Rotating your tires is a long-held tradition those who care about car maintenance do routinely. The actual reason tire rotation benefits you and your car is not readily apparent, though. If you drive on all four wheels, why do some of them wear down quicker than others? To answer this query, read on about the importance of rotating your tires.

Your Drive Train Dictates Your Variable Tire Wear

First, your car’s specific drive train gives you tire wear insight. Your wheels receive torque from your engine, but front-wheel drive cars deliver torque to the front two wheels, while rear-wheel drive cars send torque to the back two wheels. Apart from some SUVs, pickup trucks, and sports cars, the prototypical automobile on the road is front-wheel drive. This means that your front tires will receive engine torque and, in turn, experience more friction with the road. This wears front tires more quickly than rear tires on average. Rotating your tires brings rear tires to the front and vice versa, giving your front tires a break and leading to more even wear. You must bring your car in for a rotation regularly to reap these benefits, though.

Turning Wears Front Tires

Another element in the importance of rotating your tires is the effect turning has on your tire wear. In general, turning on your front wheels momentarily increases the force these tires experience, thus ramping up the level of friction with the road. Over time, this wears front tires on the outside of the tires comparatively quickly. This gives you another reason to rotate your tires.

Five-Tire Rotation Lengthens Tire Life

Our final point—when you have a functional fifth tire (not a spare), rotating it in gives each tire a break, which greatly improves the life of every tire. If you have this option, regularly going in for a tire rotation helps you realize these benefits. If you need your tires rotated, or are in the market for new wheels and tires in OKC, call or visit RNR Tire Express.