Just wanted to see if anyone has rotated tires Side to side? I am running directional PS02s, so I know they would have to remounted to run correctly on the opposite side, but I figure it has to help with tire life. my fronts have about 25K miles on them and the outside 3/4 of the tire have tons of tread life left but the inside 1/4 is worn to the belts. I figure next set I put on I will have rotated every 5K. my tire shop only charges me $10/tire to mount and balance. I just wanted to see if there would be any ill affects since the Belts got seated in on the other side.

 

That's what I do. My camber causes my tires to wear on the inside so I flip flop them to double the tread life. Works well

 

No, any tires that are down to the belts are dangerous. Ok to remount and switch if they weren't so dangerously worn down.

 

+1 didn't read that about the belts showing, but that's no bueno. You gotta flip them sooner

 

Don't **** with worn tires bro. You don't want a blow-out as you are passing a semi on the middle lane at 80 mph. Tires have to be treated with respect.

 

I think he means running a directional tire the wrong direction. The arrow indicates that the tire should only rotate in a particular direction and by rotating it to the other side of the car, you would increase the chance of failure. I would advise against it but i am by no means an expert.

I purchased my C-55 from a dealer and both front tires were running against the directional arrows.

 

I cross rotate my front and rear tires every 5k miles, my tires are non-directional and helps increase tire life (especially the rear) and reduces feathering/cupping on the outside edge of the front tires.

I would not recommend using any tires that are down to the belts that's just dangerous.

 

Obviously dont rotate tires showing belts that is why i said next set that i put on. Going to have the new ones taken off the rims at 10k miles and have them mounted in correct direction on opposite side.

 

Maybe I'm missing something, but how does rotating tires side to side help at all? Assuming you have a proper alignment, the opposite sides should wear exactly the same..

 

if your camber is not 0

 

Are we speaking pulling the tires off the wheels and placing them on the other side? Or simply pulling off the wheels and tires and swapping sides? If you do the latter, the same portion of the tire is being worn. And if you're not, there's no need to swap sides. You could pull off the tire and mount it the opposite way on the same wheel/side.


Essentially what I'm saying is for rotating side to side to work, you have to pull the tires off the wheels and remount them.

 

Our old '88 BMW M5 came originally with directional Pirelli P700 tires. There was a sticker over the spare that said something to the affect that reversing the tread direction would cause a minor loss in performance. Apparently it wasn't fatal.

 

I prefer for my directional tires to be rolling in the right direction in the rain before I slide off the road.

 

Because of cars camber set up and staggered wheels you can have one of three things happen being we cant rotate our tires because their staggered.

Assuming factory wheels, staggered, ride height and alignment. (will differ if modified)

1. uneven tire wear - some tires will wear faster
2. cupping - can create road noise
3. feathering - can create road noise

Swapping the tires helps extend the tire life and also reverses the "cupping" or "feathering" effect which creates road noise.

Using Directional Tires (remove tires from rim and swap tires from side to side in correct rotational direction)

Using Non-Directional Tires (swap rims from side to side do not remove tires)

From experience and using this method my tires typically last 30k-40k miles on my Mercedes instead of the typical 10k-15k, I have done this now on 5 sets of tires with repeated proven success in 2 different Mercedes vehicles I've owned.

Rear tires will wear on the inside (especially rear right primary drive wheel) swapping on a regular 5k interval will help extend the tire life and wear the tires more evenly. Swapping reverses the "cupping" or "feathering" effect on non-directional tires.
Front tires wear on the outside edge or sometimes inside edge (usually right front) typically this is the wheel you will notice the most road noise due to "cupping" or "feathering" effect. Swapping reverses the "cupping" or "feathering" effect on non-directional tires.




Cupping - Cupping is when tires have indentations in them. Cupping is caused by worse than normal wear, tear and pressure on the surface of the tire that takes small pieces and sections of the tires surface off. The remaining spots are smoothed during driving so they're called "cupping" as opposed to "chipping." Cupping may be referred to by some professionals as "scalloping." Look for indentations and an uneven surface that resembles "scallops" in the tread of the tire, where a driver should expect to see a smooth surface. You also might notice a slight rumbling sound as the vehicle moves. This sound most likely comes from the cupped spots on the tires.


Feathering - Feathered tires can often be detected by the eye, but it's always easier to feel the damage by running your hand over the surface of the tire. Feathering occurs when the tire's tread ribs have rounded edges on one side and sharp ones on the other. One side of the tire is clearly more worn than the other, and the ribs are not as pronounced.