Question About Tire Rotation

[Scap]

May as well ask “what oil should I use?”

Fun fact, maglev bearings need no oil.
That would be a huge jump in mpg and hp

 

[Cbty2050]

I did a bunch of oil tests on my Titan years ago (over $1000 worth all said and done). Full synthetic oil with a Mobil 1 filter (yeah yeah, everyone has their different brands) had negligible difference at 5k and 10k. Granted this was 10 years ago, but there are guys practicing 40 year old oil techniques on their 2023 trucks. I filter my oil every change to check it, and I ran my Titan over 100k miles on 10k oil changes. I know it's anecdotal, but combined with the MFG recommendation of 10k I don't feel worried. The longest part of my tire rotations is getting the jack and impact wrench out and put away. Oil changes take a little longer.

The manufacturer does not recommend 10k mile oil changes. The manufacturer does recommend tire rotates at every oil change.

 

[LaxDfns15]

The manufacturer does not recommend 10k mile oil changes. The manufacturer does recommend tire rotates at every oil change.

Except the manufacturer recommends following the change indicator in the dash, which has hit almost exactly 10k miles every single time I've changed it on this truck.

 

[vincentw56]

Except the manufacturer recommends following the change indicator in the dash, which has hit almost exactly 10k miles every single time I've changed it on this truck.

Wow, mine never gets that high. It's about 5000 for me. On my last truck, a 1998 Dodge Dakota, I changed it once a year or 12,000 miles, whichever came first. That was using Mobil One extended performance. And that was what they recommend. 17 years later and over 250,000 miles, she was still running great. Never had an issue.

 

[mtnbikej]

@$350 a tire, I want every single mile I can get out of my stock Dura Tracs.

Every 5k miles i rotate them. Actually Americas Tire does it for free, takes less than 1 hr. Quicker than for me to do it in the driveway.

I also change the oil every 7500’ish miles.

 

[Rick3478]

So your first point said the rear tires should never need rotating then went in to say rotate the fronts to the rear and move the rears up front to even them out from front wear. You can't have both.

I guess you could just buy new tires for the front when the edges start to show wear, and eliminate rotation. But you don't have to if you have good, evenly worn tires on the rear you can steal. And then use the edge worn tires on the rear, where all they have to do is follow and the edges are not needed for steering. That way you get some use out of the remaining center rubber, too.

I don't see any contradiction. I'm just saying that front tire edge wear is what usually drives the need for rotation on our trucks. And as always, YMMV.

 

[Lpsouth1978]

Needed or not, I have my oil changed and tires rotated every 5,000 miles. This schedule can't hurt anything and rotations cost me NOTHING. I would MUCH rather over maintain than under.

 

[SpeedyV]

Needed or not, I have my oil changed and tires rotated every 5,000 miles. This schedule can't hurt anything and rotations cost me NOTHING. I would MUCH rather over maintain than under.

Well...the rotations cost you some of your time and a bit of gas money, unless they're coming out and doing this in your driveway. But your point about low cost preventative maintenance is understood.

Personally, I follow the oil life monitor / one year limit for oil changes, which typically means I change my oil myself once per year. I use Pennzoil Ultra Platinum and a high-quality filter, and I'd be willing to bet I'll never have an oil-related failure.

As for tire rotations, I've been hit-or-miss on this truck. The OEM Falkens were rotated before I hit 7K, and then a little before 16K, and now I've gone almost 20K without another rotation. The tires still have good tread depth at 37K miles. However, they are just starting to show a bit of edge wear, and I'm starting to pick up a faint hum at highway speeds. So I'll do a rotation and balance this summer before our 3K mile road trip. If I have any further concerns about winter handling, I'll replace them this fall.

I've had vehicles (e.g., Corvettes) where the front and rear tires were different sizes AND the tires were directional, so no rotation was possible. This taught me to pay attention to alignment and balancing; getting both of those right will help prevent premature tire wear.

 

[Idahoktm]

@$350 a tire, I want every single mile I can get out of my stock Dura Tracs.

Every 5k miles i rotate them. Actually Americas Tire does it for free, takes less than 1 hr. Quicker than for me to do it in the driveway.

I also change the oil every 7500’ish miles.

Discount always takes about an hour to do a rotation, plus it takes 40 minutes round trip to get there and back. It takes me just under an hour to do a rotation in my garage and I know it's done right.

 

[kdoublep]

I've never rotated tires in my life. For 20 yrs I drove a 1998 Ram Air Trans Am with aftermarket staggered rims/tires.

I just got rid of the stock Bridgestones after 53K. Backs were definitely a bit more worn than fronts but I chose not to prolong the life of those awful tires. They drove nice but no traction. Not much edge wear on fronts though.

I will rotate the new Scorpions. Want them to last.

 

[mtnbikej]

Discount always takes about an hour to do a rotation, plus it takes 40 minutes round trip to get there and back. It takes me just under an hour to do a rotation in my garage and I know it's done right.

I’ve got one about 1.5 miles away. Win/Win. Generally less than an hour from the time I leave to the time I return.

 

[Cbty2050]

Well...the rotations cost you some of your time and a bit of gas money, unless they're coming out and doing this in your driveway.

To be fair, he is getting his oil changed at the same time. Gas money is a wash and a little time is worth it to some. Some think their time is priceless.

 

[JohnGow383]

Well...the rotations cost you some of your time and a bit of gas money, unless they're coming out and doing this in your driveway. But your point about low cost preventative maintenance is understood.

Personally, I follow the oil life monitor / one year limit for oil changes, which typically means I change my oil myself once per year. I use Pennzoil Ultra Platinum and a high-quality filter, and I'd be willing to bet I'll never have an oil-related failure.

As for tire rotations, I've been hit-or-miss on this truck. The OEM Falkens were rotated before I hit 7K, and then a little before 16K, and now I've gone almost 20K without another rotation. The tires still have good tread depth at 37K miles. However, they are just starting to show a bit of edge wear, and I'm starting to pick up a faint hum at highway speeds. So I'll do a rotation and balance this summer before our 3K mile road trip. If I have any further concerns about winter handling, I'll replace them this fall.

I've had vehicles (e.g., Corvettes) where the front and rear tires were different sizes AND the tires were directional, so no rotation was possible. This taught me to pay attention to alignment and balancing; getting both of those right will help prevent premature tire wear.

Yeah I'd say poor wheel alignment is probably the biggest cause of premature / uneven tire wear so getting that checked during the rotation is sensible.

 

[Quint]

I rotate my tires once every fall. The two main reasons that I do instead of someone else, is because 1) I look closely for nails/screws in my tires and, 2) it forces me to lower and raise the spare tire once per year. It keeps that system moving and lets me verify that the spare is properly inflated.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Wow, mine never gets that high. It's about 5000 for me. On my last truck, a 1998 Dodge Dakota, I changed it once a year or 12,000 miles, whichever came first. That was using Mobil One extended performance. And that was what they recommend. 17 years later and over 250,000 miles, she was still running great. Never had an issue.

Would be interested to see your driving style/conditions. I've gotten two complete 5k mile oil changes completed before oil life monitor said to change. I usually forget to reset it when I change the oil because I'm still getting used to oil change monitors..

 

[Darksteel165]

I did a bunch of oil tests on my Titan years ago (over $1000 worth all said and done). Full synthetic oil with a Mobil 1 filter (yeah yeah, everyone has their different brands) had negligible difference at 5k and 10k. Granted this was 10 years ago, but there are guys practicing 40 year old oil techniques on their 2023 trucks. I filter my oil every change to check it, and I ran my Titan over 100k miles on 10k oil changes. I know it's anecdotal, but combined with the MFG recommendation of 10k I don't feel worried. The longest part of my tire rotations is getting the jack and impact wrench out and put away. Oil changes take a little longer.

Except the manufacturer recommends following the change indicator in the dash, which has hit almost exactly 10k miles every single time I've changed it on this truck.

Except the manufacturers manual doesn't say that, and it says 7,500 miles per oil change on the maintenance schedule.

Here's the manual for a 2021 https://cdn.dealereprocess.org/cdn/servicemanuals/nissan/2021-titan.pdf
Section 9-9 page 542 and on.

That said 10k oil changes should be fine with a good quality oil and a engine that isn't burning oil or causing it to degrade faster then it should.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Except the manufacturers manual doesn't say that, and it says 7,500 miles per oil change on the maintenance schedule.

Here's the manual for a 2021 https://cdn.dealereprocess.org/cdn/servicemanuals/nissan/2021-titan.pdf
Section 9-9 page 542 and on.

That said 10k oil changes should be fine with a good quality oil and a engine that isn't burning oil or causing it to degrade faster then it should.

Pretty sure he was talking about his Ram when he was talking about the oil change indicator

 

[Darksteel165]

Pretty sure he was talking about his Ram when he was talking about the oil change indicator

Maybe? But he did say this
I filter my oil every change to check it, and I ran my Titan over 100k miles on 10k oil changes. I know it's anecdotal, but combined with the MFG recommendation of 10k I don't feel worried.

I also don't see Ram saying to do 10k oil changes anywhere.

 

[HSKR R/T]

Maybe? But he did say this
I filter my oil every change to check it, and I ran my Titan over 100k miles on 10k oil changes. I know it's anecdotal, but combined with the MFG recommendation of 10k I don't feel worried.

I also don't see Ram saying to do 10k oil changes anywhere.

Manual states not to exceed 10k.

 

[JohnGow383]

Manual states not to exceed 10k.

I have to do mine as part of the service within 12m or milage which ever comes soonest or they won't honor the warranty. So it has to be done at the proper place which of course is a rip off