Tyre rotation your thoughts please

[K9pvc]

Hi guys
Just had my Gx4HS back from having its first service it's exactly 1 year old and done just 10400 miles on the original Toyo tyres. So my question is this on the safety/check sheet I got back it said my tread depth had been checked as part of the service and was at 6mm on inner middle and outer edges on all 4 tyres. Now I do find that a little hard to believe that all 4 tyres are exactly at the same wear rate but anyway maybe that's just me not being a very trusting person :roll:

So firstly I would like to know if you think that's normal that they are all excatly the same or do you thing it's more likely that they have only checked the one tyre and then duplicated that reading on all the other 3 wheels.

I also noticed that as the wheels had not been rotated as part of the first service is this something you would recommend I get done at say the local indipendant tyre place. And if so is it just a straight forward swap all the wheels around and no further work needed with any adjustments to the Tpms system or any other onboard system.

Finally if you do think it's a good idea to have the wheels rotated is there any specific rotation order you would recommend for this.

Thanks in advance guys

 

[Muddywheels]

I noticed in handbook it recommends rotating tyres and shows diagram of how they should be done - unfortunatley not found an online version so can't copy and paste

Not sure if this is same but might help

Incidentally when I had my Land Cruiser they also recommended rotating tyres but LR advised not to on all theirs :?

I will do it every 6 months if I change summer/winter tyres or find some decent all season

 

[anko]

Hi guys
Just had my Gx4HS back from having its first service it's exactly 1 year old and done just 10400 miles on the original Toyo tyres. So my question is this on the safety/check sheet I got back it said my tread depth had been checked as part of the service and was at 6mm on inner middle and outer edges on all 4 tyres. Now I do find that a little hard to believe that all 4 tyres are exactly at the same wear rate but anyway maybe that's just me not being a very trusting person :roll:

So firstly I would like to know if you think that's normal that they are all excatly the same or do you thing it's more likely that they have only checked the one tyre and then duplicated that reading on all the other 3 wheels.

How about you check the actual depths yourself? Then you know exactly what's going on. Wouldn't that be much more valuable than anything we might be able to put down?

 

[K9pvc]

Hi guys
Just had my Gx4HS back from having its first service it's exactly 1 year old and done just 10400 miles on the original Toyo tyres. So my question is this on the safety/check sheet I got back it said my tread depth had been checked as part of the service and was at 6mm on inner middle and outer edges on all 4 tyres. Now I do find that a little hard to believe that all 4 tyres are exactly at the same wear rate but anyway maybe that's just me not being a very trusting person :roll:

So firstly I would like to know if you think that's normal that they are all excatly the same or do you thing it's more likely that they have only checked the one tyre and then duplicated that reading on all the other 3 wheels.

How about you check the actual depths yourself? Then you know exactly what's going on. Wouldn't that be much more valuable than anything we might be able to put down?

Hi Anko
Yes I see your point but my reasons for asking on here are 2 fold
1) I don't actually have the tool needed to measure the tread depth
2 I'm not really sure of the correct procedure to do it accurately so even if my readings were different I wouldn't know if that was down to the garage not actually doing them in the first place or down to me doing it incorrectly.
So hence why I asked for the advice of the much more knowledgeable people on her if you see my point

 

[Steel188]

I have never been a fan of tyre rotation, but then being a 35,000 miles a year driver, changing front every 25K and rears between 40K and 50K has been my norm for many years.

However, what I do recommend is that twice a year you go to a good independent tyre place with a full laser rig and get the toe/caster/camber checked. I bought a package deal £150 and I get as many chicks and adjustments as I want for two years.

Just had it done for the second time at 9 months old / 19000 miles showing and the difference is noticeable. I first had it done when the car was three weeks old and all three measurements on all 4 wheels were completely wrong, and that was fresh out of the factory. 10 minutes of laser guided spanner twirling and it was like being handed a different car - no more faint skittishness on the motorway, better handling and an even smoother ride.

The deal means that when my tyres do get changed (for whatever the lease company insist on ) I can at least make it drive properly.

Well worth the money!

 

[user 816]

Hi guys
Just had my Gx4HS back from having its first service it's exactly 1 year old and done just 10400 miles on the original Toyo tyres. So my question is this on the safety/check sheet I got back it said my tread depth had been checked as part of the service and was at 6mm on inner middle and outer edges on all 4 tyres. Now I do find that a little hard to believe that all 4 tyres are exactly at the same wear rate but anyway maybe that's just me not being a very trusting person :roll:

So firstly I would like to know if you think that's normal that they are all excatly the same or do you thing it's more likely that they have only checked the one tyre and then duplicated that reading on all the other 3 wheels.

I also noticed that as the wheels had not been rotated as part of the first service is this something you would recommend I get done at say the local indipendant tyre place. And if so is it just a straight forward swap all the wheels around and no further work needed with any adjustments to the Tpms system or any other onboard system.

Finally if you do think it's a good idea to have the wheels rotated is there any specific rotation order you would recommend for this.

Thanks in advance guys

To be honest I think your worrying and overthinking it a bit.

The PHEV seems pretty balanced with regards to wear, most SUV's I have had have always been very heavy on the front tyres for wear the PHEV seems different, possibly due to the smoothness of the drive meaning less front 'scrabbling' on pull away and the readiness with which it activates 4WD and pushes from the rear as needed.. anyway I needed 2 tyres recently and it wasn't due to tread wear, plenty left but more that the front ones had started to degrade badly (the threads were showing on the shoulder) - its a heavy car and turning it in had took its toll, still over 40K miles so good.

Therefore I can't see any point rotating as the fronts take a much bigger battering on the structure so putting them on the back when a bit knackered and then knackering the other set on the front just means driving with soggy tyres on all 4 wheels instead of just the front.

I do concur with steel188 though totally, mine was always a bit skittish from new, I even resorted to running lower tyre pressure to deaden it down a bit. Its on a lease so when it went to the tyre depot for new fronts they checked the alignment, saw with my own eyes it was some way out. Lease company agreed to pay for realignment (its in their interest as it reduced tyre wear which they pay for in the long run). Much, much nicer car! on the motorway I could doze off now while it points itself down the road

 

[anko]

Hi Anko
Yes I see your point but my reasons for asking on here are 2 fold
1) I don't actually have the tool needed to measure the tread depth
2 I'm not really sure of the correct procedure to do it accurately so even if my readings were different I wouldn't know if that was down to the garage not actually doing them in the first place or down to me doing it incorrectly.
So hence why I asked for the advice of the much more knowledgeable people on her if you see my point

I see. In that case, the right procedure or tool is not as important as using the same procedure and tool for all tires . Just take a match and see how far you can insert it into the tread. Make sure you do not insert it where the wear indicators are. These are local shallow spots in the tread that help tell you when the tires need replacement.

 

[greendwarf]

Bum

 

[greendwarf]

Just had 2nd year service @ 12,000 miles and dealer recommended wheel alignment adjustment on front due to wear, which would tend to confirm BobEngineer's comment, above. I've also never been a fan of rotation - why would you want to replace all the tyres at once? :lol: The other point is that the rear on a 4WD should always have the best tyres, so if the front wear faster then rotation defeats this.

 

[user 816]

you can get specific tools for measuring tread depth, but like me, many people may have one of these in their toolbox as they often sell them cheap in places..

Using the bit that comes out the right end is ideal for really accurate tread readings, park with the steering turned hard over so the tyres stick out and measure square on into the tread with the end of the caliper rule across the blocks, avoiding the wear indicator bumps as Greendwarf mentioned.

 

[K9pvc]

Thanks for all the replays,
On reflection I may be over thinking this a little, but I guess I was kind of the mind set that it sounded unusual (to me anyway) that all tyres had worn down at excatly the same rate.
So having a very untrusting nature I was thinking if they hadn't done something as simple as a tread depth test what other things had they not bothered to do correctly.
As far as the tread depth and tyre rotation are concerned im now happy that there is no real need to bother with rotating the tyres. I guess only time will tell if the wear rate is uniform across all the tyres.
So thank you all very much for all your input

 

[TRT]

Thanks for all the replays,
On reflection I may be over thinking this a little, but I guess I was kind of the mind set that it sounded unusual (to me anyway) that all tyres had worn down at excatly the same rate.
So having a very untrusting nature I was thinking if they hadn't done something as simple as a tread depth test what other things had they not bothered to do correctly.
As far as the tread depth and tyre rotation are concerned im now happy that there is no real need to bother with rotating the tyres. I guess only time will tell if the wear rate is uniform across all the tyres.
So thank you all very much for all your input

There are recommendations on tyre rotations, which in summary say that (providing you have modern tyres and suspension systems, and occasionally check your wheel alignment):
1. if your vehicle is not heavy (under about 1 tonne) wheel rotation is a waste of time and money [and I expect the usual religious objections from those whose belief in rotation can't be shifted]
2. if your vehicle is over 1 tonne then you should consider rotating - the heavier, the more desirable the rotation.
3. 4 wheel drive vehicles should rotate wheels as a matter of course.

There's a whole argument about the best time to rotate, but this depends on a lot of variables, including how much high speed travel, how much 4WDing, etc.

TRT

 

[Muddywheels]

As I said earlier Land Rover state in their handbooks

Do not rotate the tyres around the vehicle.

I've never done it with Fords, Renaults or Vauxhal vehicles in the past either

The Mitsubishi and my previous Toyota Land Cruiser both advise rotating wheels so it appears to be popular with the Japanese

 

[david1972]

Our PHEV has just had it's 2nd year service and came back with an 'amber' as the front tyres are wearing at the outer edges. The guy who returned it to us said it was a known issue.

I always rotate my tyres once during their life cycle on my cars - front to back on the same side of the car

 

[Muddywheels]

I had continental summer tyres on my first Range Rover Sport and they had no edges by 10k miles - LR said it was a characteristic of the tyres :roll:

I replaced them with pirelli scorpion all season tyres which didn't wear the edges off

 

[ian4x4]

I had continental summer tyres on my first Range Rover Sport and they had no edges by 10k miles - LR said it was a characteristic of the tyres :roll:

I replaced them with pirelli scorpion all season tyres which didn't wear the edges off

I too have had a similar experience as Muddywheels, and can confirm that the Pirelli Scorpion Tyres seem to have a better (and more even) wear rate than the Continentals. These were heavy duty tyres on a 4x4.