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What You Need to Know About Tire Rotations

posted on 8/15/2024 6:33:00 AM

Why does tire rotation and wheel balancing matter? As a driver, you want to make your family’s vehicles and your own vehicle’s tires last longer with regular tire rotation and wheel balancing.

Let’s start with tire rotation. In normal driving around Lawrenceville, GA, your front tires wear more on the shoulders because they handle much of the cornering forces in turns. Front-wheel drive vehicles have even more force on the front tires.

At Global Auto Solutions in Lawrenceville, we rotate the tires so that all of the tires do some duty on the front end as well as getting a little break on the back end. That way, all four tires wear more evenly over their life and last longer for Lawrenceville car owners.

For most vehicles in Lawrenceville, GA, tires are rotated front to back. Some recommend a cross rotational pattern as seen to the diagram to the right, that includes the spare tire, and some high-performance vehicles have different size tires on the front and rear and may even have uni-directional tires which means that they can only be on the left or the right side of the vehicle. Our friendly, knowledgeable and professional staff at Global Auto Solutions can help you sort that out and will perform the right tire rotation for your vehicle.

Your car manufacturer will have a recommendation for how often you should rotate your tires.

What is wheel balancing? Ever notice your wheel wobbling? That’s when there are heavy spots on the tire.

Balancing adds weights to the wheel to balance it out. Now, we are talking about very small weight differences. Variations in the tire and wheel manufacture can cause a slight imbalance. The valve stem, and now the tire pressure monitoring sensors in the tire, also play into the equation.

Even small differences can cause annoying vibrations at speed for Lawrenceville drivers: the wheel is essentially bouncing a bit as it goes down the road. For example, at Lawrenceville speeds, an out of balance wheel can be slamming into the road 14 times a second. That’s annoying and can cause tires to wear out more quickly for Lawrenceville drivers.

If a front wheel’s out of balance you’ll feel the vibration through the steering wheel. When it’s a rear tire, you’ll feel the vibration through your seat. If you’re getting bad vibes from your vehicle, bring it in to Global Auto Solutions in Lawrenceville to see if it’s a balance issue or something else. Lawrenceville drivers should balance the wheels whenever they get a new tire or remount a tire like when it’s been removed for a flat repair.