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Automotive Maintenance Tip on Tires
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Subject: Tire Rotations. There are several ways to rotate your vehicle's tires. Most technicians that I have asked state that tires should be rotated on a regular basis, usually at 5,000 mile intervals. Most also agree that the tires should be rotated front to rear and rear to front without criss-crossing right side with left side. This is probably the safest procedure in you are unsure what type of tires you have. If you have directional tred designs, then you shouldn't criss-cross them as that may cause unusual noise and vibrations. If, however, you have all-season or asymmetric tred designs, you can rotate them in a criss-cross pattern to eliminate the heel-toe wear pattern that sometimes occurs, especially on smaller vehicles with front wheel drive.
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On most front wheel drive vehicles, I have found that crossing the front to the rear and moving the rear tires straight to the front is a very compromising solution. When in doubt, always refer to your vehicle's owners manual. Do not be intimidated by the rumors that cross rotating your tires will develop tred separation. I believe that rumor started when steel belted radials first appeared on the market. Remember the old Firestone 500's back in the 70's? Stories went that if you cross rotated those tires, the would develop tred separations because the steel belts couldn't handle the reverse rotation. But drivers still expeienced problems with those tires even if they rotated the them straight back to front and front to back. Todays tire technology has come a long way since then.
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