Print it out and hand it to them at service time.

Pic on right. Get a piece of chalk and mark your tires before hand to ensure all found their way home.

 

As long as it's the same each time

Print it out and hand it to them at service time.
Pic on right. Get a piece of chalk and mark your tires before hand to ensure all found their way home.

I don't think it matters which way you rotate of these two methods. As long as you do the same way on future rotations, you'll be fine. I'd recommend some sort of marker under the spare tire (on the bracket) that indicates your rotation method. I know I'd forget between rotations!

no whining now...

 

This is the one I found:

 

This is the one I found:

View attachment 4162891

It's rare that I don't rotate my own even though they're kinda heavy, but when I go to Discount Tire, I always print this out and ask them to use it, which they do.

If you have someone else do it, just do yourself a favor and check that the lugs are torqued. Peace of mind >*

 

i measure the tread depth on all tires. i put the two highest on front lowest on carrier and other two on rear.

some people with certain lockers may wear out rear tires faster, especially with heavy pedal on corners, so they may need highest on rear.

 

<scratches head>

 

I use the one Skull showed. It’s printed out and I hand it right to the tech, and tell him this way only. Been doing this for years with all my Wranglers.

 

Question; since it's also about rotation hope the OP won't mind. My new to me 2018 JK has 18000 miles and it looks like the previous owner rotated the 4 tires but the spare, not. Still has the mold spikes and full tread. Can I rotate it in or is it to late in the life of the other 4?

 

I'd measure depth. Finicky Subaru specs 2/32" and 3/32" as limits, and that's with AWD. An open diff 2wd like ours can tolerate a variance that's greater than that on the drive axle. Offroad in 4wd variance doesn't matter at all, nor would it matter much on the steer axle.

Post what you measure. Pick up one of the credit card measurers at the Costco tire center, Discount Tire location, etc.

Or go by math. You probably have 50k mile tires, from 11/32" new to 4/32" replace. 50k/7 = 7143 miles per 1/32" wear. So your 18k should be about 2.5/32" down. Which is perfectly fine to rotate in. Maybe keep the spare on the drive axle longer to wear it down faster, bouncing side to side for a few rotations.

 

I have found that the Jeep dealership and other service centers in my area (Indianapolis) rotate front to back and that's it. They'll cross if asked or do what's shown in the pictures above, but they all look at me like I'm weird.

 

That's what mine does, too. I took my GC in for one of its free Jeep Wave oil changes and tire rotations. It has a smaller spare so only a 4-tire rotation. I asked the service advisor what pattern they would use and he said front to back, same side. I replied that's not the correct way to do it on a 4WD vehicle. He looked at me like a deer in the headlights and I replied that I'll rotate them myself.

That's half the reason I do my own. The other is when they used to rotate them on my car I swear they'd crank up an impact gun to 300 ft lbs on those lug nuts. I could not get some of them loose with an old torque wrench set at its max 150 ft lbs that I use as a breaker bar.

 

Pixeldecals sells a sticker, I put it right on the spare mount.

 

Well, I feel like an idiot...I bought the same sticker and then had no idea where I shoud put it. Thanks

 

Funny.. we can complicate a 4th of July parade in a town with one police car and one fire truck..

 

For decades when doing a four tire rotation, it was a simple cross, not a front to back. I started this in 1989 after have some vibration from my tires on a Jeep Cherokee. A wise tire mechanic told me to cross them so the slight feathering would wear off when the rotation is reversed. As a result I got good tire wear over the life of the tires. Side note - the pickup I drover for 8 years and rotated regularly never had the spare removed. I sold the truck to a friend and he has not gone through three more sets of tires (the truck now has over 200,000 miles, and the spare is still the factory one that has never been removed). The current tires wouldn't fit under the back anyway.

When I first got my TJ it had a crappy spare that was (IMHO) good only to get me to the tire shop to get the good tire repaired, so it also got a four tire cross rotation. However, when the 2015 Sahara followed me home, I looked at five tire rotations to involve the spare, and all had at least one tire that went from back to front (or vice versa) without being reversed. That means that tire does not get reversed for two cycles.

I devised a five tire rotation that reverses the rotation of every tire on the ground. It is not that complex. The left front tire does stay on the front by going to the right front, but IMHO, the reversal is more important than swapping to the rear. I put the spare on the RR, then RR to LF, then LF to RF, then RF to LR and finally LR to spare. Yes on the next cycle that tire goes back on the rear but in so doing it also reverses it's rotation. Of course actually needing the spare in more than a temporary situation will upset this process, but would if it had to be put in any location.

 

I devised a five tire rotation that reverses the rotation of every tire on the ground. It is not that complex. The left front tire does stay on the front by going to the right front, but IMHO, the reversal is more important than swapping to the rear. I put the spare on the RR, then RR to LF, then LF to RF, then RF to LR and finally LR to spare. Yes on the next cycle that tire goes back on the rear but in so doing it also reverses it's rotation. Of course actually needing the spare in more than a temporary situation will upset this process, but would if it had to be put in any location.

There's a reason the rear tires get rotated straight to the front, same side, on a 4WD and RWD vehicle. It gives the tread a chance to "relax" before changing direction.

 

I still have to refer back to this site every time I do a rotation.

 

I rub my tires with CBD oil..... I think they may be too relaxed now.

 

Don't get any on your........................................................

 

I just wanna know what viscosity air I should be using in my tires and if it matters whether it is relaxed or not.....

How often should I be changing my air! OMG..... I've got research to do. I've not been paying enough attention to this.((-

 

At 80 degrees F, the dynamic viscosity of the air in your tires would be .01845 centipoise. Now if you go a usin' Nitrogen, well hell then all bets are off. :rofl:

 

This pattern includes one more tire swap than most, but has the added benefit of reversing the direction of each tire:

 

This pattern includes one more tire swap than most, but has the added benefit of reversing the direction of each tire:

Thing is... is that something we actually care about? Is it possible that this is something we want to avoid?

I mean... there are established patterns to rotate tires and this isn't one of them.

I've seen a million different speculations on why it's done the way it's done but presumably some tire engineer somewhere came up with them for actual reasons and swapping back straight to front was deemed to be a good idea.

I'd suggest it's more important to have tires going from front to back and vice versa on rotation than changing direction and your pattern doesn't do this.

 

Someone might have asked and I could have missed it, how many miles do the tires have on them? If the previous owner did not do 5 tire rotations you might want to stick with 4. If the spare is brand new and has a different height then the other four tires you can cause yourself some problems....

 

Lets use some math and not anecdotal evidence.

A 32" diameter tire brand new has a circumference of 100.52"

A 32" diameter tire worn down 5/32" (31.844" diameter) has a circumference of 100.03"

So for each revolution of the new spare vs. the other 3 worn tires, there is a difference of .49" in distance traveled. What problems is this going to cause?

 

I've done 5 tire rotations since we bought this rig new. Spare to Driver side rear, DS rear to DS front, DS front to PS rear, PS rear to PS front, PS front to spare. Have had great wear on all 5 tires. Do it every 5,000 miles along with an oil change.

 

I just rotate the four on the ground, like God and Donald Trump intended!

 

Does anyone know if there is a documented tire position that wears the fastest? Is it the left front or the right rear would be my guess?

 

I'll just leave this here........

 

I Forget......

Is/was Tire rotation on the List? You know, the "List"

- What oil should I use
- How often should I change my oil
- Whats the Best Lift
- 35" or 37"
- Mt vs AT
- 2dr vs 4dr
- TJ vs Jk vs JL
- Will a CAI make me better looking
- What octane will make my Jeep better
- Was Jimmy Hoffa killed by a K&N air filter

That list

 

You are right, you are free to rotate your tires as you wish. FCA is not telling you that you should do it one way or the other, they have left it wide open to your discretion with a simple disclaimer.
That being said I have not heard of anyone being denied warranty for differential work, and we have had a few here locally...



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

You are right, you are free to rotate your tires as you wish. FCA is not telling you that you should do it one way or the other, they have left it wide open to your discretion with a simple disclaimer.
That being said I have not heard of anyone being denied warranty for differential work, and we have had a few here locally...



Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk

Well, it's not really even the differentials which are the problem with different sized wheels. They were specifically built to turn wheels at different speeds. Furthermore they have no idea WHY they're turning wheels at different speeds... could be turning a corner, could have different sized wheels on, could be that the sun was on was side of the vehicle raising the tire pressure on that side... the diff doesn't know... or care.


Now if you get 2 extreme different sized wheels, your spider gears are in for a bit of a work out, and you'll probably generate more heat, but that's the extent of it.

As far as tread is concerned though, the difference in circumference between a 31" inch wheel, and a 32" wheel (effective difference of a worn vs new MT) is a mere 3.48" per revolution. Now compare that to a donut spare vs normal tire on a chevy uplander as example. The diameter difference is about 23 and 28 which works out to roughly roughly 13" of additional travel per revolution required on the donut. That's starting to become a pretty significant difference, but still it's allowable (by both the diff and the traction control) so long as speeds are not above 50 and distance is not more than 50 miles.
You can kind of see why FCA isn't concerned about the tread wear.... a one inch difference in size is EASILY handled by the diff.



It's diff locks and t-cases that become a problem with different sized wheels (and speed sensors depending on their sensitivity settings). There is zero give in a T-case and zero give in a diff lock. On the other hand this is exactly why you are specifically told the jeep is "part time" 4WD. The necessary give required by the t-case and diff locks now comes from the ability of the wheels themselves to skid on the more slippery surfaces (ice, snow, loose dirt... etc), and you can destroy these things if that slippage isn't there.... even if all wheels are exactly the same. Long story short though.... worn or new tread..... you're not supposed to be on dry, solid surfaces

 

I decided to go with the 5 tire rotation and am currently sitting at Discount Tire waiting on it to be completed.

The employee Gary was more than agreeable that on Wranglers it is highly recommended and highly suggested. I know many put next to no faith in what comes out of the mouth’s of tire store employees, but in my conversation with Gary, he is quite knowledgeable and received recent further training on 4 wheel drive vehicles specifically.

Not saying it’s for everyone, but I’m going to go this route. Bottom line, as long as you rotate your tires via 4 or 5, you will reap the rewards.

 

When I asked this rotation question I had no idea what was going to happen. I just don't want to throw away a perfectly good tire if I do a lift & go bigger or just get a more aggressive set of tires.