How Often Should You Rotate Your Car Tyres? The Simple Truth

Sometimes, the question pops into mind: do you need to rotate your tyres each month? Unless tyre-testing is your profession or you simply love seeing your mechanic, monthly tyre rotations would be overkill. For the average driver, long intervals are the norm. Let's take a look into how often you would really need to rotate your Cheap Tyres Bristol and why this could be important in terms of your vehicle and your budget. 

The Simple Rule for Tyre Rotation

The simple rule most automotive experts agree on is tyre rotation every 5,000 to 8,000 miles. So it, of course, negates the overhead of having to remember it monthly. Consider how many miles you normally drive in a month. The average driver does around 1,300 miles monthly; hence, you would be rotating your tyres primarily every four to six months, not every single month.

Rotating your tyres every month is as good as washing your hair thrice a day-it's really unnecessary and will likely create more problems!

Why Bother Rotating Tyres At All?

Then why would you even need to rotate the tyres? That's a perfectly valid query! The most widely acknowledged reasons are:

Better Wear-Durability

With regular tyre rotation, the much more uniform wear brings all four tyres a step further in life expectancy: the longer you put off buying replacements for any one of your tyres.

"Within the same vehicle, regular tyre rotation can extend the life of tyres by approximately 20 per cent," according to the tyre and Rubber Association. However, that is quite a bit of money considering the price of new tyres!

Increased Handling and Safety

Well, even tyres give superior grip on the road. These areas provide better control of your car when you suddenly stop or drive in rainy or snowy conditions. Uneven tyre wear will cause the car to pull to one side or feel wobbly when driving, not only annoying but dangerous too. 

Save Money in the Long Run 

While this cost might incur a bit in getting the tyres rotated, it accumulates over time. Your tyres may last 20 per cent longer, which is like getting one tyre for every four you buy free! Plus, many shops will rotate your tyres for free if you bought them there, or as part of regular service appointments.

Signs Your tyres Need Rotation

In addition to time or mileage intervals, tyres should also be analysed for the following signs indicating they need rotation:

• Imbalanced wear (some areas of the tyre exhibit more wear than others)

• Pulling or drifting of the automobile toward one side, such that it is perceptible to the driver on a straight, level road 

• Vibrations coming from odd sources might be felt within your vehicle while driving along the road 

• Noise coming from the tyres that progressively becomes louder

Any of these signs may indicate that it is time for a rotation, regardless of whether or not the recommended mileage has been achieved.

The Right Way to Rotate Tyres

If you know a thing or two about cars, you may consider doing this procedure yourself. But the common populace gets this done in a garage or a tyre shop. The following describes the usual pattern: 

• They will remove the four tyres from the vehicle

• They will switch locations for the tyres, following a particular pattern

• The new position of each tyre is installed and balanced accurately

The exact method used in a rotation relies on so many factors:

• Is the vehicle either front-wheel, rear-wheel, or all-wheel drive?

• Are the tyres directional (made to spin in either direction)?

• Are the front tyres different from the rear tyres in terms of size?

• These people know which pattern will be for your car and tyre combinations.

Making Tyre Rotations Part of Regular Maintenance

The most convenient method of engaging in tyre rotations is to include them as part of the routine maintenance of the vehicle.

Most people, however, tend to rotate tyres during engine oil changes, hence, you can consider applying that same schedule to tyre rotations, since in general, most oil changes occur at intervals of anywhere from 3,000 to 5,000 miles, although newer makes tend to stretch those intervals.

Certain service centres offer packages wherein one can get an oil change, tyre rotation, and basic inspection at once.

Conclusion:

Tyre rotation is one of those maintenance tasks for the car that is sweet-spot-perfect-not-too-frequent and a sufficient difference for yourself and your car when it comes to driving performance and cost.

Most drivers don't need monthly rotations, but skipping them entyrely isn't wise. For most people, the 5,000-to-8,000-mile rule works well.

When you think about tyre rotation, it is like going to the dentist- infrequent, but not avoidable, because it will be a problem later.

If you simply follow the guidelines in this article, your tyres will stay in good condition, you will be safe on the road, and you won't pay for premature replacements of your tyres. That's a triple-whammy win.

Remember: Your  Goodyear Tyres Bristol is the only part of your car that's ever supposed to touch the ground. Taking care of them is taking care of everything else as well.