"Rotating tires"

[Lithim]

Has any one reversed the front tires (side to side) and the back tires (side to side)?
With almost 24000 miles on the original tires, I'm thinking I might be able to stretch out their life a little by swapping sides.
Any input would be appreciated.

 

[siai47]

Do it. I wouldn't hurt. When you swap them it changes the load on the tire. Drive load is now replaced by brake load which evens out the wear on the tread blocks. I also helps a little bit with wear due to driving on crowned road surfaces. Not the best of worlds for tire rotation but the best you can do with a car with different tire sizes. At least the tires aren't directional.

 

[PV1]

The problem I see with side to side rotation is that if the insides of your tires are worn, they will still be on the insides. To change wear from inside to outside, the tires need dismounted and remounted with care to keep the orientation the same.

But, this depends on if the tires have inside/outside or directional bias. I don't believe the Enasaves do, but I have yet to rotate the tires on either i-MiEV. Of course, I haven't gotten more than 15,000 miles out of a set yet.

 

[siai47]

If you are getting wear on the inside or outside of the tire, then turning the tire on the rim and then replacing it on the same axle with both move the wear pattern to the opposite side and change the rotational load on the tire. However, I wouldn't expect inside or outside wear on the rear tires. Non racing cars with a Di Dion rear suspension (like the I-MiEV uses) are usually set up with nearly O degree camber or possibly a little negative if necessary. There is absolutely no camber or toe change with this setup during suspension travel and therefore little chance of wear on the edges of the tire. I would say the OP is getting great tire life and should try this on the current tires---if it works fine, if not just continue doing what he is doing.

 

[Phximiev]

Has anyone actually turned the tire on its rim? It sounds like a great idea.

 

[FrostyCanada]

I'll be doing this every two years or 15,000 km.

I will be un-mounting the tires from the rim so as to keep the correct orientation.

I would not just swap left to right.

Brian

 

[Carsten]

I have taken the front tire's off the rim and swap from left to right. It will give you about 2-3,000mi extra, took about 90min wait and I paid 73USD. I will not do it again and bought cheaper tires since then. The drop in range is not noticeable.
Regards,