Why It Is Important to Rotate Your Tires?

Why It Is Important to Rotate Your Tires?

By Ron Haugen

Rotating your vehicle's tires is a key component to proper vehicle operation. Improper wear on your tires can decrease fuel economy, cause your vehicle's suspension to wear down, and impair vehicle responsiveness in dangerous driving conditions. Let's touch on each of those topics to learn more about the importance of rotating your tires regularly, and properly.

Most vehicle and tire manufacturers recommend rotating your tires every 5,000 to 6,000 miles. There are many factors that can cause uneven wear and tear on your tires. Many of them have nothing to do with the quality of the actual tire purchased. For example, if your vehicle is front-wheel drive, this will cause your front tires to do the bulk of the work. Regularly rotating the front and back tires will even out the wear and tear on each tire. If you fail to rotate your tires regularly, you will begin to see degradation in the vehicle's overall fuel performance at the pump; effectively flushing money down the drain just by failing to perform regular maintenance and care.

Additionally, your vehicle's suspension and type of alignment will play heavily into how your tires wear in normal, everyday driving conditions. Certain suspension types result in varying tugs and pulls on your tires as you brake and accelerate. Routine tire rotation will even out the effects of your vehicle's suspension on the tires. As an added benefit, regular tire rotation will make driving your car more pleasurable. You will find that with routine rotations, you don't have to fight the steering wheel as much to drive. The car is more responsive and seems to handle better. You've heard the phrase "it corners like it's on rails." Well, let's not try that - but the gist here is that your car seems to respond to your every whim and command effortlessly. Now that's performance!

Speaking of responsiveness and performance, in dangerous driving conditions such as high winds, flash floods, snow storms, or just roads that are beat up with potholes, regular tire rotation is critical to your vehicle's performance. Even the slightest delay in response to turning suddenly or braking quickly can be the difference between a life and death situation. You are commanding a thousand pound machine to keep you and your loved ones safe. It is important to treat it with the respect it deserves. The research behind slower response times on worn tires is massive. It's not a risk worth taking.

Regular tire rotation will extend the overall life of your tires - therefore saving you money in the long run. As we've reviewed the reasons for making this the one maintenance checklist item you never skip can mean many happy years of driving your car safely and pleasurably.

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