When to rotate tires?

[Kirk McFarland]

1 What millage to rotate the tires?
2 Front to back or X pattern?
3 What to clean the rims with?
4 What type of ceramic coating is safe for our rims?
5 How to re-set cars tracking of the tire pressure and tire location?

 

[MichaelC]

1. I rotate seasonally, rather than by miles, because I typically have 3 sets of wheels/tires:
- Wheels with summer tires for the summer.
- Wheels with all-season tires for spring and fall.
- Wheels with winter tires for the winter.
2. Each time I perform a seasonal wheel + tire exchange, I rotate front to rear.
3. Adam's Polishes Eco Wheel Cleaner (because it's pH neutral) + whichever pH neutral shampoo or waterless wash I'm using on the car's paint (because both are ceramic coated). Rinse / wheel cleaner / dwell for only a couple minutes / rinse / wash / dry.
4. As far as I know, the same ceramic coating that works on the car's paint.
5. After inflating the tires to their proper pressure, reset the TPMS per the owner's manual:

 

[GetOffYourGas]

1. I rotate seasonally, rather than by miles, because I typically have 3 sets of wheels/tires:
- Wheels with summer tires for the summer.
- Wheels with all-season tires for spring and fall.
- Wheels with winter tires for the winter.

Wow, and I thought I was changing tires a lot, with separate summer / winter tires. So you change/rotate your tires every 3 months?

 

[MichaelC]

Wow, and I thought I was changing tires a lot, with separate summer / winter tires.

Nah, you're perfectly reasonable.

So you change/rotate your tires every 3 months?

Generally, yes. Maybe it's overkill, but I like to think that I'm setting myself up for maximum grip year round. And it's a way to ensure I get some occasional exercise.

 

[insightman]

Nah, you're perfectly reasonable.



Generally, yes. Maybe it's overkill, but I like to think that I'm setting myself up for maximum grip year round. And it's a way to ensure I get some occasional exercise.

And you don't have to buy new tires as often as people with fewer sets of wheels.

I, too, have 3 sets of rims for my SE (to my wife's dismay): winter, non-winter, and show. The show rims are the original Power Spokes--I'm too afraid of leaving their Energetic Yellow paint on a curb to use them as "daily drivers."