Technical Tyre rotation

Currently reading:
Technical Tyre rotation

Joined
Dec 12, 2015
Messages
368
Points
97
What are your thoughts on tyre rotation?

My MG ZR had very wide, very soft tyres and was pumping 160hp through them. Sadly, I drove her as intended :devil: I rotated the tyres every 5,000km which, incidentally, was when I gave her an oil and filter change.

It was very noticeable that this made a big difference to evening out the tyre wear. Apart from all the power going through the front wheels and the rear wheels just being there to keep her bum off the ground, power steering encourages you to turn tightly when moving slowly (car parks, etc) and that scrubs out the sides of the tyres. Believe me, this rotation policy really worked.

So naturally, I intended to do the same thing with my Panda... except I got slack and she's now up to 6,500km and I haven't done the first rotation yet. :eek:

While I still think tyre rotation is a good policy, I'm wondering if I need to do it as often with the Panda. For starters, she's pushing half the amount of power through the front wheels. She weighs a lot less. I'm still using the factory tyres which appear to have been made out of recycled concrete girders rather than the soft rubber I had on the ZR. On the other hand, I'm even more likely to scrub the front tyres when steering due to the fantastic turning circle on the Panda.

Seeing I've missed my first 5,000km (note, not miles) change, I'm tempted to leave it till 10,000 on the grounds that wear is likely to be less on this car, especially with these tyres. This also means I don't have to get off my fat arse and do it today :rolleyes:

So, what are your thoughts?
 
I believe it's the safest to keep the tires with the most profile on the rear. That way during rain or other conditions with less grip the front will always be the first to go and you will be able to feel this and act accordingly.
When the front has more grip you might end up in a situation where you think you have plenty of grip and when you release the accalerator(abrubtly) the rear of the car will go light and is more prone to aquaplane and ultimately even might come around.

Just my two cents others may have different ideas about what is the safest.
 
Yep, tires with the most profile on the rear is the better way to go.
Because of the light weight of the Panda especially at the rear, it is wise to have the tires with the most profile at the rear.
When it's time to replace the front tires, you place the new tires at the rear and move the rear tires to the front.
That is the way i do it, for so long i drive FWD cars.
 
Funny about the 'best on the back' attitude from the UK. Here in Australia, all the motoring organisations and 'experts' say 'best on the front', the argument being that a loss of grip at the rear can only result in a slide or a spin, both easy to control (but we don't get your ice so that might affect it) whereas a loss of grip at the front means no steering and that definitely is an issue.

Back on the topic, I'm not sure that allowing your front tyres to become badly worn is a good idea in any situation, which is what is going to happen if you let them wear till replacement. With power steering, you can turn the front wheels to the point of scrubbing which wears the sides of the profile, leading to less tread on the road.

But maybe you're right.
 
Funny about the 'best on the back' attitude from the UK. Here in Australia, all the motoring organisations and 'experts' say 'best on the front', the argument being that a loss of grip at the rear can only result in a slide or a spin, both easy to control (but we don't get your ice so that might affect it) whereas a loss of grip at the front means no steering and that definitely is an issue.

Back on the topic, I'm not sure that allowing your front tyres to become badly worn is a good idea in any situation, which is what is going to happen if you let them wear till replacement. With power steering, you can turn the front wheels to the point of scrubbing which wears the sides of the profile, leading to less tread on the road.

But maybe you're right.

I'm from the Netherlands. ;)
 
Funny about the 'best on the back' attitude from the UK. Here in Australia, all the motoring organisations and 'experts' say 'best on the front', the argument being that a loss of grip at the rear can only result in a slide or a spin, both easy to control (but we don't get your ice so that might affect it) whereas a loss of grip at the front means no steering and that definitely is an issue.

Back on the topic, I'm not sure that allowing your front tyres to become badly worn is a good idea in any situation, which is what is going to happen if you let them wear till replacement. With power steering, you can turn the front wheels to the point of scrubbing which wears the sides of the profile, leading to less tread on the road.

But maybe you're right.
You will always have more weight hanging on the front tires because of the engine/gearbox.
Even with more worn tires on the front, you still have less chance of aquaplaning.
Further, i replace my tires more often then most people would do.
i never drive them up to the worn indicator, Less then 5mm profile depth and they are qualify for replacement. ;)
 
This question crops up regularly, and (at least if you're in the UK) the answer is always the same; a quick google will show that most reputable tyre manufacturers recommend that the best tyres with the most tread are always fitted to the rear of the vehicle. Rotating tyres is generally not recommended.
 
Last edited:
Funny about the 'best on the back' attitude from the UK. Here in Australia, all the motoring organisations and 'experts' say 'best on the front', the argument being that a loss of grip at the rear can only result in a slide or a spin, both easy to control (but we don't get your ice so that might affect it) whereas a loss of grip at the front means no steering and that definitely is an issue.

Back on the topic, I'm not sure that allowing your front tyres to become badly worn is a good idea in any situation, which is what is going to happen if you let them wear till replacement. With power steering, you can turn the front wheels to the point of scrubbing which wears the sides of the profile, leading to less tread on the road.

But maybe you're right.

I would hate to control a spin at 130 km/h under wet conditions and certainly wouldn't call it easy but I'm no expert .
Like the U.K. we have a lot of wet weather over here and that's probably why the best rear policy is the way to go over here.
Also the tread probably matters the most in wet conditions over here because most of us hardly ever come by as mutch as a gravel road or something like that, we only drive on asphalt or paved streets so that also may be a point of considiration.
I know the conditions in Australia can be much more challenging so that might justify a different policy.
 
This question crops up regularly, and the answer is always the same; a quick google will show that most reputable tyre manufacturers recommend that the best tyres with the most tread are always fitted to the rear of the vehicle. Rotating tyres is generally not recommended.

Actually, that's not true, Google does NOT give that result. It MIGHT in your end of the world (Google is location sensitive afterall), but not here where my response is more usual. Giving a black and white answer is definitely not correct.
 
Actually, that's not true, Google does NOT give that result. It MIGHT in your end of the world (Google is location sensitive afterall), but not here where my response is more usual. Giving a black and white answer is definitely not correct.

Interesting - and indeed the Australian Michelin site gives instructions for tyre rotation whereas the UK Michelin site recommends the best tyres are always fitted to the rear.

As others are saying, I suspect the weather and typical road surface conditions have something do with it, and there may be cultural differences too - IIRC the Americans are rather fond of rotating tyres. I've edited my earlier post - thanks aussiepanda.
 
Last edited:
Interesting - and indeed the Australian Michelin site gives instructions for tyre rotation whereas the UK Michelin site recommends the best tyres are always fitted to the rear.

As others are saying, I suspect the weather and typical road surface conditions have something do with it, and there may be cultural differences too - IIRC the Americans are rather fond of rotating tyres. I've edited my earlier post - thanks aussiepanda.

Although, at the foot of this webpage . . . . . . . . .

http://www.michelin.com.au/AU/en/help-and-support/do-I-need-new-tires.html#tab-4
 
Interesting - and indeed the Australian Michelin site gives instructions for tyre rotation whereas the UK Michelin site recommends the best tyres are always fitted to the rear.

As others are saying, I suspect the weather and typical road surface conditions have something do with it, and there may be cultural differences too - IIRC the Americans are rather fond of rotating tyres. I've edited my earlier post - thanks aussiepanda.

I'll just take this as an excuse to be lazy shall I? :cool:

It was definitely an issue with the MG ZR where you could see the tyre wear from one 5,000km swap to the next. With the things on the Panda being as hard as the hobs of hang and the modest weight of the little thing, it's probably not an issue.

I applaud you checking and being honest with your answers, something I'm not used to on forums. Honda liked to claim that only the nicest people rode Hondas, but maybe the nicest people drive Fiats :D
 
The rotation of the tires "here" means different Circumference of the tires.
With modern cars and there tire pressure systems, it could reed that two tires are less inflated, because it uses the ABS censors to measure Circumference.

Now tyre pressures ARE something I'm fanatical about... though not fanatical enough to use my own pressure gauge.:rolleyes: Most service stations here use a pump where you set the pressure on the base station, hook up the hose and it sets your tyres to the 'right' pressure. I work on the principle that if I always use the same unit, I've a reasonable chance of getting consistent settings (consistently wrong probably, but consistent anyway). With the standard springs, I can feel when my tyres are even a couple of psi out.
 
I prefer one of these to inflate my tires. ;)
 

Attachments

  • 1543.jpg
    1543.jpg
    36.5 KB · Views: 18
I prefer one of these to inflate my tires. ;)

I've got one of them too... but the plastic has broken off the face of the gauge and my compressor lives in the back of the shed behind the engine crane, the engine stand, the lawn mower and, for the moment, the Land Rover chassis :eek:

Mind you, the rotten thing's probably as inaccurate as the unit at the service station, mine was only a cheapie I got as part of the free kit I got with the compressor.

I used to use a pencil gauge with my first MGB, then a dial gauge. Can't use them these days with them stupid new preset systems unless you over inflate your tyre and then let it down to the right pressure.

What pressure do you put in your space saver spare? How often do you check it? (I know, the honest answer is 'not often enough' but...)
 
I had occasion to buy a couple of tyres in Switzerland a few years ago and they actually insisted that it would be illegal to put the new ones on the front.
 
I've got one of them too... but the plastic has broken off the face of the gauge and my compressor lives in the back of the shed behind the engine crane, the engine stand, the lawn mower and, for the moment, the Land Rover chassis :eek:

Mind you, the rotten thing's probably as inaccurate as the unit at the service station, mine was only a cheapie I got as part of the free kit I got with the compressor.

I used to use a pencil gauge with my first MGB, then a dial gauge. Can't use them these days with them stupid new preset systems unless you over inflate your tyre and then let it down to the right pressure.

What pressure do you put in your space saver spare? How often do you check it? (I know, the honest answer is 'not often enough' but...)
At my work i have a expensive professional one, that is very accurate. :D
 
Back
Top