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Under a then-10k interval, my 99 Accord's front tires showed good tread until one day, with the wheel turned at an angle, I noticed the inner tread to be wearing thinner.
Wanting to save the tires, I proceeded to rotate but then noticed bulges on the inner sidewall - not otherwise visible or noticeable except when the tires were removed, handled and inspected.
Those bulges could have led to a catastrophic outcome on the interstate if I had rotated beyond 10k. And to think the car had not been potholed or curbed on those premium brand tires.
For this reason alone, moral responsibility dictates at the least a 5-7.5k rotation interval and REJECTION of any assertion that longer intervals make equal sense !!!
Technical considerations such as better wear pattern and the associated handling and ride characteristics are also valid per my personal experience but are now really secondary to the safety aspect.
I hope other forum readers will take note for their safety !
Now have 80K on a set of Michelin X-One's and no cupping and no out of balance-rotate at 10-15K intervals. Probably get another 15K or so out of these before replacing.
IMHO rotating is kinda like flossing your teeth-don't have to but there are downside issues/consequences.
yeah, the back end of a FWD car will always ruin the tires back there unless you replace the rear struts with every oil change... :-P
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
I was at my dentist's today, and he said nothing about rotating teeth. I was not going to ask >:-D
Funny, but sad story.
When I was with Super Shops, I was training two new tire guys in our Beaverton, OR store. The bay doors were open and this sweet old lady in a white '92-93 Buick Century rolled up and asked if we rotated tires and how much it cost. I explained that we could do it right now, it would cost $19.95, including balancing and it would only take a bit of time. She agreed and said "Oh, I forgot - make sure you "fluff" them, too".
I asked her what she meant by "fluffing" her tires and she looked at me like a had three heads and asked me how long I'd been in the tire business. She explained that she had just moved up from Southern California. I made an excuse that "Maybe it's the difference in regional dialect" and said "Ma'am, can you explain what the guys did?".
She went to explain that one time in about 1982, when she was getting new tires, she noticed the white powder inside. She asked about it, and her tire shop guy (THAT SHE KEPT FOR 20 YEARS) told her it was "sealing powder" and she had to have her tires fluffed at every rotation. I asked what he charged her. She said it was $29.99 for the rotation and balance and an extra $20 for "fluffing", but because there was an accounting difference for the "fluffing", she had to pay cash.
I was silent. We went ahead and rotated her tires and "fluffed" them with the baby powder we used to mount slicks with.
I then took her into the office and explained what had happened. She had been paying this guy $20 every 5,000 miles for nearly 20 years. She didn't believe me, but what was I to do? I couldn't take her money. I gave her the rotation for free. I thought of my parents, then in their late 70s, and how badly I'd beat someone if they scammed my folks like that.
Course there are crooks in every kind of business out there-just get at least 3 opinions before you let anybody cut on your body.
http://michelinman.com/care/tire_saving_tips/index.html
Goodyear
http://www.goodyeartires.com/faqs/Rotation.html
Bridgestone/Firestone
http://www.tiresafety.com/
Those are what I consider to be the major brands here.
VW recommends 10k rotations to coincide with 10k oil changes. 1.8T & VR6 & V6 get 5,000 mile oil changes, but 10k tire rotations.
So, for 99% of the public, rotate your tires and to play it safe and sleep at night go with the guide that came with your car. For the 1% base it on what works for you.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
What do they care when you rotate?
Agree, no car manufactrurer warrants tires or batteries and batteries have very similar waranties but at least for a year or so are 100% replacement guaranteed regardless of usage. Besides, what good is a Firestone warranty (if you are an SUV owner) if you have to get another Firestone?
Shall we talk about how often to replace struts and shocks?
That's happening.
maybe they would like to get real and not get laughed at. anybody at federal-mogul reading us??
I have owned 8 FWD cars. In the past, I changed cars so often that most of them were sold before I had to change tires. But I intent to keep my current car (2k1 Civic) for a longer time. I check tires at least once per month and I haven't noticed any uneven wear left and right. There isn't any irregular wear either. I estimate the tires would last for 60-70k miles and thus I rotated front and rear at 34k miles (the first rotation and, hopefully, the last rotation for this set of tires also). By doing so, I am hoping all 4 tires will come to the end of their life at the same time.
So, my question is, if I don't see any unusual wear, why do I need to rotate tires at the recommended interval?
I've heard others suggest that new tires should not be in same position on car too long from another technician.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
Although the auto manufacturers are not tire manufacturers, they still know the suspension better and have previously done testing to see what intervals are suitable for the car.
I have a Yuasa battery in my Honda motorcycle that is still going strong after 7 years. Not sure if they make auto batteries. Any battery replacement suggestions would be appreciated. Thanks!
When you replace the thing-get some axel or similiar heavy grease and cover the terminals and the connectors. Scrape any mung off the connector. Best to replace the battery when u have a choice-if u have to do it on the road-you will be overcharged for the cheapest POS around.
if you are looking for gel-cell batteries or nicads, etc, then you as a battery store deal directly with yuasa as I understand it.
From my experience, OEM Goodyear tires are pure junk.
OEM Michelins such as the MXV4 Energy Plus are excellent tires for OEM.
Say it looks like you're from Lansdale, PA....I mean Merck, PA
I wish more manufacturers used Michelins, especially the MXV4. That is one tire I make an exception for in my rantings. Goodyear RS-As on the PT Cruiser GT - they suck. 6 attempts at balancing, including 2 load-force operations (removing tires from wheels, etc), and I still have a wobble at 7,000 miles.
Then again, what does it matter? It's in the shop for 3 weeks to get a new PCM - it's the 6th time for that problem (check engine light, stalling, hesitation) and was towed 3 times.
Can you say lemon law?
Yeah I would big time look into the lemon law requirements-maybe you could get a real deal on a DC product that was a little more reliable-wow that would drive me out of my little noggin. Good luck.
Click on my profile - it's handled, believe me.
I generally figure 40-50K from each set of tires, and strut replacement every two sets of tires is a good plan, but that might mean the original struts are on the car to 100K.
Just wondering what other people think...
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
Car still handles well too.
I didn't realize it until last summer how they were letting the car wallow. I couldn't replace
them due to a surgery coming up. And just now got it done>
Put on Monroe Sensatracs at Sears (Had half price installation and Monroe has $75 coupon for additional purchases at store for 90 days). Car handles great and they're not brutally hard at first like ones I put on the 93 LeSabre also Monroes but 8 years ago. Those replacements lasted about 100K and then started to get a little soft.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
2014 Mini Cooper (stick shift of course), 2016 Camry hybrid, 2009 Outback Sport 5-spd (keeping the stick alive)
For extremes, eg oblivious driver banging through a lot of potholes in a cheap car, might need (may not get, but need) new struts at 10k miles. A careful driver on smooth roads in a good quality car might make it to well over 100-150k miles.
I knew they'd have to look at the alignment again so I didn't make a big deal out of not driving the car enough to move the struts into a settle position. The car has had a lead since it was new; I told the shop that but they treated me as the dumb blond type of customer. I was right...
The business about driving the car around the block came from a talk radio mechnic who had called me back about the earlier alignment problems with the car. I had asked about brand of struts to use..., and he made taht suggestion.
2014 Malibu 2LT, 2015 Cruze 2LT,
After 4 years and 51,000 miles, I finally went to the local Goodyear dealer and he replaced the filter for only $55 installed. It took the poor guy at least 45 minutes to get the job done . .. no way I could have done it on my own, glad I didn't try. But the difference in air quality is incredible , and it cools a lot better as well. This change out should be done every 2 years or so. For do it yourselfers see below. Has anyone attempted to do it themselves
P.S. Goodyear used a Purolator air filter . . I trust just as good as Honda air filter that cost double the price!
http://www.batauto.com/articles/cabinair.shtml
Honda OEM's micronAir filters....you can find the part number on www.mirconAir.com. Find a retailer, do it yourself, and save the $$$.
Also, Honda uses the plain paper filters, not the "combi" (charcoal activated) filters...you may want to use these, as they are better (I notice a difference). I replace them twice a year, an it's a minor maintenance item that makes a huge difference.