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It is no secret that all of us are trying to save a few bucks where we can. When it comes to car maintenance, there are many services that we can provide without help from a professional. One of those is tire rotation. The cost to rotate your tires ranges from $25 to $120 at most shops unless other deals or promotions are available. DIY tire rotation is possible if you know what you are doing and why it is important.

Is Tire Rotation Necessary?

To put it simply, tire rotation is important to ensure that your tires are evenly wearing. The majority of your car’s weight, usually around 60%, is at the front of your vehicle. Due to this weight distribution, your front tires wear down much quicker than your rear tires. To add to this, turning also wears your tires down. If your tires aren’t rotated after thousands of miles of wear, it could lead to needing to replace your tires early. Tire rotation enables you to save money by extending the life of your tire while also providing you with a safer and smoother ride.

Proper Tire Rotation

To ensure proper tire rotation on your vehicle, it’s important to have the right tools and to know whether your car has directional or non-directional tires. As far as tools go, you will need a car jack and jack stands to elevate your vehicle.

When it comes to the car jack, you should buy a good floor jack from an auto shop and not use the standard jack that comes with your car. The car jack that typically comes with your vehicle is not meant for ongoing work or tire rotation and is best used for replacing a tire if one blows out going down the road. Jack stands are another tool needed for a proper tire rotation that allows you to rest the car up a little higher to switch out the tires. Be sure to know your vehicle’s weight and purchase ack stands that will be able to support it.

Your car may have one of two types of tires - directional or non-directional. Directional tires have one-way tread patterns that make them only able to be used on either the left or the right side of the vehicle. There are little arrows (sometimes triangles) on the sidewalls of the tire to show which direction the tire should turn. Non-directional tires can be mounted on the wheel in any direction for rotation. These types of tires can switch sides of the vehicle during a tire rotation and are usually rotated in a criss-cross pattern. To ensure proper tire rotation, you must verify which tread pattern your car currently has.

How to Rotate Your tires

Let’s dive into how to rotate your tires yourself.

1. On a level surface, engage the parking brake on the vehicle.
2. Loosen the lug nuts on all of your wheels, but do not take them off.
3. With the car jack, lift up one wheel, placing a jack stand underneath the car behind the wheel, and repeat that process for the rest of the tires.
4. In order to keep track of where each tire was initially, use a crayon or chalk to mark the original location of each tire before removal.
5. If you have directional tires, swap the position of the front and back tires on the same side of the car (e.g. back left to the front left position). If you have non-directional tires, follow a criss-cross pattern, moving the back left tire to the front right position, and the back right tire to the front left position, and the front tires to their corresponding sides back position.
6. Place the tire back on the wheel mount, and hand screw in the lug nuts. Do not fully tighten the lug nuts just yet.
7. Lower your vehicle from the jack stands and use your lug wrench to fully tighten the lug nuts. (Tip: Tighten the lug nuts in a diagonal pattern to ensure even tightening.)
8. Repeat this process every 3,000 to 5,000 miles.

If this sounds like more work than you would like to do on your own, the professionals at Highland Tire can help. Call to make an appointment with us today.