Tire Rotation

[DrG]

What's the feeling about tire rotation around here? How often is it needed and are you guys rotating the 4 on the ground or do you include the spare? I see the owners manual says all 5 but my tire dealer says only 4 on a front to back deal with no cris-crossings. If the second opion is the best plan, then I need to locate a single jacking point on each side and lift up both tires on a single side and switch them.
David

[f5fstop]

I would recommend criss-crossing the tires. From front to back, same side is normally used for directional tires. Criss-crossing will allow for more even tread wear.
As for the spare? I know they recommend using the spare, but in about another two hundred miles, I will be doing only the four on the ground; but that is my personal opinion and disagrees with the tire people.

[DarthKarl]

Originally posted by f5fstop:
As for the spare? I know they recommend using the spare, but in about another two hundred miles, I will be doing only the four on the ground; but that is my personal opinion and disagrees with the tire people.

I'm not a big fan of rotation of the spare either. I'm planning on just rotating the four.

[fourfourto]

Im bringing in mine for a rotation tommorow I will be rotating in the spare because the wife did some side damage when backing out of driveway the sidewall hit the 12 inch retaining wall and has some cuts in it. by the way it climbed right up on the wall.

[fourfourto]

Im guessing best spot to rotatet he spare too is left front because its replacing the left back.?

[NEOCON1]

by the way it climbed right up on the wall.

thats the main thing LOL

[f5fstop]

Recommended tire rotation.
Four tires:
Right rear, to right front
Left rear to left front
Right front to left rear
Left front to right rear

Five tires (spare):
Spare to right rear
Right rear to right front
Left rear to left front
Right front to left rear
Left front to spare

These are the recommendations of the Tire Manufacturers association, as well as most of the car companies. I read a study years ago, and it was proved out on a few of my cars, the right rear wears the fastest on rear wheel drive vehicles. This is true, with our without a limited slip axle or traction control. For that reason, the first rotation put the spare on the right rear. (I wonder if the rear left wears faster in England, Australia, etc., due to the right and left turns behind complete opposite?)

[Av1ator]

If you rotate the tires yourself isn't there an issue with the TPS system?

The dealer told me that only THEY could rotate the tires as you had to have a special tool to reset the TPS system..or is that just more BS???

[f5fstop]

Originally posted by Av1ator:
If you rotate the tires yourself isn't there an issue with the TPS system?

The dealer told me that only THEY could rotate the tires as you had to have a special tool to reset the TPS system..or is that just more BS???

Maybe...
I thought there was an issue of relearning the sensors to the BCM. However, I just rotated my tires, and there is no TPM warning. Now, until I can confirm on Monday with the engineer in charge of this system, I will assume the following.
Since these sensors are not corner specific (like on the system used on Vettes that signals air pressure in each specific tire), the BCM has no idea what corner they are in, and as long as it receives a signal from all four, it is a happy BCM. Now, I did a four wheel rotation, not a five wheel.
If you do a five wheel rotation, the spare, which has a sensor that has not been learned, will send a signal to the BCM it does not recognize, and the tire that became a spare will not be picked up by the BCM. So, if appears if you do a five wheel rotation, you have to learn the sensors to the BCM.
As for learning the sensors, there is a procedure in the owner's manual, where after rotation, you signal the BCM to go into learn mode, and then lower by at least 10 psi (or raise by 10 psi) the pressure in the tires. I believe it says to start with the front left, then rotate around the car. The horn honks twice when the sensor is learned, and then you go to the next tire/sensor.
The dealer does have a reed tool that when they go into the learn mode, all the do is put the tool next to the stem, and push a button, and then the system learns that sensor.
So, yes the dealer has a tool that is easier to use, but yes, you can do it yourself.