Tire Rotation

BCGM · February 14

Just had the truck in for its second oil change at just under 4000 Klm . They also did a tire rotation . Hmmm . They don't include the spare in the tire rotation . Is that normal ?

Also how do you like to do it ? I have heard after the tires have had some miles on them and if you needed to throw the spare on it can put stress on the drivetrain as the spare has more tread on it . Is this a fact ? How concerning is this ?

Thank you

KARNUT · February 14

7 minutes ago, BCGM said:

Just had the truck in for its second oil change at just under 4000 Klm . They also did a tire rotation . Hmmm . They don't include the spare in the tire rotation . Is that normal ?

Also how do you like to do it ? I have heard after the tires have had some miles on them and if you needed to throw the spare on it can put stress on the drivetrain as the spare has more tread on it . Is this a fact ? How concerning is this ?

Thank you

Is that still a thing? I can’t remember the last time when my spare was the same as the wheels on my vehicle. Usually a regular rim or a space saver in a car.

Chopper_Man · February 14

The spare rim is a steel rim with no TPMS sensor.

jake111 · February 14

Something tells me some day I will have a 12-year-old spare tire with 0 miles on it. You could swap it in if you replaced the tires with the same brand/model. Since my truck came with Firestones, that ain't likely!

swathdiver · February 14

6 hours ago, BCGM said:

Just had the truck in for its second oil change at just under 4000 Klm . They also did a tire rotation . Hmmm . They don't include the spare in the tire rotation . Is that normal ?

Perfectly normal!

We do RWD Cross Rotations every oil change, about every 5K miles. Meaning, the front tires are crossed as they go the rear and the rears come straight forward. The opposite is done with Front Wheel Drive automobiles.

KARNUT · February 14

4 hours ago, swathdiver said:

Perfectly normal!

We do RWD Cross Rotations every oil change, about every 5K miles. Meaning, the front tires are crossed as they go the rear and the rears come straight forward. The opposite is done with Front Wheel Drive automobiles.

I’ve watched discount tire rotate my tires for decades. Front to back is it. Never an x pattern. I don’t have unusual wear so I go with it.

KARNUT · February 14

6 hours ago, jake111 said:

Something tells me some day I will have a 12-year-old spare tire with 0 miles on it. You could swap it in if you replaced the tires with the same brand/model. Since my truck came with Firestones, that ain't likely!

Ok I’m going to jinx myself. I’ve never had a flat. Maybe it’s because I don’t wear my tires to the nub. I’ve had leaks on original truck tires running on ROWs before my KOs get on. I used to carry plugs and plug them. So I got spare tires that are pretty old. Non match the ones on the vehicle, only in size.

Ry Guy · February 14

Your owners manual will tell you the correct procedure.

Pryme · February 14

I can do mine by myself, but it is kind of a pain in the butt so I wanted to get an idea of if anyone would do it for like 20-25 bucks and I called discount tire and he said they do free rotations and I said well I didn’t buy my tires there and he said it doesn’t matter And I thought there must be a catch so I went in there and he said the balance was like $30 but the rotation was free and I just said do the free rotation without the balance and everything else was in perfect condition so I literally went in there and got a free tire rotation and it still drives down the road the same as before I had it rotated and I watch them do it. So I will definitely be going back in there for tires in the future.

KARNUT · February 14

Well I’ll be. Sitting here at Honda getting fluids changed in the Ridgeline. I just watched a tire rotation. Sure enough they crisscrossed to the back. I don’t think my last rotation at discount did that.

BCGM · February 14

Okay Thanks for the replies fellas .

To be honest I have not even looked at the spare wheel to see what's under there

bruceb58 · February 14

My spare is on an 18" steel wheel and my truck has 20" wheels.

When I rotate tires, I just pull out my 2 floor jacks and do one side at a time. I can rotate my tires is less time than it takes to drive to Discount tire let alone waiting for them to get to me. It also lets me inspect things like brake wear.

Ry Guy · February 14

1 hour ago, bruceb58 said:

My spare is on an 18" steel wheel and my truck has 20" wheels.

When I rotate tires, I just pull out my 2 floor jacks and do one side at a time. I can rotate my tires is less time than it takes to drive to Discount tire let alone waiting for them to get to me. It also lets me inspect things like brake wear.

I prop up the rear axle on both sides with jack stands, and then use the floor jack to prop up one front wheel at a time so that I can move the rear tire up and cross the front tire to the opposing back position. Then do the same on the other side. Very quick and easy.

Pryme · February 14

36 minutes ago, Ry Guy said:

I prop up the rear axle on both sides with jack stands, and then use the floor jack to prop up one front wheel at a time so that I can move the rear tire up and cross the front tire to the opposing back position. Then do the same on the other side. Very quick and easy.

This would be the proper way to do it yourself. The guy above is doing it wrong. But it’s Bruce so it’s understandable.