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Tyre rotations for passenger cars, SUVs and light commercial vehicles.
Regular tyre rotations are recommended to maximize tyre life. Most vehicle manufacturers recommend tyre rotations in the vehicle owner’s handbook and / or as part of regular service.
Tyre rotations are especially important to maximise tyre life on front-wheel-drive vehicles, where tyre wear rates for tyres fitted to the front axle typically have wear rates that are 2 to 2.5 faster compared to the wear rate for the rear tyres.
Rear tyres on front wheel drives need to be rotated to stop tyres from scalloping out and becoming noisey. Due to the lower wear rate on the rear tyres of front wheel drive vehicles they are quite often much older and have less grip than front tyres that may have been replaced 2 or 3 times. Fresh tyres are much safer.
For most vehicles, tyre rotations are recommended every 10,000 running kilometres, or as per your vehicle owner’s handbook recommendation.
Tyre rotations are also an opportunity for your tyre specialist or motor mechanic to check & adjust tyre inflation pressures, as well as to a chance to inspect the tyres for irregular wear that may indicate that wheel alignment needs adjustment and / or suspension components need careful inspection for wear.
Rotations are recommended for non-directional and asymmetric tyres, as shown below. This is our preferred method of rotation due to the fact that all tyres end up in every position on the vehicle depending on tyre longevity. Reversing the direction of rotation of non-directional or asymmetric tyres will not damage the tyres.
Tyres with directional tread patterns should be rotated from the front to the rear axle only. Rotating directional tyres diagonally will reverse the direction of rotation, which should be avoided. Reversing the direction of rotation of directional tyres reduces the tyre’s resistance to aquaplaning.
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