Rotating tires is an important part of car maintenance. Tire wear will be even if you rotate each tire and wheel on an axle. This results in almost always equal traction and handling over time. Many tire warranties require that tires are rotated according to a certain mileage schedule. Many tire manufacturers recommend that tires be rotated every 3,000 to 5,000 miles. Balance of tires It is possible to make each tire work in all four wheel positions, which helps reduce tire wear. This can’t compensate for tire wear due to worn or defective mechanical parts or incorrect inflation. Remember that the mechanical components of a motor vehicle are often more complicated than those at the rear. In a front-wheel-drive vehicle, for example, the tires are responsible for steering, stopping, moving up or down, and pulling the vehicle forward. You’ll find the rear tires are subject to more abuse in a high-performance rear wheel-drive car. All-wheel-drive vehicles as well as four-by-four cars bring their own tire wear characteristics to the table. Bottom line: No matter the vehicle, wheel position can have a different rate of tire wear. Replacing four versus two The tread depth decreases as a tire wears. You can replace all four tires at once if they wear out at the same time. This is far more convenient than replacing tires in pairs. You’ll have the same amount of rubber on each corner. You should also consider the fact that manufacturers constantly release new and improved tire designs. Your tires may become obsolete as they age. You could end up with mixed tires technology, which can negatively impact the performance of your vehicle’s engine. Tire rotation pattern Although it’s all good so far, tire rotation isn’t as easy as it used to be a few decades back. Back in the day, cars had identical wheels and tires at all four corners. The spare was also full-sized and matched the road wheels. This combination is difficult to find today. There are space-saving spares, spare tires mounted onto dedicated steel wheels (with most of the rolling stock on aluminum), different wheel offsets and sizes rear and front, mixed tire sizes, etc. The rotation process is different because of this. Let’s take a look at the various tire rotation patterns. Four identical-sized tires, non-directional There are three types of four-tire rotation patterns that are most common if the tires are not directional and the wheels and tires are the same size.

1. Front-wheel drive: Turn the tires in a forward crossing pattern. This means that the left side of the tire will go to the right rear, and the right side to the left. The right rear is to the left, and the left rear to the right.
2. Rear-wheel or AWD/four wheel drive: Left rear goes towards the right front. The right rear goes to the left side. The left front goes to the right rear. The left front is to the right rear.
3. (Alternate). Rear-wheel drive, AWD/four-wheel driving : The left rear goes to the left front. The right rear is the right front. The right front is the left. The left front is to the left rear.

Different directional tires of different sizes or offsets What happens if the vehicle has different-sized directional wheels and tires? Or wheels with different offsets (wheel rearspace)? To rotate tires, you will need to dismount, remount, and rebalance the tires. These are four other common rotation patterns:

1. Same-size directional tires and wheels: The left side goes to the left rear. The left rear is the opposite of the left front. The right front is the right rear. The right rear is the right front.
2. Different-sized directional tires with other-size wheels: Tires should be removed and remounted on the correct wheel/direction.
3. Non-directional tires and wheels with different sizes frontally and rearly: The left side goes to the right. The left front is the right. The right rear is the left rear. The right rear is the left rear.
4. Five-tire rotating: In the past, five-tire rotations were possible simply because the spare was large enough. Today, this is not the case. Many light trucks have spare wheels that don’t match the combination of drive wheels. However, if the spare wheel matches the tires and drive wheels, and the tires are all the same size, you can do a five-tire/wheel turn as follows:

Front-wheel drive The left rear goes to the left front. The right rear goes to the left front. The left rear is the right front. The spare goes to right rear. The spare goes to the right front. Four-wheel drive, rear-wheel drive. The left rear is connected to the left front. The spare goes to the left front. The spare goes to right rear. The right rear is to the right front. The left front is the right rear. This is done to evenly distribute the wear across five tires over their entire life. This is especially important for all-wheel-drive vehicles, as all tires, even the spare, can be worn exactly the same way.

It’s not always so simple
Tire rotation seems easy enough. The Camaro is an excellent example. Although the front and rear tires are similar in size, they cannot be swapped from one axle to another. Here’s why.

These wheels look almost identical but are not. The wheel offsets (backspace) at the front of the car (first photo) are different from those at the rear (second photograph). Plus, the tires are directional. There is not much choice in tire rotation with cars like these. You will need to remove the tires and mount them on the correct side of your car in the right direction.

A common pickup truck allows for simple four-wheel or five-wheel rotation. A five-wheel rotation with the spare tire mounted on a steel wheel can be tricky (and this truck has chrome-clad aluminum wheels). To keep things looking great, you will need to remove the spare tire and replace it with the last one in the five-tire rotation.

This may still seem confusing, but it is possible! For a list of recommended tire combinations, consult the owner’s guide.