I agree with everything you just said. Except in not sure I understand #3. Care to expound?
Rotating tires with spare
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I agree with everything you just said. Except in not sure I understand #3. Care to expound?
@mod5csi I think he is referring to the tire "winch" the apparatus that raises and lowers the spare in the factory location!
Aye
I always buy tires in sets of 5 and use the spare in the rotation using the diagram in the owners manual.
Every manufacturer has a specific rotation guide per their vehicle for a reason.
Only use what they recommend and not what a random universal poster at the tire shop suggests
Due to the road crown, our rigs tend to wear the left front tire slightly faster than the others, so upon the rotation interval, it gets tossed in the spare position to get a little rest
For the same reason, on the RHD rigs across the pond, their rotation diagram is the exact mirror opposite of what we have
I also have my own specific routine when it comes to brand new tires.....
The top layer of the tire always wears a little faster, so I do the first 5 rotation intervals every 1000 miles.
After that, I do the next 5 rotations every 3000 and after that, it gets done every 5000 miles for the rest of their lives (I know, OCD much?)
This pretty much lets each layer of tread wear evenly as possible for each of the 5 tires
I know it's hard to believe sumthin this simple what make a difference at all, but I did manage to get 120,000 miles out of my BFG KM Mud terrains and over 100k out of the replacement KM2 MT's
BFG MT KM2 vs KM treadwear?
Deja Vu with KM2's
Best of all, they still had enough tread for me to sell them on Craigslist for $100 bucks a pop
Currently running 35" D-Tracs with about 90k miles on them and they still look to be in great shape with plenty of tread
Every manufacturer has a specific rotation guide per their vehicle for a reason.
Only use what they recommend and not what a random universal poster at the tire shop suggests
Due to the road crown, our rigs tend to wear the left front tire slightly faster than the others, so upon the rotation interval, it gets tossed in the spare position to get a little rest
For the same reason, on the RHD rigs across the pond, their rotation diagram is the exact mirror opposite of what we have
I also have my own specific routine when it comes to brand new tires.....
The top layer of the tire always wears a little faster, so I do the first 5 rotation intervals every 1000 miles.
After that, I do the next 5 rotations every 3000 and after that, it gets done every 5000 miles for the rest of their lives (I know, OCD much?)
This pretty much lets each layer of tread wear evenly as possible for each of the 5 tires
I know it's hard to believe sumthin this simple what make a difference at all, but I did manage to get 120,000 miles out of my BFG KM Mud terrains and over 100k out of the replacement KM2 MT's
BFG MT KM2 vs KM treadwear?
Deja Vu with KM2's
Best of all, they still had enough tread for me to sell them on Craigslist for $100 bucks a pop
Currently running 35" D-Tracs with about 90k miles on them and they still look to be in great shape with plenty of tread
I suppose there may be a reason to do the fancy scheme shown in the manual as above, but I doubt it makes a significant difference on average if you rotate the tires at a reasonable interval. They will all go through all positions so it will even out. I'd rather minimize the jacking up so I just rotate in a circle.
Luckily I have access to lifts at our shops, so jacking it up to do it in the correct order isn't an issue
I run mud tires. If you don't want them to cup on you I'd rotate them regularly - at least at 5000 miles but much better at 3000. Use the spare absolutely! You get 20% greater milage from a set of 5 tires than you do from 4 tires. The life of your spare is only 7 years. If you don't rotate it in, it simply gets old and you'll have to throw it away! With the cost of mud tires and all-terrains, I can't imagine why you would pass on the extra milage!
@98 SNAKE EATER, I like your logic here. But I feel like the road crown, dipping to the right (in the LHD world), will wear the front right faster. I have nothing to back that up, tho. Can you further explain your reasoning?I always buy tires in sets of 5 and use the spare in the rotation using the diagram in the owners manual.
Every manufacturer has a specific rotation guide per their vehicle for a reason.
Only use what they recommend and not what a random universal poster at the tire shop suggests
Due to the road crown, our rigs tend to wear the left front tire slightly faster than the others, so upon the rotation interval, it gets tossed in the spare position to get a little rest
For the same reason, on the RHD rigs across the pond, their rotation diagram is the exact mirror opposite of what we have
My thought is steering input and gravity are dragging us toward the right of the road crown. However, the majority of our weight, driver, gas tank and such are on the left. Making the left heavier.
Maybe someone with a RHD owners manual can show us their pic?
My only reasoning for using the random shop poster is the shop I go to for tires. If the wife or kids takes the truck for a rotation, they point to the poster and say, do it like that.
Yes, 5 tire rotation for the reason stated above. In particular, if running full muds the wear more evenly and you get longer life. I had 105k on my last Firestone MT before they started to cup, wear uneven, and I lost a couple lugs.
