Tyre Rotation
Tyre rotation is the practice of moving tyres from one position on the vehicle to another, to allow the tyres to wear more evenly over their lifespan.
At Kwik Fit we recommend you fit any new tyres to the rear axle and in matching pairs where possible, and rotate your tyres every 6,000 Miles, or 6 Months - where this complies with vehicle manufacturer recommendations.
More frequent rotations may be required if driver usage involves prolonged periods of high speeds and/or high loads, as well as rugged surfaces.
Why do we recommend:
- Each tyre is under slightly different demand, and therefore wears slightly differently.
- A drive axle will wear faster than a non-driven axle, taking more of the torque and friction.
- Most of the braking force is applied to the front axle, which can also accelerate wear here.
- New tyres may be susceptible to higher wear rate due to having a deeper tread depth. This extra depth of tread leads to higher heat generation, cause by greater tread block movement, which can affect the rolling resistance and wear characteristics.
- If your car is an all-wheel, or 4-wheel drive model, even wear across the tyres is important to reduce stress on the drivetrain components.
Rotation patterns
Rearward Cross
- Recommended for Rear wheel drive vehicles.
- Rear tyres move to the front axle, remaining on the same side, and the front tyres move to the rear but opposite sides.
X-Pattern
- Recommended for 4-wheel / all-wheel drive vehicles.
- Tyres are moved diagonally across the vehicle, changing axle and side.
Forward Cross
- Recommended for front wheel drive.
- The front axle is moved directly to the back, the rear tyres then move to the front, and are swapped to opposing sides.
Side to side
- For staggered fitments and different sized tyres.
- As the pattern suggests, tyres are moved from one side of the axle to the other.
Front to back
- For directional tyres.
- Tyre is moved to the rear axle while the rear tyre is repositioned on the front axle.
Top tips for rotation
- Alter pressures accordingly to manufacturer recommendations when moving across axles (front-to-back), not all vehicles have equal pressures.
- Follow the vehicle manufacturers schedule where possible, as some producers may require more regular swaps, for example a Tesla service schedule.
- On any 4x4 vehicle it is vital that you check with the vehicle manufacturer to ensure there are no issues regarding differing tread depths on axles. This is particularly important when fitting tyres in pairs only.
- Wheel alignment goes hand-in-hand with rotations and pro-longing tyre life, take advantage of our free alignment check after every rotation.
- Look at the tread pattern on your vehicle: Asymmetric and directional tyres can only be fitted in one position, the 'outside' and 'rotation' markings will dictate this, front to rear swap only, no side to side. It is however possible to use tyre rotation providing directional tyres are turned on the rim to maintain correction rotation.
