Car done 5k mls, due service. Is it worth asking to get tyre’s rotated? 
 

( my ford dealer will no doubt want £150/hr in which case ………) 

31 minutes ago, Andyr55 said:

Car done 5k mls, due service. Is it worth asking to get tyre’s rotated? 
 

( my ford dealer will no doubt want £150/hr in which case ………) 

In 40 years of motoring, I have never had my tires rotated. There are 100s of specialist tire fitters dotted around the country without lining the pockets of Ford, if you feel that strongly about rotation...

I'd say no...  I wrecked a half worn set of tyres by rotating them.  Tyres don't wear evenly in the real world.  Swapping them about just creates another area of wear instead of evening out the original wear.

I have rotated when I feel the need.  Eg if a front one is wearing down one side and the back ones don’t then I will move that front one to the back to get the most out of each tyre. To assist in this I won’t buy tyres with directional arrows on.  I wouldn’t pay anyone to do it for me. That would probably cost more than any benefit. 

For optimal tyre life you should always rotate.I had my Honda HRV Hybrid in for a wheel alignment check(car has 5,400 kms on the odo) W/A was out a touch,& you could just see the feathering starting on the front tyres,which are Michelin Primacy4.Front to back they go.Cost?$66.00(£37.00) Generally they recommend every 10,000kms.I have just put a set of Continental Premium contact 2 on my Fiesta Ecoboost.It goes in for a check in 3-6 months(they don’t charge either).Preventive maintenance is the key.For those of you who say rotating is not needed, you are dead wrong.All about maximising your tyre life.It evens out tyre wear.(fact) With modern cars it does not take much to throw a W/A out.

13 hours ago, Hackney said:

...For those of you who say rotating is not needed, you are dead wrong...

Oh no we're not! LOL 

The main point about rotating wheels to even out tyre wear is that you're then faced with replacing all four within a short time. Of course if you're just trying to eke out the tyres before selling on it would make sense but for most people it's preferable to only have to replace a pair.

For anyone Interested this is a direct copy from my Owners Handbook, other owners handbooks may vary.

To make sure the front and rear tires of your vehicle wear evenly and last longer, we recommend that you swap the tires from front to rear and vice versa at regular intervals between 3000 mi (5,000 km) and 6000 mi (10,000 km). 

 

3 hours ago, Tizer said:

...we recommend that you swap the tires from front to rear...

Yep, the government 'recommended' that I cover my face with a piece of wide mesh cotton recently, I took no notice of them either! 

If you are seeing visible feathering at 5k I'd be more worried that the alignment is out and not about rotation the tyres. Other than that it could be your driving style such as scrubbing the tyres by turning the wheel when its stationary or taking bends too tight/ fast ? 

It a bit like those people who put new tyres on the front when buying in pairs. When in fact they should be put on the rear. The idea of rotating front to rear regular is for all tyres to wear at approx the same rate therefore the grip is balanced when driving in slippery ,braking , cornering conditions. What you don't want is 6mm on the front and 3 mm on the rear. Ideal to have all tyres about the same . Rotating frequently will ensure fairly equal tread depths. 

1 minute ago, Wino said:

If you are seeing visible feathering at 5k I'd be more worried that the alignment is out and not about rotation the tyres. Other than that it could be your driving style such as scrubbing the tyres by turning the wheel when its stationary or taking bends too tight/ fast ? 

My journey to work and back involves alot of bends on rural roads, that took its toll on the front tyre edges on my Mondeo. But feathering was only noticeable after 12 k or so. 

8 hours ago, Tizer said:

For anyone Interested this is a direct copy from my Owners Handbook, other owners handbooks may vary.

To make sure the front and rear tires of your vehicle wear evenly and last longer, we recommend that you swap the tires from front to rear and vice versa at regular intervals between 3000 mi (5,000 km) and 6000 mi (10,000 km). 

 

As I was saying.Thank you! 

5 hours ago, iantt said:

My journey to work and back involves alot of bends on rural roads, that took its toll on the front tyre edges on my Mondeo. But feathering was only noticeable after 12 k or so. 

Also being FWD does not help.This is why rotating tyres(& balancing) is important.

I had two new tyres fitted last week to replace the unknown name rear ones that came with the car. One of them was showing cracking at only five years old. The other was dated 2013 but looked less degraded. Both still had plenty of tread left.

I had the front two cheap tyres replaced after my MOT last year as they were quite worn. I chose Dunlop SportBlu response then as these were the cheapest known brand tyres my usual place had in stock. 

This time I thought it made sense to ask them to move the one year old front ones to the rear, as the front tyres wear quicker on a front wheel drive car.

These tyres have gone up a lot in price in a year. Last year the bill was £144 inc VAT for both balanced and fitted. This year it was £211 for two of exactly the same tyres.

 

On 2/11/2023 at 2:08 PM, iantt said:

It a bit like those people who put new tyres on the front when buying in pairs. When in fact they should be put on the rear. The idea of rotating front to rear regular is for all tyres to wear at approx the same rate therefore the grip is balanced when driving in slippery ,braking , cornering conditions. What you don't want is 6mm on the front and 3 mm on the rear. Ideal to have all tyres about the same . Rotating frequently will ensure fairly equal tread depths. 

COSTCO have a policy that if you are buying less than a full set of new tyres, they will only fit them to the rear.