Investing in your tires doesn’t just mean buying a good quality set when it’s time for replacement. Drivers should also be aware of the maintenance tasks that help maintain the quality of their tires over time. Some can be completed by the driver, such as tire pressure monitoring, and others should be handled by professionals. Let’s go over the importance of tire rotations as preventative maintenance.
What is a tire rotation?
They are often neglected as a routine task, but manufacturers do include recommendations for them in owner’s manuals. Most of them advise you get the tires rotated every 7,500 miles or six months, but you should always check yours to be sure. At the service, the techs will move each tire to a different position on your car, which typically means moving the back left tire to the front right tire. It helps the tread wear more evenly so that you get the most out of your tires. Other benefits include:
Better Traction
Adequate tread on your tires gives them improved traction on the road. In the winter, when snow and ice conditions make it slippery, this is especially important. A tread with shallow grooves will be smoother and lack the grip needed for a quick stop. When this happens on snow, your vehicle will most likely slide instead of stop like needed.
Less Chance of Blowout
Holes or blowouts can happen at any time due to debris on the roads, but damage can also happen to tires under too much pressure. If an area experiences more focused pressure, and it doesn’t get relief through a tire rotation, the rubber gets thinner and thinner. Over time, it becomes more prone to damage. The affected area could wear down enough that even running over a sharp rock could puncture the tire.
What happens if you don’t get your tires rotated?
Without routine rotations, the tread on the tires will wear down unevenly. Tires are expensive to replace, so you want to do your best to make them last as long as possible. Easy maintenance tasks like rotations, balancing, and checking tire pressure go a long way when done consistently.
The experts at Superior Service Center are ready to help and can typically complete routine maintenance appointments quickly. We have been serving the Southern Twin Cities metro since 1982 and can handle all of your car repair needs.