Is It really Necessary to Rotate Tires?

We've all heard that it is a good idea to rotate tires on your vehicle periodically. But, is this really necessary? Certainly there is room for other opinions, and the article that follows may open your eyes to another view. It may not really be necessary, and could cost you more in the long run. Skeptical? Read on.

Should You Rotate Your Tires?

Replacing the tires on your car can be an expensive proposition. With this in mind, most people understand they are supposed to rotate their tires every so often. Is this actually true?

The world of marketing is so pervasive these days that it is often hard to figure out what is good advice and what is a slogan dreamed up by some marketing whiz. Most people now know that they don't need to change their oil every 3,000 miles. Oils have become much more sophisticated and will easily last 5,000 miles or more. Synthetic oils are even better and will last 12,000, 15,000 or lord know how many miles.

When it comes to tire, we are told that a good car owner will rotate their tires. How often? It depends who you are talking to. Some say every 6,000 miles while other say 8,000 miles and yet some others say every 15,000 miles. The fact that there is not a universal figure should tell you something right away.

The decision to rotate your tires is one of preference. To understand why, you need to understand where the idea came from. Cars tend to settle and have natural driving profiles. This simply means that one or two tires are going to wear faster than others. A front wheel drive car, for instance, is going to do a number on the front tires faster than the back because those tires are both supplying the power to the ground and turning. The rear tires, in contrast, are barely doing anything.

In theory, you should be able to get more life out of the front tires if you rotate them to the back. This makes sense at first, but it is actually a red herring. How so? Well, think it through. You might get more life out of the rotated front tires, but you are just wearing out the tires you moved from the back to the front faster. Instead of eventually needing to replace the front two tires, all four tires are going to need to be replaced. There is little advantage in that.

Another factor to consider is the ride of your car. You know your car. It rides in a particular way, one you've become accustomed to. Sure, it might drift to the left, but you've learned to correct the drift without even thinking about it. Once you rotate the tires, you won't even recognize the car anymore. The ride will be different. It sounds insignificant, but I can't stand it. That's why I don't rotate my tires.

Should you rotate your tires? Have at it if you want to waste your time and money. You are still going to have to replace those tires. If they are wearing to fast, try to fix the cause of the problem instead - your alignment.

Dirk Gibson writes articles about auto parts and accessories for DCJAutoParts.com.