February 4

Why You Should Rotate Your Tires? and When?

Car owners need to perform regular maintenance on their vehicles to ensure they run efficiently and last longer. Routine care includes oil changes, brake service, and tire rotations. Some car owners wonder how often these services should be done. Many people don’t know why these maintenance procedures are necessary, particularly tire rotations. With that in mind, we put together this article detailing why you need to rotate your tires and how often.

Why Do You Need to Rotate Your Tires?

Tire Rotation

Image via Flickr by hillary h

Rotating your vehicle’s tires regularly will help them last longer. Your tires wear down due to the friction caused between the tires and the road surfaces. This process occurs naturally, and you can’t prevent it. You can help your tires wear more slowly, though.

Your tires have many factors that contribute to wear. The rear tires on your car operate under different mechanical and environmental conditions than the tires on the front. The front tires provide traction while accelerating, steering, and braking on a front-wheel-drive system. 

Your front and rear tires operate under different loads as well, depending on passenger and cargo distribution. For example, if you have a rear-wheel-drive (RWD) vehicle, the tires on the front only provide traction when steering and braking, but the weight load remains constant. The rear tires provide traction while accelerating and braking in this setup, but the load varies based on the cargo and passengers you carry. In addition, rain and snow, road surfaces, and temperatures affect how your tires wear.

Keeping your tires in the same position results in premature wear on the tires that take the most force and impact from these factors. Rotating your tires allows you to spread the wear more evenly over time. In addition to a longer life, you’ll benefit from improved traction, better handling, more efficient driving, and protection against a flat tire.

When Should You Rotate Your Tires?

If you can’t recall the last time you rotated your tires, you likely need them rotated. There are signs to look for as well. Uneven wear can cause your car to pull to one side when driving straight. Pulling to either side could also be a sign of something more serious. If this happens, have your tires inspected by a professional.

If you detect unusual vibrations or noises while driving, you might have a problem with your tires. Emergency braking situations can cause a flat spot on your tire, which could cause vibrations and noises. In addition, a nail or other object could get lodged in your tire and cause them. Or it could be the inner radial of your tire breaking down. But, again, these symptoms could be something else, so if they occur, have your vehicle inspected immediately.

If you experience a loss of traction when accelerating or steering, you likely have a problem with your tires. Slipping and spinning wheels, especially on dry pavement, indicate worn tires. Therefore, you should rotate your tires immediately or perhaps even replace them.

As a general rule, you should rotate your tires around every 7,000 miles. We recommend doing this at every other oil change. At Huffines CDJR Lewisville, our service center technicians can rotate your tires while changing your oil without adding any time to your visit.

Should You Balance Your Tires?

To get the most out of your tires, you should always have them balanced properly. We balance your tires by attaching small weights to the rim of your wheels. These weights reduce vibrations created by the natural rotation. Unbalanced tires wear unevenly and much faster than balanced tires.

Balancing your tires only costs a few dollars per tire. That’s a lot less than the cost to replace a tire, which ranges from $100-$300 per tire. You should have your tires balanced every time you put a new tire on or any time you have to remove a tire and put it back on. At Huffines CDJR Lewisville, we can check and balance your tires during your next rotation.

What About Alignments?

Your car was engineered for the wheels to sit in a precise location within the steering and suspension system. However, potholes, curbs, and more can cause your wheels to move from the proper position. It isn’t necessary to align your wheels with every tire rotation. That said, we recommend having your alignment checked with every tire rotation. In this way, you can perform the alignment if necessary before uneven wear can occur.

Returning your front wheels to the proper position within the steering and suspension systems will improve traction and control. In addition, you’ll get better gas mileage and longer life from your tires.

An alignment varies in cost depending on the vehicle. However, when you compare it to the price of a new tire or set of tires that wear out due to a bad alignment, most customers choose the alignment.

Have Your Tires Rotated Today

At Huffines CDJR Lewisville, our service center technicians receive ongoing training to remain up-to-date on all maintenance and repair services. Also, they are experts at rotating and balancing tires. Our technicians will perform a vehicle inspection when you bring your car in for service at Huffines CDJR Lewisville. After the inspection, they’ll make recommendations for additional maintenance items they deem necessary, such as changing wiper blades, air filters, and more.

Don’t wait if you think you have a problem with your tires. Instead, bring your car in immediately, and one of our professional technicians will inspect them. Our service center on South Stemmons Freeway operates from 7:00 am to 7:00 pm Monday through Friday and from 8:00 am until 5:00 pm on Saturdays. Sundays, we are closed. We use state-of-the-art tools and equipment to diagnose and repair your vehicle to ensure the highest quality.

You don’t need an appointment, but you can conveniently schedule one online if you prefer. Most routine maintenance, including tire rotations, takes less than 30 minutes. If we uncover something more involved during our inspection, we can typically do the work right away.


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