The Importance Of A Tire Rotation: Evans Volkswagen

When you get into the nitty gritty of your vehicle’s required routine maintenance, it can quickly get overwhelming. You’re supposed to wash your car, check the windshield wiper blades, change the air filters, check the head- and taillights, get your oil changed, get your tires rotated and aligned, and more.

At some point, the list of to-do maintenance on your car feels like it might be more overwhelming than buying a car was! But the good news for all this maintenance is that most of it can be taken care of at the same time

After all, when you take your vehicle into the service center at Evans Volkswagen, we can thoroughly check your whole vehicle to give you a professional opinion on what needs to be done and what can wait until later.

Not only is it easy to get service done at Evas Volkswagen, but we can also ensure you receive only the best service, especially when it comes to routine maintenance like a tire rotation. But what even is a tire rotation, and why is it important for the health of your vehicle?

What Is Tire Rotation?

Simply put, a tire rotation is when you take the tires of a vehicle and move them to a new position on the body of the car. This might mean that tires on the rear axle are switched with tires on the front axle, or that tires on the left are switched with tires on the right, or any combination of those two options and more

The purpose of a tire rotation is to ensure that the tires are not always being worn down in the same place. When that type of wear does occur, it can result in reduced traction and weak spots, as well as other issues for your vehicle.

Since each tire location on the body of the car undergoes different weight loads and stresses, rotating the tires allows wear and tear to be spread out evenly through all parts of every tire. This results in more even wear to your tire’s treads, which allows for a smoother drive and better handling.

While it isn’t something that you typically need to worry about when you’re taking your vehicle in to be serviced, it is interesting to know that different types of vehicles will require different tire rotation patterns based on the drivetrain and wheel types.

For example, in front-wheel drive vehicles, the tire rotation pattern suggests to change tires from the front and rear axles, having the tires on the front axle moved straight back and the rear tires moved directly forward, both without changing sides.

In all-wheel drive vehicles, however, the rear axle tires are usually moved directly forward without changing sides, while the front axle tires are moved backward and to opposite sides. If you have a full spare tire, it is important to rotate the spare tire as well.

How Often Should I Rotate My Tires?

While it is important to rotate tires regularly, the most commonly recommended interval for rotating your tires is every 5,000 to 8,000 miles. This schedule is the same or slightly less frequent than the average synthetic blend or full synthetic oil change, which means that most people opt for a tire rotation every time they get their oil changed.

If you’re looking for a specific timeframe to rotate your tires, check your owner’s manual for a specific recommendation from your vehicle manufacturer. Let it be noted, however, that sometimes you might need to get a rotation sooner than the manufacturer recommends.

Regularly rotating tires also gives you the chance to visually inspect your tires for damage, check the air pressure, and check the tread depth to make sure that your tires will hold up well in inclement weather.

Why Is Tire Rotation Important?

When you have your tires rotated, your service technician won’t just randomly be moving tires around. They will be using tire rotation patterns to ensure that your tires get evenly worn, and it’s all based on the specific vehicle you drive.

Regardless of which tire is moved into which position, regularly getting a tire rotation is an important part of your car’s routine maintenance. Some tire warranties even require it for the tires to stay under warranty.

Even Treadwear and Tire Life

Regularly rotating your tires is most important because it evenly spreads wear and tear across all tires, maximizing tread life and minimizing the number of replacement tires you need.

Tires wear unevenly because of the different stresses on them. Fron tires generally experience more wear since there is more weight in the front from the engine. Front tires in a front-wheel drive car experience even more wear due to the torque and friction that is required for turning, accelerating, and braking.

Properly aligned tires can reduce uneven wear and tear on your treads, but tires still need to be rotated even with perfect alignment due to the uneven wear caused by each wheel position on the body of the car.

For new tires, it is even more important to rotate the tires before the 5,000-mile mark since fresh, deep tire tread is the most susceptible to uneven wear.

Enhanced Safety

Evenly worn tire treads maintain better traction and allow your tire to better grip the road. This is extra important when it comes to driving in inclement weather or poor road conditions, especially when it comes to rain, snow, and ice.

With unevenly worn tread, your vehicle struggles to maintain traction as well, which can lead to dangerous situations and even potential crashes. Unevenly worn tire treads can also affect turning, braking performance, and overall safety.

Better Fuel Efficiency

Believe it or not, unevenly worn tires can also cost you more money at the pump. When your tires are not worn evenly, they can’t maintain uniform contact with the road, which can cause increased friction that puts extra stress on your engine. That extra stress means that your engine is using more fuel, which means you might be paying more to refuel it.

Get Your Tires Rotated At Evan’s Volkswagen

The best part of a tire rotation is that it is quite easy to pair with an oil change and wheel alignment. This trio of services helps a great number of things, ultimately helping your vehicle perform better and last longer.

It also saves time to get all three services done together! Here at Evans Volkswagen, we offer all of these services through our service center, where highly trained technicians work diligently every day to guarantee some of the best services in the area. Give us a call or visit our website to learn more about the services we offer, or go ahead and schedule service. We’re looking forward to helping you!