barneyb

This going to sound crazy. The last time I was searching for tires I was on tire rack and I noticed that more than a few tire reviewers mentioned that after they rotated tires they got very noisey. I had noticed this in the past too. The owners manual recommends rotating tires every 3000 miles. I got to wondering what would happen if I never rotated tires.

I'm particular about alignment - I do my own. DIY alignment is not all that complicated but trying to explain it on the internet is hopeless. Plus, once you get started nobody is interested.

I don't track my car and so have no experience with what happens to tires there. Anyway, I bought a set of Direzza Z1 star specs and began to put on the miles. I was under the car Saturday night and I notice the tires are getting near the wear bars. They won't last the summer. Other than that, they re getting a little noisey but they look great. This winter I had snow tires on, different wheels, but the summer rubber is back in the same positions as before.

When they went on I wish I had written down the mileage but I didn't. So, that is my little tire experiment.

deylag

iTrader: (23)

Did you check the wear across the tire?

barneyb

If you mean using some sort of measuring tool the answer is no. Looking at them I see no issues. I can try to do something if you explain what you want to know.

Raptord

iTrader: (10)

I've read your OP a few times but I still don't get it... what is this thread about?

Neal@tirerack

iTrader: (25)

Even with a perfect alignment it's best to still rotate the tires. More rotations the first 10K miles is best as at full tread depth they tend to squirm more which can cause irregular wear. After 10K normal intervals suggested by your vehicle manufacturer works.

barneyb

I removed the OEM tires the car came with new when they still had some useable tread left because I was tired of the noise. I was very religious about rotating every three thousand miles. So, I thought this time go 180 degrees from conventional wisdom. I figured they would cut down on the inside or the outside, or maybe the front wear would be much greater than the back. None of that happened. They all look the same. And, the tires have remained reasonably quiet - not a quiet as I would like but tolerable.

So, it was an experiment. Will I do the same with the next set. You betcha. But, for any reader of this post, take from this what you will.

Raptord

iTrader: (10)

Inside vs outside wear depends on camber and usage. If you have little camber and don't do any sort of aggressive driving, then yeah they'll probably wear pretty much the same inside vs outside. That's not the case for people who don't fall into that bracket though.

Similarly, front vs rear wear is largely affected by usage; on the track I wear down my fronts a bit faster than the rears, so I need to swap the fronts with the rears every once in a while, while your usage may not require that.

barneyb

Agree. I drive a little more aggressively than if I was driving a minivan just because I can. But that is it, my car is for transportation. However, considering the tire, I'm surprised at the result. I figured I was proving you can't do this.

barneyb

Tire rotation - err, lack of Part 2

Wednesday I noticed one of the tires was finally down to the wear bars. I could have driven on into the fall but I have extra tires and wheels in the garage and needing the floor space I had a set of the original Yokohama A046D's mounted. They still had stickers. Leave them lay around too long and the rubber gets old.

About the star specs and no rotation. Well they were becoming noisy rotation or not (in this case not) and starting to cup a little on the inside tread. It made a sound like I had bad wheel bearings. But, what is interesting to me is that the tire that had the most wear was on the passenger side rear and the tread hit the wear bars in the center,.

Like I said I'd didn't keep a mileage record of when the tires were mounted but I'm thinking I got close to 30K s which if correct is outstanding. These were the original star specs, not the new version. On the other hand, I never felt quite confident on these tires and was hesitant to press them. There is something in the feel of the A046 that tells you to go ahead and try that stupid maneuver and I already find myself doing things I wouldn't try on the Dunlops.

So, end of experiment.

GTijoejoe

iTrader: (25)

I just rotated my tires and they did get more noisy, certainly increased road noise.
However, there is noticeable wear on the tires so its not that surprising. I didn't look at the mileage, I'd have to look it up.

Ang Wen Yan

Just make sure your A04D production date is not more then 5 years

Verbal21

I have about 7k on Hankook V12's and I'm trying to get to Nov before throwing on Blizzaks. Do you think rotating front to back instead of crisscross will be ok for the two months until then, since they're directional?