$900 lesson learned, again.

[wincrasher]

You'd think I'd know better. Just goes to show you the difference between being cheap and being frugal.

This past weekend I had to buy a new set of tires for a car with only 26,000 miles on it. I had been noticing that I had a very slight vibration in the front for quite some time. I suspected that I was out of balance. I had 4 oil changes and each time they asked to rotate the tires. I always say no - it's an extra $15. I've had several cars where I got 50-60k miles on tires without ever rotating them.

Well turns out that the car was way out of alignment. The vibration was coming from the irregular wear on the tires (cupping) which threw out the balance. Had I taken it back to the dealer when I first was noticing vibration, it would have been corrected free of charge. Had I regularly rotated the tires, I might not have ruinded them.

New set of tires: $862
4 wheel alignment: $70
Promising to not be so stoopid in the future: Priceless

[bjl584]

Why were the tires so much? I bought four tires for my car a few years ago for around $350 out the door. They have a 55K warranty and I get a free rotation every 5K miles.

[wincrasher]

Prices for tires vary widely by size. These were high performance touring tires for 18" wheels.

[feh]

I rotate the tires on our vehicles myself. Best of both worlds - free and tires wear evenly.

[debbott]

$900.00 lesson learned,again

Good for you to change the oil very often. I do this every 3,000 miles. It really cuts down on all repairs also. Sorry to hear about your expensive lesson. This was a good thing to learn. Instead of going to a garage anymore, I have a friend rotate my tires and do the oil changes for me. He does a really good job, and I watch and learn. It has saved a lot of time and money. Debbott

[rennigade]

rotating tires is very easy and only takes a couple min. just front to back back to front. from what ive been told theres no need to cross the tires anymore, meaning left rear to front right, rear right to front left. i rotate mine each time i change my oil, which is usually less than 5k miles.

[bjl584]

rotating tires is very easy and only takes a couple min. just front to back back to front. from what ive been told theres no need to cross the tires anymore, meaning left rear to front right, rear right to front left. i rotate mine each time i change my oil, which is usually less than 5k miles.

You should cross them. The ideal way to rotate tires is back tires straight to the front and the front tires cross to the back. This way, every tire will eventually be in all 4 possible locations on the vehicle. The logic is that you want the tire to experience wear and stress from the rear of the vehicle as well as from the front, and experience turns to the right and to the left from the loaded and unloaded side of the vehicle. You will end up getting better more even wear than just going from back to front. Just check your tire pressure bi-weekly. Keep all 4 tires exactly at the same pressure.

[GREENBACK]

It is not uncommon, believe it or not, for vehicles to hit the showroom floor with misaligned wheels. I've had the same thing happen. Most people don't think of this with a new car and assume the vibration is something else. Before you know it your tires are ruined. Always listen and look for alignment problems whether the car is used or brand spanking new.

[wincrasher]

On oil changes I follow the manual or use the sensor. Generally now it's 7500 miles. Anything sooner is just a waste of oil. I always have someone do it. Doing it myself makes a mess and you have to haul the used oil someplace to dispose of it. No thanks.

My new Camaro has fatter tires in the rear than in the front. So there is really no way to rotate them unless you just go left to right.

[Entrical]

You should cross them. The ideal way to rotate tires is back tires straight to the front and the front tires cross to the back. This way, every tire will eventually be in all 4 possible locations on the vehicle. The logic is that you want the tire to experience wear and stress from the rear of the vehicle as well as from the front, and experience turns to the right and to the left from the loaded and unloaded side of the vehicle. You will end up getting better more even wear than just going from back to front. Just check your tire pressure bi-weekly. Keep all 4 tires exactly at the same pressure.

It actually depends. Cars with directional tires can't be rotated that way unless you dismount the tire and flip it around. You should always go by what the manufacturer recommends, unless you switch tires to/from directional or non-directional.

Also, about the tire pressures, every car has a placard in the Driver's door jam specifying what pressures to run the front and rear tires at. That should always be followed.