How to Do a Tire Rotation Yourself

How to do a tire rotation can be an important DIY skill to have if you have the tools and time, and it’s an important maintenance step that you don’t want to skip when getting regular service for your vehicle. Learn how to do a tire change yourself below, as well as the importance of tire rotations before exploring more of our service and parts tips for Nederland drivers.

Why is Tire Rotation Important for Your Vehicle?

Road conditions and driving habits can impact how your tires wear down over time. The outside edges on your front tires can wear down faster when turning while the rear tires wear down more evenly for example. Rotating your tires means that your tires will wear down more evenly over time. It’s also easy to do a tire rotation when you come in for regular maintenance that can require your vehicle to be raised already, like an oil change.

How Often Should You Rotate Your Tires?

Front and rear-wheel drive vehicles generally should have their tires rotated every 5,000-7,500 miles. All-wheel drive vehicles should get rotations every 3,000-5,000 miles because each tire wears down more quickly. Always check your owner’s manual for more specific recommendations though based on your make and model. At Classic Chevrolet Beaumont, we can help you follow your specific Chevrolet maintenance service schedule.

How to do a Tire Rotation at Home in Lumberton

You’ll need a car jack, lug nut wrench, and a set of car jack stands. Once you have those, you’re good to go:

1. Engage your parking brake as a safety precaution.
2. Loosen the lug nuts on all four wheels, but don’t take them off completely. This step makes unscrewing them when the tire is elevated much easier later.
3. Lift up one wheel with a car jack and place a jack stand underneath it.
4. Remove the tires one by one.
5. Take this time to make sure your tires are filled to the optimal tire pressure based on where they’re going to be rotated on your vehicle. Check your owner’s manual or the bottom of your driver’s side door frame for more specific information.
6. Once filled, you can rotate your wheels according to the appropriate pattern for your type of tires. FWD Tires generally recommend that you move the front tires to the back of the car in the same left/right positions. When it comes time to move the rear tires to the front, you’ll switch the right and left tire. For RWD Tires, the opposite is true. Your rear tires can be moved to the front of the car in the same left/right positions. When you move the front tires to the rear, you need to switch the left and right tire.
7. After rotating your tires to their proper places, place each tire back onto the wheel mount and screw the lug nuts on by hand as much as you can.
8. Lower your car from the jack stands and use a lug wrench to finish tightening the nuts. We recommend working on the lug nuts diagonally in a star pattern for even tightening. If lug nuts aren’t evenly tightened, your rotors may start to warp.

Choose Classic Chevrolet Beaumont for Your Next Tire Rotation

Not sure if you can do a tire rotation at home? Choose our service center for your tire needs, and we also offer a tire finder and service specials. Contact us today for more information!