Tire rotation...X pattern?

Are you 2wd guys using the first pattern for your tire rotation? I was trying to explain to my neighbor that it should be done that way normally.

 

use whatever pattern gets all four tires into different positions over 4 rotations.

don't over think.

the 3rd one is goofy. although if you watch discount tire, they use it often. lazy.

 

Our local Discount Tire will mark tires prior to removal, LR,LF and so on prior to balancing so they the rotation correct. They also balance every time they rotate all at no charge if you purchase with them or new vehicle.

 

Watch your dealerships too. That's what Toyota did on mine. I was pissed thinking they didn't do the rotation at all when I checked my TPMS the next day. Turns out they "rotated" them front to rear, and they said that was the Toyota policy. I told them it's a half assed rotation.

 

Hmmm… Front to back to front etc is what is in my manual. Now I wonder if I’m doing it wrong.

 

Unless you have uneven wear on one side due to an improper alignment, crossing them to the other side isn’t needed. In which case, get a proper alignment and your tires will wear evenly across the tread

 

Why is the third one goofy or lazy? If directional tires are involved, its the only choice without remounting and balancing. I recently rotated mine that way per the owners manual for the Tundra, but also vehicles in the past per theirs as well. I think the main idea is splitting time between front to rear, more than running a tire in the opposite direction for long life. Not a tire expert by any means, but havent had any tires give me issues this way. Also rebalancing occasionally is very important as well. Just my two cents.

 

You're doing fine. As Danman34 stated, as long as the alignment is good and no abnormal wear is noted, just follow the recommended rotation. Sure, if your alignment is out of whack and your tire is getting chewed up, it could be moved to the other side, just to chew the other tire up. Occasional rebalancing and frequent tire pressure checks are more important. How many people truly check tire pressures anymore with tpms?

 

The manual says front to back.

 

When I went to automotive shool in the 80's, they taught front to back. The theory was if you reverse the steel belts from their normal rotation they would start fraying. I'm sure modern tires have advanced past this.

 

No. 2 doesn't equate well to pattern / direction specific tread designs.

 

Directional treads use number 3. Number 2 is for FWD.

 

Manual says front to rear...same side.

 

Yep front to rear.

 

Not gonna curb all my wheels

 

Right, but does that apply after you've gone with aftermarket wheels and tires? Is Toyota's info based off a completely stock truck or does it account for the multitude of changes we are all making to them?

 

It only takes into account a proper alignment. Doesn’t matter if you have stock or aftermarket. If your alignment sucks, no amount of rotating will make them last as long or wear evenly as they should with a proper alignment.

 

I understand that proper alignment is important. Never doubted it and never thought that a crossing rotation would compensate for it. If you're alignment is effed, then your tires are gonna suffer. That's a dead horse at this point.

What I'm more concerned with is the fact that wider wheels/tires and different offsets directly affect how a tire is worn as the front suspension cycles. Things like scrub radius.

Maybe I'm just overthinking it. Even if I am, is there any negative effect of the crossover rotation? I don't think there is. Are there any benefits to the cross rotation? I can think of one pretty easily. We all know your alignment matters. Well, what if the alignment is in spec, but not perfect? You'd have very slow irregular wear that you might not be able to visually detect, and rotating the tires through all positions could help keep your tire wear more even in this situation.

Just thinking out loud here, and I'm super sleep deprived, so I might be totally full of shit. I can't tell right now.

 

I always go front to back

FUNNY QUOTE !

 

Just being honest. If I get some rest I might come back and reread what I posted and slap myself for being an asshat. Never know.

 

I had some block separation with the tires, once I swap them X pattern. A long time ago, after that I only go front to back

 

You’re over thinking it. Lol. The way the suspension cycles is due to the suspension/alignment. A wider tire isn’t going to change how the suspension articulates. I’ve driven over 140k miles on lifted trucks with bigger tires. Alignment and suspension components that aren’t past due is everything.

 

Look into scrub radius. Look at the pic below and they show some basic idea of it. Now, imaging if you put a different offset wheel on in the pic below. You're going to move the center line of the tire in or out, and you are going to have a positive or negative scrub radius. This IS going to affect how your vehicle handles things on the road. This is illustrated on the left side image.

 

I’m aware of that. Unless you are changing the spindle that results in a different hub face location, your turning radius isn’t gonna change. The illustration is also highly dramatic. A lower offset wheel isn’t going to instantly turn the vehicle into a dangerous vehicle to drive. Probably 80-90% of trucks on the road are running lower offset wheels and bigger tires. As long as you have a proper alignment ( camber, caster, toe), the tire will not wear and the truck won’t be darting on the road with excessive bump steer.

 

Not turning radius. SCRUB radius. At the size and weight of the tundra, it won't be super pronounced, but it can impact wear on the tires. Not to a huge degree, but as stated, the point of the cross rotation would be to handle small wear irregularities.

https://youtu.be/62X5saLLOds

 

I personally would just look at the tread wear pattern and let the tires tell you how they want to be rotated.