Tip #86: Rotate your tires on the schedule in your owner's manual
Tire rotation evens out wear between the front and rear, which extends tire life and keeps the car predictable on wet roads. Your owner's manual gives the interval and the rotation pattern for your car.
Tip #86 in one line
Tire rotation evens out wear between the front and rear, which extends tire life and keeps the car predictable on wet roads. Your owner's manual gives the interval and the rotation pattern for your car.
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Call nowWhy tires wear unevenly
Front tires on most cars carry the weight of the engine and do the steering, and on front-wheel-drive cars they also put the power down. They wear faster than the rears. Left alone, a set ends up with two worn tires and two good ones, and you replace tires sooner than you need to.
Rotation moves the tires between positions so they wear at a similar rate. Many manufacturers recommend it every several thousand miles, often at the same time as an oil change, but the right interval and the right pattern are in your owner's manual. Some cars with different front and rear tire sizes, or directional tires, have limits on how they can be rotated.
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Call nowIt matters more on all-wheel drive
On all-wheel-drive vehicles, manufacturers often ask that all four tires stay closely matched in size and tread depth. Tires that wear unevenly can make the drivetrain work against itself. Rotating on schedule is the easiest way to keep them matched, and it is why some AWD owners are told to replace all four tires together.
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Call nowUse the visit to check the rest
When the tires are off, ask the shop to look at tread depth, uneven wear that might point to an alignment problem, sidewall damage from potholes and curbs, and the brakes. Have them check the spare's pressure too; it is the tire most often forgotten.
A tire that wears unevenly on the inside or outside edge is a sign the alignment is off. Fixing alignment early saves the next set.
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Call nowWhen a tire goes flat anyway
Potholes find even well-kept tires. If you get a flat, pull fully off the road, put the hazards on and call (908) 444-0129. A flat tire change puts your spare on at one flat price. If there is no usable spare, a local tow takes the car to the tire shop you choose. The flat tire change guide explains what to expect.
Pressure matters as much as rotation. Underinflated tires wear on the outside edges, overinflated ones wear in the center, and both handle worse in the rain. Check all four tires once a month, when they are cold, with a gauge, and set them to the figure on the door jamb placard, not the maximum printed on the sidewall. The tire pressure warning light on most cars only comes on when a tire is already well below the right pressure.
Seasonal swings in New Jersey change tire pressure too. Cold mornings in late fall often trigger the warning light on tires that were fine in September.
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Call nowMore on tires
Keep reading, or go back to every post on the blog.
- Flat tire on a New Jersey highway: what to do
- Tip #2: Cold weather lowers your tire pressure overnight
- Tip #13: Driving on a flat ruins the tire and the wheel within a short distance
- Tip #14: Find your spare, jack and wheel-lock key before you need them
- Tip #17: Run-flat tires buy you limited miles at limited speed, not a free pass
- Tip #22: The tire pressure light is a warning to check, not proof of a flat
- Tip #92: Check the spare tire's pressure, because a flat spare is no spare
- What to do when your car breaks down in New Jersey
- All posts
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