How to Do a Tire Rotation

If you’re itching to perform some DIY car care, learning how to do a tire rotation is the perfect task to take on. Whether you’re performing it yourself or stopping by a Milford-area service center, regular tire rotations are necessary as they improve your traction and extend the life of your tires. Learn how often to rotate your tires and other tire care tips with Kent County Motors.

What is the Importance of a Tire Rotation?

From the uneven roads around Smyrna to our own driving habits, there are many factors that affect how tires wear. As you turn around town, the impact on the outer edges of the front tires shows more wear than the amount that the rear tires see. This means you’ll find yourself replacing one set of tires sooner than the other.

How Often to Rotate Tires

As you may expect, your vehicle’s capabilities can affect how often to rotate your tires. Vehicles with front- or rear-wheel drive should have their tires rotated every 5,000-7,500 miles. However, since all-wheel drive vehicles can have power sent to all wheels, they require more frequent changes every 3,000-5,000 miles. Be sure to check your owner’s manual for more specific recommendations.

How to Rotate Tires: Front- and Rear-Wheel Drive

Learning how to do a tire rotation is relatively easy, but it is important to understand the tire rotation pattern first:

• FWD Tires: Perform the rotation by moving the front tires to the back of the car in the same left/right positions. However, as you move the rear tires to the front, you’ll need to swap the left and right positions.
• RWD Tires: The opposite is true for RWD tires. As the rear tires move to the front of the car, they’re kept in the same left/right positions. When the front tires move to the back of the vehicle, they’ll switch left and right positions.

How to Rotate Tires: Performing the Rotation

To properly rotate your tires, you’ll need a car jack, lug nut wrench, and a set of car jack stands. Once you’ve collected all the necessary tools, follow these simple steps for how to rotate tires:

1. For safety, make sure your parking brake is engaged.
2. Go around loosening the lug nuts on each wheel, but don’t take them all the way off. Loosen the lug nuts on all four wheels, but don’t take them all the way off. This helps make unscrewing them easier when the vehicle is lifted.
3. Use a car jack to lift one wheel and place a jack stand underneath it.
4. Begin removing the tires one by one.
5. While the tires are off, make sure they are filled to the proper tire pressure recommended for your vehicle, then, rotate them according to the pattern mentioned above. You’re then ready to place the tires back on the wheel mount and screw the lug nuts on by hand as far as you can.
6. When you lower the car the jack stands, use a lug wrench to finish tightening the nuts. Work in a diagonal pattern to ensure the lug nuts are evenly tightening. It can cause the brake rotor to warp if they aren’t tightened evenly.

Turn to the Kent County Motors Service Center!

If you don’t have the time to perform a tire rotation at your Middletown-area home, trust the certified technicians in the Kent County Motors service center and easily schedule service online. Be sure to take advantage of our service specials so you can save on your next visit or save on the parts you need to take care of your vehicle.