tire rotation
Instructor
Joined: Sep 2013
Posts: 106
Likes: 15
From: Port Hope Ontario
This question comes up every few weeks. GM designed the car with tire stagger for a reason. That reason is called "The Traction Control System."
The rear tires need to have an overall diameter of at least 1/2 inch larger than the front tires. Rim diameter is unimportant. Lots of cars out there running all 4 18" rims, or 19" rims, etc. The overall tire diameter matters.
The traction control has sensors on all 4 axels. The computer that reads the info from these sensors expects the front tires to be turning faster than the rear tires (Smaller diameter wheels turn faster than larger diameter wheels). When the computer senses that the wheel speeds are close to one another it thinks the rear wheels are loosing traction and activates the traction control system which begins applying rear brake, reducing fuel and backing out timing.
Of course if you don't mind putting the car into competitive mode (ie turn of traction control) every time you start the car, you can run any size overall diameter on any wheel you want. Otherwise you need a minimum of 1/2 inch larger overall diameter tire on the rear than the front...........
This is quote from 8VETTE7 he has a lot of great Knowledge
The rear tires need to have an overall diameter of at least 1/2 inch larger than the front tires. Rim diameter is unimportant. Lots of cars out there running all 4 18" rims, or 19" rims, etc. The overall tire diameter matters.
The traction control has sensors on all 4 axels. The computer that reads the info from these sensors expects the front tires to be turning faster than the rear tires (Smaller diameter wheels turn faster than larger diameter wheels). When the computer senses that the wheel speeds are close to one another it thinks the rear wheels are loosing traction and activates the traction control system which begins applying rear brake, reducing fuel and backing out timing.
Of course if you don't mind putting the car into competitive mode (ie turn of traction control) every time you start the car, you can run any size overall diameter on any wheel you want. Otherwise you need a minimum of 1/2 inch larger overall diameter tire on the rear than the front...........
This is quote from 8VETTE7 he has a lot of great Knowledge
Advanced
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 68
Likes: 2
From: Wisconsin
Namvet, it depends. Check this link for details.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=43
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=43
Drifting
Joined: Mar 2013
Posts: 1,496
Likes: 353
From: Little Rock Arkansas
The ultimate answer to your question regarding rotating from side-to-side is "it depends."
Most of the good performance tires not only roll in one direction but some makes have a specific tread pattern that accounts where the tire is mounted. In these cases placing the tire in the improper location will drastically affect the tire's ability to operate at it's optimum. Many tires roll in one direction but their location doesn't relatively affect performance, meaning you can dismount the wheels and have the tires swapped.
You'll need to look at the tires on your car and determine what the tire manufacturer recommends.
Tire life on C5s is relatively low; it's kind of an accepted thing of ownership. Even with really good tires you'll be pushing a 35k-40k mileage life. Additionally even with a proper alignment and suspension specs you're likely going to wear the tires out before they reach their temperature warm and cool thresholds. One thing you can do to help is just ensure you have a proper alignment. Typically a good rule of practice if you drive the vehicle at the normally recommended mileage - 12,000 miles a year - is have mileage checked annually. If you don't reach or exceed those miles I'd wait until you reach that point.
Most of the good performance tires not only roll in one direction but some makes have a specific tread pattern that accounts where the tire is mounted. In these cases placing the tire in the improper location will drastically affect the tire's ability to operate at it's optimum. Many tires roll in one direction but their location doesn't relatively affect performance, meaning you can dismount the wheels and have the tires swapped.
You'll need to look at the tires on your car and determine what the tire manufacturer recommends.
Tire life on C5s is relatively low; it's kind of an accepted thing of ownership. Even with really good tires you'll be pushing a 35k-40k mileage life. Additionally even with a proper alignment and suspension specs you're likely going to wear the tires out before they reach their temperature warm and cool thresholds. One thing you can do to help is just ensure you have a proper alignment. Typically a good rule of practice if you drive the vehicle at the normally recommended mileage - 12,000 miles a year - is have mileage checked annually. If you don't reach or exceed those miles I'd wait until you reach that point.
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 431
Likes: 22
From: Chester Illinois
Namvet, it depends. Check this link for details.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=43
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=43
Thread Starter
Racer
Joined: Oct 2007
Posts: 431
Likes: 22
From: Chester Illinois
Last edited by namvet6869; Mar 9, 2017 at 09:25 PM.
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Drifting
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,820
Likes: 411
From: Somewhere in the middle of Kansas
With diameter stagger you can't go front to back and most tires are directional so no, you probably can't rotate. Look at this way, you don't have to worry about rotating tires anymore.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,660
Likes: 365
From: SF Bay Area
Edit: Apparently Goodyear has an Eagle F1 model that is asymmetric AND directional. So "This side out" might not necessarily mean non-directional. However, if you don't see a "Rotation" sign, then it should be non-directional.
Last edited by Tsumi; Mar 13, 2017 at 12:42 PM.
Racer
Joined: Aug 2016
Posts: 317
Likes: 42
If it says "this side out" on the tires, then that generally means they are asymmetrical. Asymmetrical tires can be rotated from side to side, and doing so usually reduces road noise and slightly (very slightly) enhances treadwear.
There are several versions of the Eagle F1, some of which are asymmetrical, and some of which are directional. Once again, since they say "This side out," they should be asymmetrical.
Edit: Apparently Goodyear has an Eagle F1 model that is asymmetric AND directional. So "This side out" might not necessarily mean non-directional. However, if you don't see a "Rotation" sign, then it should be non-directional.
There are several versions of the Eagle F1, some of which are asymmetrical, and some of which are directional. Once again, since they say "This side out," they should be asymmetrical.
Edit: Apparently Goodyear has an Eagle F1 model that is asymmetric AND directional. So "This side out" might not necessarily mean non-directional. However, if you don't see a "Rotation" sign, then it should be non-directional.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,660
Likes: 365
From: SF Bay Area
I bought a new 2014 Sonata and it rode terrible with the stock Kumos. I put new Michelins on it in less than 2000 mi which made it ride a little better but not by much. When I rotated them the first time at 5000 it actualy rode much better with reduced noise too as previously stated. Why, I don't know but it definately did.
With use, tires will "cup." Rub you hand both forward and backwards across the tread of an old tire and you can feel the cupping. This is one of the reasons old tires become noisy. A Bridgestone rep at Barret-Jackson told me to rotate (side to side on non-directional tires) to reduce cupping and thereby reduce noise.
True. It's not exactly "cupping", it's more like a saw tooth pattern to the tread blocks. You feel it as you rub your hand fore and aft on the tread. Everybody hated the way C5 and C6 Goodyears got so noisy. But by crossing them regularly I was able to keep mine quiet for their whole tread life. On any tire with block tread, reversing the direction of rotation evens out the tapered wear pattern that naturally develops on each tread block.
Skip Shift
Joined: Jan 2007
Posts: 2,031
Likes: 419
From: Citrus Hills, Florida
This question comes up every few weeks. GM designed the car with tire stagger for a reason. That reason is called "The Traction Control System."
The rear tires need to have an overall diameter of at least 1/2 inch larger than the front tires. Rim diameter is unimportant. Lots of cars out there running all 4 18" rims, or 19" rims, etc. The overall tire diameter matters.
The traction control has sensors on all 4 axels. The computer that reads the info from these sensors expects the front tires to be turning faster than the rear tires (Smaller diameter wheels turn faster than larger diameter wheels). When the computer senses that the wheel speeds are close to one another it thinks the rear wheels are loosing traction and activates the traction control system which begins applying rear brake, reducing fuel and backing out timing.
Of course if you don't mind putting the car into competitive mode (ie turn of traction control) every time you start the car, you can run any size overall diameter on any wheel you want. Otherwise you need a minimum of 1/2 inch larger overall diameter tire on the rear than the front...........
This is quote from 8VETTE7 he has a lot of great Knowledge
The rear tires need to have an overall diameter of at least 1/2 inch larger than the front tires. Rim diameter is unimportant. Lots of cars out there running all 4 18" rims, or 19" rims, etc. The overall tire diameter matters.
The traction control has sensors on all 4 axels. The computer that reads the info from these sensors expects the front tires to be turning faster than the rear tires (Smaller diameter wheels turn faster than larger diameter wheels). When the computer senses that the wheel speeds are close to one another it thinks the rear wheels are loosing traction and activates the traction control system which begins applying rear brake, reducing fuel and backing out timing.
Of course if you don't mind putting the car into competitive mode (ie turn of traction control) every time you start the car, you can run any size overall diameter on any wheel you want. Otherwise you need a minimum of 1/2 inch larger overall diameter tire on the rear than the front...........
This is quote from 8VETTE7 he has a lot of great Knowledge
Instructor
Joined: May 2014
Posts: 177
Likes: 9
I swapped my mpss side to side in the front. I'm doing auto cross and I hope to get a few more days out of them. Yes they are directional and if I was a good enough driver I'd probably notice the lower performance.
Drifting
Joined: Nov 2016
Posts: 1,660
Likes: 365
From: SF Bay Area
From what I read, having it in the right direction only matters in wet weather. Dry performance is pretty much identical regardless of performance. Haven't really verified that though.