Tire rotation question (1 Viewer)

[70 FJ40]

About a year or so ago I bought 5 bfg 285s for my Cruiser. I have been having all 5 rotated. To keep the tread wear even. Last time I took it in the guy said I shouldn't be rotating in the spare with this kind of all wheel drive system. "It's not good for the transfer case and differentials" he said. I knew I didn't want large differences in tread wear but I figured constant rotation would be fine. Opinions? Should I keep on rotating all 5 or no? I figure you guys here are smarter then the scheduling guy at the dealer. Thanks.

 

[70 FJ40]

Oh. Rotation schedule is every 5k.

 

[nnnnnate]

I have done a 5 tire rotation for 30k miles and I think what he said sounds ridiculous but I don't have anything other than common sense to back that up. If I could say I was going to replace my tires with the same ones when these wear out I might not do the 5 tire rotation but I can't and want to have a matching set. Now that I've had the tires for as long as I have, its likely I'll stick with the same ones in the future but its not a certainty.

 

[oakback]

If you don't rotate the spare, and one of your tires shreds/blows out, you're left driving with 1 tire with a lot more tread (the spare). That's bad for the driveline, so you can then either shave down your spare, or buy 3 more new tires to match it. This is where I was recently, and bought 5 new tires with the intent to rotate them all with every oil change.

If I've been rotating all 5, then get a blow out and must use the spare, I don't plan on rotating in the NEW spare I buy to replace it (assuming it then has a lot more tread than the remaining 4).

 

[Hokie LX]

He may have thought that you just randomly started rotating the spare in wth used tires so the new spare would be used with worn tires.

If it has been consistently rotated in since new, I see no issue. The tread depth difference won't be significant enough after 5k miles.

 

[uHu]

He may have thought that you just randomly started rotating the spare in wth used tires so the new spare would be used with worn tires.

If it has been consistently rotated in since new, I see no issue. The tread depth difference won't be significant enough after 5k miles.

x2
If you rotate every 5 k, it's really no problem. OTOH, 5 wheel rotation every 30 k miles would give a small speed difference.

 

[ted4whlz]

When I bought my LX470 the guy had just put a brand new set of tires on it, but the spare was a different size. So, I bought the same tire as the other four and have been doing a 5 tire rotation ever since. I've had no problems, and the guys at Discount Tire have never said anything to me other than it was good I matched the spare as the different size tire would definitely give me issues.

 

[cruiser100]

I rotate the spare in every other oil change. No problems in 180k miles. I put the spare on the back and move one of the front tores to the spare position.

 

[04UZJ100]

As long as the spare is the same size, it makes 0 difference if you run one used tire with no tread and a brand new one on the other axle. It's a VERY small overall circumferential difference. Driveline wear especially on a temporary basis is over hyped BS.

 

[Sandroad]

When I started doing a 5 tire rotation several years ago I measured tread depth with a gauge for a few rotations. With a 5K mile interval, there is less difference in the tread depth on the being rotated in than there is between tires that have been on the front vs the rear. So, there is no appreciable difference between a 4 tire and a 5 tire rotation with tread depth, except with the 5 tire they last longer. And, now if I damage one, I don't have to worry about tread depth difference until I damage another one! This is on a stock LC with LTX MS/2. YMMV.

 

[Sandroad]

As long as the spare is the same size, it makes 0 difference if you run one used tire with no tread and a brand new one on the other axle. It's a VERY small overall circumferential difference. Driveline wear especially on a temporary basis is over hyped BS.

Depends on the vehicle and how the electronic and/or mechanical systems interpret differnces in wheel speed. Tread depth differences can cause problems and some manufacturers have limits on how different it can be. The days of vehicles with no ABS, TC, or VSC are long gone.

 

[04UZJ100]

Depends on the vehicle and how the electronic and/or mechanical systems interpret differnces in wheel speed. Tread depth differences can cause problems and some manufacturers have limits on how different it can be. The days of vehicles with no ABS, TC, or VSC are long gone.

And this is a 100 series forum so I'm referencing that vehicle.

 

[70 FJ40]

Thanks for the input guys. These were the same thoughts I had. I think I will continue with the 5 tire rotation.

 

[slimbuddha]

Ditto, I do about 5 tire rotation about every 5k as well.

 

[duggy]

As long as the spare is the same size, it makes 0 difference if you run one used tire with no tread and a brand new one on the other axle. It's a VERY small overall circumferential difference. Driveline wear especially on a temporary basis is over hyped BS.

What proof do you have of this?

 

[04UZJ100]

What proof do you have of this?

Do the math. You'll see how minute the difference is.

On another note, Audi allows up to a 12% rolling circumference difference.

 

[Live to Ski]

Plus, on the front if running w/o locker, that is an open diff that accommodates different wheel turn rates.

W/R to the rear, we have the center diff option to run open, that should accommodate front to rear issues w. different tire dia front/rear.

Computerized braking: speaking out of ignorance, does not those anti skid/traction control algorithms allow for different speeds on different wheel locations? Upon thinking (and remember something of this from a thread on mud somewhere), this would be the area of my concern in that the computer senses faster wheel spin...it thinks it is slipping/skidding....applies brakes.....problem.

 

[duggy]

Do the math. You'll see how minute the difference is.

On another note, Audi allows up to a 12% rolling circumference difference.

That doesn't answer my question. What tangible proof do you have that the difference in tire tread depth does not affect the long term reliability of our drive lines?

 

[seanz0rz]

Page 329 of my 2005 LX470 manual has a diagram of a front drivers to rear drivers rotation, along with the passenger side tires being rotated with the spare (front to spare, spare to rear, rear to front).

Good enough for Mr. T and Big L, it's good enough for me.

 

[SmoothLC]

So, back to the original post. A few years ago we visited a friend of mine who lives near Flagstaff. He drove a Chevy at the time. When he took in his vehicle while it was under warranty, they told him that he had voided the drive line warranty since he put on a new tire with greater tread depth vs. the other three tires on the vehicle. First time I'd ever heard of that.

As far as rotating the spare in for a 5 tire rotation, the Revos on my LC finally wore out and I replaced with KO2s a few months ago. My LC had a set of five and they literally lasted almost 100k. Longest time ever between new sets of tires. Your 2001 LC should be fine.