Silly question about tire rotation....

[98 SNAKE EATER]

OK, when I bought my rig, the dealer installed a brand new set of Toyo Proxy street rubber

Because they were uni-directional, I was forced to do front to back/back to front rotation

Now I have a set of BFG MT's and I'm about to do my first rotation (including the spare)

I was gunna follow the diagram in the manual, but the left front tire (the one the diagram says to stick in the spare holder) seems to have the least amount of tread wear

The alignment specs are spot on, so this has me wondering if the rotation is the same for the RHD rigs overseas

Anyone happen to know if the rotation diagram is the same?

I figure it should be a mirrored image since they would be dealing with an opposite road crown

[tblume]

there are no silly questions.












silly answers, yes.

I just mounted up 5 BFG MT's, still thinking how often and how I'll rotate in the spare, prolly just put #5 in in the spot with the most wear, and put the most worn one in the back for next go round; I'll do rotating every oil change- I use semi synthetic, change my filter at 3 and oil and filter at 6, so every three or so I'll change tires.

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Well, here's what I have in the owners manual:




But according to THIS THREAD, the proper rotation seems to vary from manual to manual

[tblume]

measure twice; rotate once

[snowwolf]

I have just come home ofter quite a few beers and can't get my head around rotaion, what if you dont have a spare! how would you do the rotaion?

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Originally Posted by snowwolf

I have just come home ofter quite a few beers and can't get my head around rotaion, what if you dont have a spare! how would you do the rotaion?

That depends if the tires are uni-directional or not

If they are, then you have no choice but to rotate front to back/back to front (that is, unless you want to remove the tires from the wheels)

If they're non-directional, then you can do a criss-cross rotation, but even that can be complicated as the rotation is different for every car for a reason


Some alignment specs compensate for road crown so that there's minimal steering drift due to the normal crowning of the road surface...

This compensation, along with weight bias, causes the tires to wear unevenly per side, so the manufacturers set specific guidelines for rotation to get the most out of the tires for that specific vehicle

Thing is, the 80 series is made in both LHD and RHD, so if all I just said is true, then the rotation should be the complete opposite of that used on an RHD rig

On the other hand, I could just be blowing smoke outta my arse

[sandcruiser]

If you use the same pattern every time, it doesn't matter that much which pattern you use.

That's assuming that you do rotate the tires at least 5 times during the useable lifespan of the tires. More can't hurt.

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Originally Posted by sandcruiser

If you use the same pattern every time, it doesn't matter that much which pattern you use.

That's assuming that you do rotate the tires at least 5 times during the useable lifespan of the tires. More can't hurt.

I agree that more rotations can't hurt, but I've always been told that there's a pattern for reason...

Lets say that due to road crown, the left front tire wears more than the rest...

Using the diagram posted above, you would always move the left front to the spare...

If you move any other tire to the spare, the left front tire will see more wear than usual

Granted, the difference will most likely be minimal, but like I said, the manufactures have a specific rotation for a reason


Anyhoo, anyone happen to know if the same diagram is listed in the OM for RHD rigs?

[sandcruiser]

Again, if you go through all the positions, it doesn't matter much.

To take your example: lets assume that the Front Left (FL) tire wears more. So you move it to Spare. Next time you move that worn tire to back left.

Would it really matter if you moved it from the FL to the BL without pausing in Spare?
In other words, you could move to spare at any point in the rotation, I think, without a significant difference. The one part that I think does matter is that you do want the two front tires to go to the rear.

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Originally Posted by sandcruiser

To take your example: lets assume that the Front Left (FL) tire wears more. So you move it to Spare. Next time you move that worn tire to back left.

Would it really matter if you moved it from the FL to the BL without pausing in Spare?

Actually, yes because by the next rotation, the rest of the tires would've worn down a bit to match the worn spare that was initially on the left front

[sandcruiser]

ok.
I'm still thinking that if each tire spends equal time at each position, in the end, they all wear about the same.

But I do see your point, and I guess it could be significant if you wait a long time between rotations. In 1,000 miles, I'll bet you can't tell a difference in wear. In 20,000 miles, you'll probably see a big difference.

[hj60]

Wow. You guys are way overthinking this.

I've never rotated my spare onto an axle.
Only once have I even bought 5 new tires.
I rotate the backs to the front and the fronts to the opposite back.
Hell, on my first 2 vehicles, I never even rotated my tires at all.
When the spare is dryrotted, the best of the old tires goes on the carrier when I replace the 4 on the ground.
Rotate often and uneven wear isn't an issue.

[98 SNAKE EATER]

Originally Posted by hj60

Wow. You guys are way overthinking this.

I've never rotated my spare onto an axle.
Only once have I even bought 5 new tires.
I rotate the backs to the front and the fronts to the opposite back.
Hell, on my first 2 vehicles, I never even rotated my tires at all.
When the spare is dryrotted, the best of the old tires goes on the carrier when I replace the 4 on the ground.
Rotate often and uneven wear isn't an issue.

Sorry, but I didn't pay $245 per tire to let ANY of them dry rott lol

[rdang]

I do the rotation from this site here: Tire Tech Information - Tire Rotation Instructions, figure G.

Because mud tires generally wear faster, I try to do it every 2-3000 km's, keeps the tires nice and even.

[98 SNAKE EATER]

ttt


Anyone have a pic of the Rotation used on the RHD rigs?

[mainemike]

I don't see why a RHD would make a difference over a LHD. The tires don't care. Your original post asking about the crown of the road being opposite - well, over the life of rotation the tires end up on all 4 corners eventually.

I'm still amazed that I have over 30,000 miles on Nitto Grapplers with never rotating (following threads by landtank) and there is no uneven wear... I can't explain it, I used to be obsessed with rotation on previous trucks.

[alia176]

Originally Posted by 98 SNAKE EATER

Actually, yes because by the next rotation, the rest of the tires would've worn down a bit to match the worn spare that was initially on the left front

I don't feel so bad about my OCD now....