How to Rotate Tires

Don’t let worn-out tires disrupt your commute. Whether you visit a local Richmond-area Chevy service center or you prefer the DIY route, it’s important to stay on top of routine tire rotations. You may be wondering about how often to get your tires rotated or how to rotate tires at home. Read on with Jack Burford Chevrolet,inc. to learn how to keep your tires rolling as they should, and then contact us for details on how much it costs to rotate tires in Richmond.

The Importance of Tire Rotation

Depending on their placement, your car’s tires will see different levels of wear. As you turn on the streets of London, the outer edges of the front tires will develop more wear while the rear tires will wear more evenly. Understanding how often to rotate your tires allows you to extend their lifespan—and save money over time—by evening out the wear pattern to the treads.

What’s more, when you rely on a certified Chevrolet service center like ours, you can save even more on your next maintenance visit by taking advantage of exclusive service specials!

How Often to Rotate Tires

If you’re wondering how often to get your tires to rotate, that depends on your vehicle’s drivetrain. Vehicles with front- or rear-wheel drive can typically go as far as 5,000 to 7,500 miles between rotations. However, all-wheel drive vehicles will require more frequent rotations—about every 3,000 to 5,000 miles—because all four wheels are receiving power and experiencing greater friction with the road surface. It’s also a good idea to check your vehicle’s owner’s manual for how often to rotate tires, because it will have specific recommendations for your make and model.

How to Rotate Tires: Rotation Patterns

Before learning how to rotate tires on a Chevrolet, it’s important to learn about proper rotation patterns. Depending on your drivetrain, you’ll rotate your tires using a different rotation pattern:

• FWD Tires: When moving front-wheel drive tires, the front tires will rotate to the rear while staying in their same left/right positions. However, as the rear tires move forward, they will switch sides. So, the right rear becomes the left front tire.
• RWD Tires: The inverse can be said for rear-wheel drive vehicles. As the rear tires move forward, they’ll keep their same left/right positions, while the front tires will move back and swap sides.

Steps for How to Rotate Your Tires

If you’re ready to perform a tire rotation at home, you’ll need to make sure you have a car jack, lug nut wrench, and a set of jack stands. For your safety, make sure the parking brake is engaged. Then, follow these steps:

1. To make removing the tires easier when the vehicle is elevated, loosen the lug nuts on all four wheels first.
2. Use the car jack to lift up one wheel, and place a jack stand underneath.
3. Continue until all the tires are removed. Keep in mind their initial and intended positions.
4. Take this opportunity to check tire pressure and ensure that all four tires are properly inflated.
5. Rotate the tires in the pattern appropriate to your drivetrain.
6. Replace the tires onto the wheel mount and tighten the lug nuts as far as you can by hand.
7. Lower the jack stands, and continue tightening the lug nuts with a wrench—tightening each tire a little at a time in a star pattern—to ensure even tightening. If the lug nuts are unevenly tightened, it can lead to a warped brake rotor.

If you don’t have time to perform a tire rotation on your own, we can take care of this routine task for you at our service center in Richmond! Contact our auto service professionals for details on how much it costs to rotate tires for your vehicle make, model, and drivetrain.

Take Care of Your Tires with Jack Burford Chevrolet,inc.!

It’s easy to stay on top of your tire maintenance with the team at Jack Burford Chevrolet,inc.. You can easily find the tires for your Chevrolet with our tire finder tool, and if you’re interested in other DIY car-care tasks, check out our service tips and tricks to learn how to jump-start a car, how to bleed brakes, and more.