How to Rotate Tires at Home

Whether you decide to come into our service center near Prescott, or you want to know how to rotate tires yourself, making sure you keep up with it is an important part of routine maintenance. Proper tire rotation on a regular basis can provide you with better traction while you’re on the road near Zumbrota, as well as extend the life of your tires. Follow our guide on how to rotate tires, so that you can stay on the road as long as possible. Or you can schedule service online, and we’ll take care of it for you.

Why is Proper Tire Rotation Important for Your Vehicle?

Driving habits and road conditions can cause tires to wear unevenly, resulting in blowouts being more common. Thanks to the impact that tires experience while turning, the outside edges on the front tires will wear at a greater rate than the rear wheels. This also means that if you leave your tires in place, without proper tire rotations, you are more likely to have to replace them sooner rather than later.

How Often Should Tires Be Rotated?

Front- and rear-wheel drive vehicles generally need to have their tires rotated over 5-7,000 miles. All-wheel drive vehicles however have a unique way of applying wear to their tires, and thus if you are learning how to do a tire rotation at home, you’re going to want to do so every 3,000 to 5,000 miles to account for accelerated wear and tear. As with any vehicle’s service, checking your owner’s manual is the best way to get specific recommendations.

Knowing the Importance of Tire Position

• FWD Tires: When it comes time to move the rear tires to the front, you must switch the right and left tires. You can move the front tires to the back of the car in the same left/right positions.
• RWD Tires: The opposite is true with RWD vehicles. The rear tires can be moved to the front of the car in the same left/right positions, but when you move the front tires to the rear, you need to switch the left and right tires.

How to Rotate Your Tires at Home

If you want to learn how to do a tire rotation yourself, then you’re going to need a car jack, lug nut wrench, and a set of car jacks. Once you have those tools, the steps are quite easy.

1. Engage your parking brake as a safety precaution.
2. Loosen the lug nuts on all four wheels, but don’t take them all the way off. This step makes unscrewing them when the tire is elevated much easier.
3. Lift one wheel with a car jack and place the jack stand underneath it.
4. Remove the tires one by one.
5. Make sure your tires have the proper tire pressure. Rotate them according to the appropriate pattern for your vehicle’s drive style. Place the tire back onto the wheel mount and screw the lug nuts on by hand as far as you can.
6. Lower the car from the jack stands and use the lug wrench to finish tightening the nuts. It’s best to work the lug nuts diagonally from one to another in a star pattern to ensure even tightening. If the lug nuts aren’t tightened evenly it can cause the brake rotor to warp.

Get Your Tires Rotated at Red Wing Chevrolet Buick

Now that you know how to do a tire rotation, but still don’t feel comfortable doing it then rely on Red Wing Chevrolet Buick. Simply contact us with any questions or concerns you might have. Don’t forget to view our service specials, to make sure you’re getting a great deal on your routine maintenance near Cannon Falls.