When you have your vehicle serviced and request that ALL tires be rotated, should you presume that the spare will also be rotated into the "working" group of tires, or do you expect that only the four touching the ground would be rotated?

 

Personally, I would expect the (4) tires on the ground to be rotated unless I specified otherwise. For one thing, many spares these days are not even the same size as the "normal" tires. Secondly, I prefer to keep my spare unused if possible -- especially on a car so I don't have to have this grungy spare in my trunk all the time.

 

Just expect the 4 on the ground. Most spares are also not on the same rim as that are used on the truck, assuming you are talking the truck. I do however always request that the tires be X rotated. Right front to left rear etc, for better wear. That is if I am not rotating them myself.

Sled...

 

I do not let them rotate my tires when i take my truck in for service.

Under normal city driving the front wear faster than the back due to stearing. But with the ocasional hard launch from the lights i am wearing front and back evenly.

 

So, if you never rotate your spare (mine is full size) and you have these on for, say 95% of the tread, get a flat on the rear, then put on a brand new rear, wouldn't you think that it may cause some damage to the dtive train, or wear down the brand new tire faster?

PS. I did specifically say rotate all tires, including the spare. They would have had to remove the spare from the steel rim and put it on the "shiney" rim and put the used tire on the steel rim. Mayabe that's why they never did it.
I know the manual shows how to rotate ALL tires.

 

I would think that would be beyond a normal rotation and would be charged accordingly.

I did however, when puchasing my first set of tires, say that I only wanted three new and have the new spare used as the forth. I bought the same tire as replacement. I couldnt see having a $150 tire hanging backthere hopefully never being used, and also less likely to be stolen. I figured it I have a flat, that spare wont be on for long.

Sled...

 

The dif. in tire size is not enough to cause any excessive wear in the rear gears. If one was a dif. height ther ewould be a concern over a long distance at high speeds where the rear gears had to work to make up for the dif.in ratational speeds. I can not imagine that a new tire would wear faster that the other one. hope this helps.

 

OK, I guess I have been taught wrong. I have always rotated all 5 of my tires when I do it myself.:santa:

 

That was the way it was done in the 60-70's when cars had full size spares on the same rim, and unidirectional rolling tires, then they started making belted radial tires that once thay started rolling in one direction and on one side, if changed sides and they would start rolling the other way ,then the steel belts would could seperate.

 

I know about unidirectional tires. I would dismount, then remount so they would be going the same direction.

 

Yea Bias tires it didn't matter. You could rotate them rim and all. Just slap it on the opposite side of the rig and go. Now if you move a Radial to the opposite side of the rig (as the manual shows "left front to right rear/ right font to left front" with out unmounting and remounting those two, then you risk busting a belt.

For including a spare, some people do buy a set of tires +1. A set of tires are 4, so they buy a 5th to be mounted as a spare so they have the same size and type for a spare. Most do not.
I will if I have the money, but if I'm scrapping to come up with the set then I'l leave my old spare as long as it is not dry rotted. For a spare, size does not matter. Remember doghnuts?
I wont run a spare past the next available town to get my tire fixed or buy a new tire. Then spare gets put back up and I monitor daily for a few days, then weekly for a few months. If it was used for more than 50 miles then I'll consider either it gets put into service if it is the same as the other 4 and the worst one that it replaces gets thrown away then buy a new tire for a spare. Or the spare becomes a spare for a trailer and buy a new tire for spare for the vehicle. I will not run with only 4 good tires available.

Some also prefer to include the spare in rotation, I personally do not. I want that to be my best tire and don't want to worry that previous wear has caused it to loose air after sitting. In my theory an unsued tire is more likely to hold air than a previously used one that could have slight valve stem or other damage, leaking over 3 or 4 months. On the ground I'd notice, but while in the undercarriage, I wouldn't notice unitl I needed to put it on and realized I was stranded with a flat as well as a flat spare.

Thats just my own precatuions that I use.

Besides what tires and if there is a difference in tire size that determines the tire rotational pattern, your tire rotation pattern depends on your drive line too. FWD, 4wd, RWD are all different.

http://www.pepboys.com/learning_cent..._rotation.html

 

Actually that is no longer tru about blowing a belt, as long as you do regular rotations.
Radial tire construction is way better than the old days and unless the tire specifies the rotational direction, they can and in fact for best wear be rotated by X pattern and reversing rotation direction.

Sled...

 

Good idea -- I had never thought of doing that before! What an easy way to cut the cost of new tires by 25% right off the bat!

 

most of the time the spare is on a steel wheel and the four on the ground are on a custom rim.
I guess the main question would be; how often do u have them rebalanced??

 

I only rotate the tires that are on the ground. I check the air pressure on the spare at every service, that's it. I'm lazy, and my spare tire is a steel wheel so it wouldn't match all the others.