Tripletsi

^X2 (why I rotate my tires myself instead of going to Les Schwab)

Freewill

This make little sense. Rotating 5 tires does make sense.

Unless you rotate a tire that should have been replaced into the spare location, how would you ever have a spare that's in any worse shape than the tires on the ground?

Tires "age out" after about 7 years due to chemistry changes inside the tire, so if a spare doesn't get used its just gonna get thrown away (or should have been). Why buy a tire to throw away when it could have helped you get another 20% of miles from the set. Of course if you are a tire dealer that's how you'd want it.

Waldo_88

I agree, unless you don't have a matching spare or something, rotate that bitch!

snytribe

Agree!!! Rotate all five. The set will last 20% longer, and when you need the spare it will have the same tread depth as the rest.

Chaffin1

On a five tire rotation how often are you guys rotating? I've got 1500 miles on mine so far and wasn't sure when I should rotate my spare in.

fivenote

My shop rotates mine at every oil change - about 3-5k miles. I'm getting a nice even wear on the 5 tires.

Freewill

I've asked around since this thread started. The only professional who had anything negative to say about rotating 5 said that changing direction on some radial tires causes ply problems in the sidewall (those dips and bulges you sometimes see).

I can't think of any way to rotate 5 without the tires changing direction - but if the tires you have will forgive the direction change then there seems to be no reason to leave the spare on the tailgate.

Also, it wouldn't help MT tires to wear better if the rotation didn't include changing the direction of travel.

Guess this is just one more thing where you listen to everyone and then do what seems right.

Rooster76

I'm using the 5 tire rotation Rearward Cross above and think it is the best. My goal is every oil change. It's my understanding that the spare goes onto the back right because that tire gets the most torque from the engine, and so then you have the most power going to your best tire.

Lets say you blow a tire through a sidewall and it cannot be plugged. You would want your spare to be balanced and even wear with the rest. I think that is a good enough reason for me. 20% extra wear is a bonus.

DIY SIDE NOTE TIPS
I got my 6 ton jack stands at Harbor Freight for pretty cheap. I have 4 stands to rotate them all at once. So the method I use is parking break. Chocks behind the rear wheels that are locked by the parking break. Jack up the front and put the jacks under the axles, then jack up the rear. It's OK to use a floor jack off the differential casing to get the floor jack stands in place.

I would loosen the lugs a quarter turn before jacking the Jeep up. The wheels are going to want to rotate if there in the air. I don't have an impact drill. I got a socket adapter for my cordless drill at NAPA and was able to take the lugs off really fast after just a bit of loosening.

95 ft/lb is the recommended torque. I've read they put them on at 110 at the factory, but you want to be careful about over tightening alloy wheels. You want to put the lugs on in a star pattern a bit at a time. With the Jeep jacked up just get them nice and hand tight (or small ratchet) were there is no slack or wiggle in the tire. Then lower the Jeep. Use a torque wrench with the Jeep on the ground to give the lugs the full torque. It's my understanding that if you fully tighten them while in the air it will be very hard to get the lugs off the next time.

Hanzo

Thanks Rooster for all the info. I'm definitely going to start using this method. And No it's not ok to jack off the rear differential!!!! Had to throw that out there.

Xman4602

Yup. I do mine every oil change. 3-5k.