Depending on the type of vehicle and where the tyre is mounted on the vehicle, each tyre will naturally wear at different rates. Tyre rotation is one of the maintenance procedures that helps extends the tread life of the tyres. Here is the complete tyre rotation guide to help you know all about tyre rotation.

What Is Tyre Rotation?

Tyre rotation is the process of relocating the tyres around the vehicle in certain patterns to ensure that they wear evenly and have the longest potential life. It’s a common but an important maintenance procedure that helps improve the performance of your tyres while increasing their lifespan.

Why Is Tyre Rotation Important?

Over a period of time your tyres wear unevenly based on your driving patterns, weather conditions, vehicle type, and other factors. Rotating the tyres helps even out tyre wear caused due to these various factors. For eg, consider a front wheel drive vehicle. In this vehicle type front tyres wear out faster than rear tyres because they are subjected to additional stress. If the position of the tyres are periodically interchanged (based on pattern explained below), then all four tyres will wear evenly and you will experience less noise and better handling. Also even tyre wear means prolonged tyre life. It also results in improved grip, ultimately enhancing the safety.

When to Rotate Car Tyres?

Most tyre manufacturers require you to have your tyres rotated at recommended intervals. Not doing so can void your tyre warranty. How often you should rotate your tyres depends on when and how the tyres have been used, driving habits, road conditions etc.  However, it is generally done every 6 months or 10000 kms. You can find the rotation interval specific to your vehicle given by the manufacturer in your owner’s manual.

Which of the Different Tyre Rotation Patterns Should You Consider?

There are different tyre rotation patterns. Which one you select depends on the following factors:

• type of your tyres  - your tyres would either be directional or non-directional
• the vehicle drive type - your vehicle drive type would be either four wheel drive, all wheel drive, front wheel drive or rear wheel drive.
• staggered fitment tyres – different size tyres on the front compared to the rear
• use of a regular full-size spare tyre

Directional Tyres

If your tyres are directional, the only method to rotate them is to move the rear tyres to the front and the front tyres to the rear axle on the same side, regardless of the vehicle type. In the case of directional tyres, you cannot crisscross their positions. This is because directional tyres are designed to roll only in one direction and the direction in which they roll is indicated with an arrow mark on the sidewall.

Non-Directional Tyres

If your tyres are non-directional, which is the case for most vehicles, then you have to consider your vehicle type - front wheel drive, rear wheel drive, four wheel drive and all wheel drive.

Front wheel drive

For a front wheel drive vehicle, the tyres can be rotated to form a forward cross. This pattern is called as  forward cross pattern. This meaning that the front tyres go directly to the rear on the same side, and the rear tyres move straight to the front on the opposite side, making a forward cross. You can also use the X-pattern in this case. In an X-pattern the front tyres move on opposing sides of the rear axle, while the rear tyres move on opposite sides of the front axle.

Rear wheel, four wheel and all wheel drive

In this case the tyres have to be rotated in a rearward pattern. This implies that the rear tyres are moved directly to the front on the same side of the axle, and the front tyres move to the rear on opposing sides of the axle. In this case too, the X-pattern can be used.

Additional tyre rotation pattern is used in case of different size tyres - Side-to-side pattern

The side-to-side rotation pattern is applied when the front axle tyres are of a different size than the rear axle tyres and are non-directional. As the name implies, in this configuration the left side tyre on the same axle is replaced with the right side tyre.

Along with the four tyres, if you have a regular full size spare tyre, make sure you include it in your tyre rotation procedure. This will help all tyres including the spare to wear evenly.

A professional tyre technician will thoroughly check your tyres and vehicle to choose the rotation pattern that best suits your vehicle. You can easily consult a tyre expert at the trusted TYREPLUS tyre shop near you and get your tyres rotated the right way!