have 5,000.

At 15,000 car miles, tires 1 and 2 have 15,000 miles. Tires 3, 4 and 5 have 10,000.

At 20,000 car miles, tire 1 has 20,000 miles. Tires 2, 3, 4, and 5 have 15,000

At 25,000 car miles, all tires have 20k miles on them.

Now, repeat this out to 50,000 miles, and all tires will only have 40,000 miles on them, but your mileage warranty is now gone.

If they know you are doing a 5 tire rotation and adjust accoringly, none of this matters. If not, you are losing out on 20% of your mileage warranty.

Doesn't bother me either way, just keep that in mind.

I believe most tire warranties are pro-rated anyway. I see mileage 'guarantees' as an indication of design and manufacturing quality more than some over-optimistic duty cycle.

People using the truck for work will likely just use the spare when they get a flat they can't patch on the spot. Off road types - well, oversized tires are going to require a different solution.

I replaced a sedan with the truck because I needed a truck. I've been traveling a bit, hauling trailers up and down the East Coast and loads to the farmhouse.

My main rationale is if I'm on a trip and get a flat I don't want to be limited that day by a temp spare.

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