Tire rotation

    I went in earlier today for my first tire rotation, I noticed they didn't use the spare tire in the rotation. I was always under the impression that its best to use all 5 tires. Is this correct?

    "When your life is about to pass before your eyes, make sure it's worth watching." - Unknown

    I always did a 5 tire rotation when mine was street driven. I rotated them myself which is probably why it was done. Not sure where you went but my guess is that unless you specifically asked them to rotate the spare in, a 4 tire rotation is all you'll get. No idea if its best to do a 4 or 5 tire rotation. I've never rotated the spare in on any other vehicle I've owned that has had a full size spare.

    I always rotate my spare tire in so I'm not left with one old tire when its time to replace them. This is how I do mine,
    [size=small]Driver rear tire to driver front[/size]
    Passenger rear tire to passenger front
    Driver Front to passenger rear
    Passenger front to spare
    Spare to driver rear


    This is how I've done mine for the last 60,000 miles on my MTR Kevlar's and well.....60,000 miles and still going strong so I think this method works just fine. :up:


    Basically you want to cross the front two tires towards the back and bring the rear two tires straight forward. Throwing a spare into the mix makes it a little confusing but it is easily accomplished if you follow the same method consistently.

    I learned the hard way to not trust the so-called professionals. I had Carl King Tires in Camden DE do a 5-tire rotation for me, since that's where I bought the tires, and they totally buggered it up. I learned later that this tire "professional" had actually never heard of a 5-tire rotation! I regret that I did not pin down my expectation before I handed over the keys. I was upset, to say the least.


    The charts I've found on the internet are consistent, and I've even printed one out and have it posted in my garage. Spare goes to PS rear, PS rear goes forward to PS front, PS front goes diagonally to DS rear, DS rear goes forward to DS front, DS front becomes the new spare. This rotation is for rear-wheel drive and four-wheel drive vehicles. This rotation is slightly different than what JKGray10 said, but I think the important thing is consistency....do the same thing every time.

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