Rotating your tires is a simple and effective way to save money and keep your car rolling!
Introduction
We all want to get the most out of our vehicles, but we often overlook the simplest things— tire rotation chief among them. The process involves removing the wheel and tire from the hubs, and then moving them to a different location on the vehicle.
Generally speaking, the front tires wear out faster than the rear, and in a different way. The front tires will often show premature wear on the outermost edge of the tread due to cornering. Done regularly, tire rotation shares this burden among all the tires, since no one tire will occupy the most wear–prone positions for too long. It's important to note that premature wear in a particular area of your tire tread may indicate something amiss with your alignment. If you notice bald spots or flat spots, seek the help of a qualified alignment technician and also get new tires!
We are supposed to rotate our tires once a year, so if you haven't done it yet this season, get your lug wrench and jack stands out, it's time!
Tools Required
- Car jack
- Jack stands
- Lug wrench
- Permanent marker
- Portable air compressor
Project step-by-step (7)
Step 1
Determine Tire Direction
- Figure out if your tires are uni-directional or bidirectional.
- Unidirectional tires are meant to spin in one direction for maximum traction, while bidirectional tires can spin in either direction.
- Inspect the sidewall of any of your tires for a symbol referring to the direction.
- If the tire is bidirectional, it may not have a symbol. Uni-directional tires usually have an arrow embossed on the rubber, indicating the correct direction of travel.
Step 2
Prepare to Remove the Front Left Wheel
- Position a car jack under your vehicle near the front left wheel.
- Note: Many vehicles come with a compact jack stored in the trunk or elsewhere. If yours does, use it. If not, you’ll need to supply your own.
- Before raising the jack, make sure it is positioned somewhere solid on the vehicle’s frame. If you’re unsure where best to position it, check your vehicle owner’s manual or research online.
- Place a jack stand near the car jack.
Step 3
Remove the Front Left Wheel
- While the vehicle’s weight is still resting on the tire, slightly loosen the lug nuts on the wheel with the lug wrench. This makes the nuts easier to remove once the wheel is suspended in the air.
- Crank the jack up slowly until the tire no longer touches the ground.
- Loosen the lug nuts the rest of the way and remove them completely from the stud posts. Put them aside and lift the wheel off the hub.
- Place the jack stand under the axle and lower the car jack, allowing the vehicle to rest firmly on the stand.
Step 4
Remove the Second Wheel
- Determine if your tires are uni-directional or bidirectional. This will dictate which wheel you swap with.
- If you have uni-directional tires, remove the left rear; if they’re bidirectional, remove the right rear.
Step 5
Reattach Wheels in Opposite Positions
- Lift the wheel onto the stud bolts and thread one lug nut on by hand.
- Thread the rest of the lug nuts onto the bolts and tighten them by hand until you can’t turn them anymore. Ensure the round “nose” of the lug nut seats into the wheel.
- Lower the jack until the tire is in full contact with the ground, and remove it.
- With the lug wrench, tighten the lug nuts in a star pattern, ensuring they’re good and tight.
- Move the jack back to where you removed the first wheel, and raise the vehicle up enough to slide your wooden block out of the way.
- Tighten the lug nuts on the second wheel in the same way.
Step 6
Swap the Second Pair of Wheels and Check Tire Pressure
- Use your jack, jack stands, and lug wrench to repeat the same swapping process you did for the other two wheels.
- Double-check that all the lug nuts on all four wheels are fully tightened.
- Check the air pressure in each tire after rotation, and top them off with air if needed.
Step 7
Leave the Spare Alone
Unless you begin including your full-size spare tire in your tire rotation schedule when all your tires are brand new and you rotate your tires often, don’t include the spare. The full-size spare tire will often have a larger diameter than the tires that have been on the road their entire life, which means that the wheel and axle rotate at a dissimilar rate to the other tires. The result could be as simple as an imbalanced steering feel, but worse, this can lead to issues with all-wheel drive transmissions and transfer cases. In fact, this is why Subaru recommends replacing all four tires, even if just one goes irreparably flat.
The only spare tire many vehicles only come is affectionately referred to as the “danger donut”, so including this in tire rotation is a moot point. But as a rule, the spare tire should be just that — a spare.
