Rotational Tyres

[squarehead]

Does anyone know if the Dunlop SP9000's are rotational, and if so how frequently does it need to happen, what direction & what am I likely to pay in a garage to have it done.

[Scorpion]

Should be marked on the tyre if directional,changed round about every 5 - 6k

Cant you change them yourself?

[Fidgits]

Well, the tread pattern is directional.

And no, you dont need to change them around (unless you scrub the fronts, in which case swap front-back)

My last set lasted 25k

[Scorpion]

But does'nt changing them round give you even tyre wear?

[Fidgits]

???

They only reason i switched them last time was due to my over-exbruiant cornering, which scrubbed the tread from the outside of the fronts.

Driving normally they seem to be wearing evenly at the moment..

[Scorpion]

If you change them round you will extend tyre life,more so on a front wheel drive.

[kev dood]

they are directional. I don't bother rotating (i.e. front to back and vice versa) as it would mean I will have to replace 4 tyres and not 2 each time.

Its just to ensure even tyre wear, however as Scorpion says, its more beneficial on front wheel drives as they wear more on the front.

A rear wheel drive (especially one with power) will usually wear rear first, though mine are about equal if not front more worn. Large camber on the IS200 will also aid this!!

[GreyBeard]

If you change them round you will extend tyre life,more so on a front wheel drive.

if you rotate tyres, you may get more even tyre wear, but you don't have the benefit of the best traction. for instance, if you wear a slight slope across a tyre, it will give you a good footprint on the road. if you then put it on another position, yes it might even out the wear, but it will initially wear away the highest part of the tread. it won't have the best traction until it wears the high part down to the level of the rest of the tyre. (thus it not only has less than 100% traction but it has also worn more rubber than necessary off the 'high' part of the tyre.)

years ago, car service schedules used to have a diagram showing the correct order of 'rotation' so that tyre wear was evened out, including the spare, and you had to buy 5 tyres at a time. nowadays, most manufacturers suggest leaving a tyre in one position until it wears down to replacement level, then buy two new tyres and put them on the BACK (regardless of front or rear wheel drive). with directional and 'handed' tyres it's only possible to move front to back, not side to side.

clear as mud, eh? :)

[Kremmen]

I've always understood that for safety you should leave a tyre where it is.

[RX-Men-8]

Hi,

As Greybeard says, if you only change 2 tyres, the new ones go on the back wheels, regardless of FWD or RWD. The reason is that most people find it easier to keep control of the vehicle if the front tyres lose grip before the rear tyres do. For the average joe understeer is less "surprising".

Since radial-tread tyres a swap from left to right or vice versa is a no-no. So if you are going to rotate the spare, only rotate them with the wheels on one side, either left or right.

Cheers,

RX-Men-8