5 wheel tire rotation... Why you should do it!

[Austin Bronco]

Honestly, I think it's like any job when something new comes out. You learn as you go, and some of the techs at these dealerships stick to what they think they know.

My issue is when service reps refuse to book a service your asking for, and even paying for.

Thanks for the response. If it’s in the manual I feel like the dealers should know. Will give some grace but C’mon.

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[NorthShoreBronco]

I have two Broncos with 35's, so i'm going to do a 10 tire rotation. And once a year, i'll buy 1 new tire and add it to the rotation.

On the seventh year I will have 17 tires and will start discarding the oldest tire. ; )

 

[DriveAllNight]

Lots of discussion, opinions and some hesitation.

They're just tires, there really isn't a correct way, it all depends on you. Most people who drive trucks never consider 5 tire rotations and they have a full size spare. Just as a counter point.

What I'm trying to say is that it's not that critical. I for one, will not be rotating all 5, and I know it will all be fine. Not only will it be cheaper, and also give me better odds on a reliable spare if I need it, but it keeps the 5th rim looking better.

Yea, if I was a tire company, I'd tell you to rotate all 5 too. But for those of you who are new and worried, don't be. No matter which way you go, it's going to be alright. And you service department isn't doing anything wrong either way because there are different schools of thought. I would tell them which is your preference.

 

[Arrowbear Rider]

They're just tires, there really isn't a correct way, it all depends on you.

So, true. I learned from my dad and the way they did it back then was the spare tires were the best one of your old tires. You rotated 4 tires and back then you were very likely to need to use your spare to replace a tire (tire technology & poor roads) and when you bought new tires you kept the best one as your spare and replaced 4. Than every time you replaced tires you kept the best from the set your replacing. Remember, tire didn't last 50k-60K miles back then 25k-40k was the norm.

When I lived in the mountains due to constantly turning while accelerating and decelerating (not breaking) and driving on snow & ice I wore out my Coopers at 60% give or take of the warranty and replaced them more often. Already posted details earlier.

Some posted that they change tires before fully worn because they like fresh tires, and there's a lot of truth to that. If your like me and wear the f out of your tires before replacing, than those new shoes feel remarkable when you get them; that's and trail reliability is why some would replace early.

It does depend a lot on you, your use, where you drive, commute 50 miles to work or weekend toy, it all is different.

 

[DriveAllNight]

So, true. I learned from my dad and the way they did it back then was the spare tires were the best one of your old tires. You rotated 4 tires and back then you were very likely to need to use your spare to replace a tire (tire technology & poor roads) and when you bought new tires you kept the best one as you spare and replaced 4. Than every time you replaced tires you kept the best from the set your replacing.

When I lived in the mountains due to constantly turning while accelerating and decelerating (not breaking) and driving on snow & ice I wore out my Coopers at 60% give or take of the warranty and replaced them more often. Already posted details earlier.

Some posted that they change tires before fully worn because they like fresh tires, and there's a lot of truth to that. If your like me and wear the f out of your tires before replacing, than those new shoes feel remarkable when you get them; that's and trail reliability is why some would replace early.

It does depend a lot on you, your use, where you drive, commute 50 miles to work or weekend toy, it all is different.

Yup, keeping the best as a spare was the norm, everyone used to do it.

 

[Arrowbear Rider]

Remember bias-ply tires and how long they lasted, or should I say how fast they wore out?

Funny, back then a car was considered good for 100,000 miles and you could go thru more than 5 sets of tires, maybe up to 10 over the life of a car. Now you would buy one replacement set to get to 100,000 miles and your car can last more than twice as long; today's tires perform so much better too.

 

[omg_bbq]

Okay, I am just above 10k miles and haven't rotated the 5th tire yet. Two things, am I too late as far as wear on the 4 to rotate this 5th one in. Second, at this point I do intend to get the OEM tires again based on current price and performance I've noticed over the last 10k, should I treat the 5th as a literal spare for emergencies at this point or will the CA sun come for me if and when I need this thing in an emergency.

 

[rayhil67]

I had my dealer do a 5-tire rotation on my Sasquatch. They don't charge for that and didn't try too hard to convince me to do the 4-tire version, but they did try.

I had mentioned this to my dealer on first oil change and they all but refused to do it, gave all kinds of excuses: having one new tire throws off balance, alignment, ect. Was not worth the fight

 

[DriveAllNight]

Okay, I am just above 10k miles and haven't rotated the 5th tire yet. Two things, am I too late as far as wear on the 4 to rotate this 5th one in. Second, at this point I do intend to get the OEM tires again based on current price and performance I've noticed over the last 10k, should I treat the 5th as a literal spare for emergencies at this point or will the CA sun come for me if and when I need this thing in an emergency.

Others will disagree, but I would go to your auto parts store, get some uv protection for your tire, and not put the spare into rotation. Then when its time for new tires, swap in your spare and put one of the new tires on the back.
Lots of people do it this way and it works just fine.

You can even spin your spare on the carrier if you want to not get so much sunlight concentrating on just one spot on the tire all the time.

Not only will you be fine, you'll save money.

 

[omg_bbq]

Others will disagree, but I would go to your auto parts store, get some uv protection for your tire, and not put the spare into rotation. Then when its time for new tires, swap in your spare and put one of the new tires on the back.
Lots of people do it this way and it works just fine.

You can even spin your spare on the carrier if you want to not get so much sunlight concentrating on just one spot on the tire all the time.

Not only will you be fine, you'll save money.

Interesting method, appreciate the insight.

 

[DriveAllNight]

I had mentioned this to my dealer on first oil change and they all but refused to do it, gave all kinds of excuses: having one new tire throws off balance, alignment, ect. Was not worth the fight

He wasn't technically wrong, it's probably minimal and most likely un noticeable, depending on how much you wore down the tires but yea, swapping in a new tire that is now a tiny bit bigger makes a slight difference. Which is why they always tell you to buy 2 tires if you have to replace one due to damage.

Again, different schools of thought. With all that said, we are talking about a Bronco not a Ferrari.

 

[LCDRBronco24]

I decided to do a 5 tire rotation as well. Told my dealer that I wanted it when I stopped in for my early oil change.

The service desk advised me against doing it and said stick to 4 tire rotation. I insisted he do a 5 and went about my day.

About an hour later I get a call from the service desk saying the technician on the floor is imploring him that I only do a 4 tire rotation or it’ll “mess up your 4wd system”. I caved and just rotated in the 5th tire when I got it back.

Seems like there’s a lot of misinformation out there, dealerships are not exempt!

Sniff, sniff... I smell BS . I think it's just laziness on the service tech, tbh.

 

[FerkinBlonco]

My thoughts on 5 vs 4 (doing the rotation in my driveway).... 5 is MUCH easier to accomplish (on my own) because I only have to have to jack one corner of the vehicle at a time. I absolutely hate doing a four tire rotation because I have to have two tires off the car as I'm moving things around.

For me, it's a lot more convenient to jack only one corner, not have to deal with jack stands or picking up a second long travel jack just so I can rotate my darn tires.

 

[Geaux Bronco]

Yeah, my dealer service advisor told me that the spare doesn’t have a tire pressure sensor. I thought it did?

I called Ford and after talking to about 5 people (who seemed to be googling stuff), I still didn’t get an answer.

Can anyone confirm if the spare has a sensor?

 

[Scott R Nelson]

Yeah, my dealer service advisor told me that the spare doesn’t have a tire pressure sensor. I thought it did?

My spare, on a Sasquatch, has a tire pressure sensor. I did the 5-tire rotation a few weeks ago and was getting a good tire pressure reading right away.

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