Tyre rotation

Ransom_Dry_Elk · 10 March 2018 at 12:51PM

My car recently had a MOT and service. One of the warnings was that the front tyres were down to 4mm of tread, however the back ones are only 6.
I was wondering if I should get them rotated but apparently Kwikfit don't recommend it and would replace all 4 tyres. Would it be worth finding somewhere that will do a rotation or should I replace all of them anyway?

facade · 10 March 2018 at 1:09PM

4mm is plenty of tread!
If you have some sort of spare wheel and a jack you can swap the front wheels with the back ones (assuming the tyres are the same size, they will be unless we are talking about something exotic) by putting the spare on in place of one wheel and then swapping the newly removed wheel with one of the others.

I'd put the fronts on the back, and then wear the fronts down nearer to 2mm then buy a new pair of fronts.

AdrianC · 10 March 2018 at 1:11PM

New tyres come with 8-9mm of tread.
The legal minimum is 1.6mm, the usual recommendation is that below 3mm badly affects water disperal ability.

There's no way I'd be replacing the 6mm rears. The 4mm fronts are getting towards end of life, but not there yet.

Rotate? Your call. It's not exactly hard to do it yourself, if you have a jack and wheelbrace...

knightstyle · 10 March 2018 at 1:32PM

IMO you should replace both tyres on an axel at the same time.
What I do is to replace the front pair at about 2mm and put them on the back putting the other part worn back pair on the front.

agrinnall · 10 March 2018 at 1:34PM

There is an argument that you should have the most tread on the rear tyres, so you could keep things as they are for now, then when the fronts have worn down to 3mm or less get them replaced and at the same time swap the rears to the front. It won't make any difference in how much you have to pay overall but if you do the swap now you may have to budget to replace all 4 tyres at once.

telemarks · 10 March 2018 at 1:38PM

Or just let the front wheels wear down, then replace just the fronts before next winter. Rotating tyre front<>back, is quite a lot of work with a spare and a jack.

I see no problem having different wear front and back, after all unless the car has just come off the production line (or out of Kwikfit

) then a car has unequal wear front/back for 99% of its life.

I'm sure all of us here are not surprised that the people recommending you buy more tyres .. just happen to sell them :rotfl:

sevenhills · 10 March 2018 at 2:21PM

Ransom_Dry_Elk wrote: »

My car recently had a MOT and service. One of the warnings was that the front tyres were down to 4mm of tread, however the back ones are only 6.
I was wondering if I should get them rotated but apparently Kwikfit don't recommend it and would replace all 4 tyres. Would it be worth finding somewhere that will do a rotation or should I replace all of them anyway?

The advice these days is ... "New tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front.

So if you are thinking your best tyres should be on the front, this is wrong.

Noree · 10 March 2018 at 2:36PM

sevenhills wrote: »

The advice these days is ... "New tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front.

So if you are thinking your best tyres should be on the front, this is wrong.

I cannot see how that is sound advice.

So if a vehicle, say a fiesta is a front engine front wheel drive vehicle, then the best tyres should be on the back?! Makes no sense to be fair.

The front wheels are steering and driving the vehicle and have a larger portion of vehicle weight. The rear wheels are simply following along.

As for the original post, I wouldnt bother with switching front/rears.

Depending on what vehicle you have, you can apply cheap budget tyres on the rear (if something like a fiesta) and medium quality tyres on the front and the vehicle is fine in all conditions as long as tread is above 3mm for those colder (frosty) or wet days.

Also Kwik Fit are trying to get money out of you and are not giving the right advice. If they!!!8217;ve recorded this advice, then I would be inclined to challenge it and ask why a tyre with 6mm tread requires a change.

antieu · 10 March 2018 at 2:39PM

Just swap the fronts to the back and vice versa, but keep them on the same side of the car, n/side to n/side etc. then if you maintain the same rare of wear they should all need replacing at the same time.

AdrianC · 10 March 2018 at 2:42PM

Noree wrote: »

I cannot see how that is sound advice.

That's as maybe, but it is the industry standard advice, and has been for years - and is based on very sound reasons.

So if a vehicle, say a fiesta is a front engine front wheel drive vehicle, then the best tyres should be on the back?! Makes no sense to be fair.

The front wheels are steering and driving the vehicle and have a larger portion of vehicle weight. The rear wheels are simply following along.

Understeer is more predictable, and easier for the inexperienced to control, than oversteer.

telemarks · 10 March 2018 at 3:02PM

AdrianC wrote: »

That's as maybe, but it is the industry standard advice, and has been for years - and is based on very sound reasons.
Understeer is more predictable, and easier for the inexperienced to control, than oversteer.

Sounds wrong to me. My son ended up in the left hedge, because he over corrected understeer, then launched across the road when the tyres did bite again.

In understeer to car doesn't lose speed, and is heading straight towards oncoming traffic/verge, at least in oversteer the car slows as it goes sideways.

Tyre rotation

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