Car Articles

Tyre rotation is a significant initiative taken for tyre care that further improves tyre life and performance. It is mainly defined as the practice of swapping the front car tyres with the rear tyres at regular interval of time. The key purpose of the practice is to achieve uniform wear and tear on all car tyres.

Tyre rotation is very essential for all types of vehicles as tyre is the only point of contact between the vehicle and the road and it needs to be taken good care of. With four-wheel drive vehicles the practise of swapping car tyres becomes even more significant and necessary as in such vehicles most of the pressure is laid on the front wheels. When a car is being driven, it generates various forces including the steering force, braking force, and the driving force. All these forces act upon the front wheels in case of a four-wheel drive car and only the braking force acts upon the rear wheels. With the passage of time this heavy pressure on the front wheels reduces the performance because of excessive wear and tear on the wheels. It also results in poor handling and reduced traction. So, if regular rotation is not done the front wheels will get damaged much earlier as compared to the rear wheels and even the performance of the car will get hampered.

There are many different types of tyres found in the automobile industry and they all require different care and maintenance. Even the practise of tyre rotation follows different principles for different types of tyres.

If the tyres are non-directional then it can be rotated in any direction but if the tyres are directional then rotation can be done only in one direction. In case of directional tyres, tyre manufacturers always imprint an arrow on the sidewall of the tyre to specify which direction the tyre should be rotated. In case of directional tyres wet grip, directional stability, and handling is improved only if tyres are rotated in the specified direction. Apart from these, there are certain tyres that are positioned specific and hence they should not be rotated. If in case rotation is required in such tyres the car owner should consult the manufacturer before doing so. In many cases the owner’s manual also specifies the method and interval of tyre rotation.

Normally, tyres should be rotated every 5,000 to 10,000 kms based on the conditions of the tyres or on the recommendation by the car manufacturer.

Tyre rotation can be done in many different patterns depending on the types and specifications of tyres. Explained below are some of the most common methods of tyre rotation:

• Cross Rotation: This is one of the most common methods of tyre rotation for non-directional tyres. This pattern can be followed for both front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles. In such a pattern free rolling tyres are crossed with each other and installed to the drive axle whereas the tyres on the drive axle are interchanged without any crossing and fitted on the free rolling axle. In other words, both the rear wheels are crossed with the front wheels and the front wheels are fitted on the rear axle without any kind of crossing.