Automotive tires are available in various types. And different types of tires require specific care and maintenance, including tire rotation. According to the types of tire, the principles of tire rotation differ. For example, if the tires of your car are
non-directional, they can be rotated in any direction. But, if they are directional, they can be rotated in only one direction. If you are familiar with tires, you must have noticed tire manufacturers imprint an arrow symbol on the sidewall of directional tires to specify which direction the tire should be rotated.

Further tire rotation can also be done in many different ways. However, which pattern or way you follow depends on the type and specifications of the tires. Following are some of the most common methods of tire rotation:

• Cross Rotation: Cross tire rotation is basically used for non-directional tires. It can be used for both front-wheel drive and rear-wheel drive vehicles. In cross rotation, both the rear wheels are crossed with the front wheels and the front wheels are fitted on the rear axle without following any kind of crossing.
• Four-wheel Drive: Four-wheel drive rotation pattern is used for four-wheel drive vehicles. In this rotation, all the four wheels of the car undergo cross-rotation. In other words, the front wheels are crossed and interchanged with rear wheels and the rear wheels are crossed and interchanged with the front wheels.
• Straight Rotation: Straight rotation involves swapping of car tires in a straight line. In this pattern, the front tire is swapped with the rear tire of the same side. It is one the most traditional patterns of tire rotation.
• 5 Tire Rotation: In this method of tire rotation, all the four tires of a car are crossed and fitted on opposite axles like four-wheel drive rotation. But, unlike, four-wheel drive, 5 tire rotation involves spare tire in the trunk of the car. The spare tire is fitted at the right rear position and the tire that is supposed to be fitted at that position is placed in the trunk as a spare tire. Every time when tire rotation is done, one tire will be placed in the trunk in order to have all the five tires uniform wear and tear.

This entry was posted on Monday, May 4th, 2009 at 9:22 am and is filed under Maintenance. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. You can leave a response, or trackback from your own site.