Jack Williams

Why it’s Important to Rotate your Tires

Have you rotated your tires lately? Rotating your tires is one of the most overlooked and least expensive things you can do to save money on auto expenses.

You might think that your tires do enough "rotating" while they're on your wheels, but that's actually part of the problem.

The weight of your car isn't evenly distributed, so some of your tires have more work to do than others. That means that if you keep your tires on the same wheels, some will wear out faster. You can level the playing field by making sure each tire takes a turn on each wheel.

If you have a full-size spare tire, you can include it in the rotation and extend your tires' lives even further. Do not include a "temporary use" spare tire, sometimes called a "donut," in your tire rotation.

Getting the rotation done by a qualified automotive service technician gives them the opportunity to inspect your tires for more serious issues. These include uneven wear patterns, which could indicate an alignment problem, or hidden damage on the tires' inner sidewalls, which could cause a blowout.

Check your vehicle's manual to see how often you should rotate its tires. If the manual doesn't mention tire rotation, make sure you do it about every 5,000 to 7,500 miles. That's about twice a year for a typical driver.