Every Chevy driver is recommended to visit their local Chevy dealer to have their tires switched around every six months or so. Not only does periodic tire rotation keep your tire warranty valid, but it also keeps you safer on the road. Let’s look at why regular rotation is so important.
Identify Underlying Problems
When it comes to your wheels and tires, there are quite a few little problems that can gradually develop unnoticed. These problems are hard to detect by most drivers, but when inspecting and rotating your tires, a skilled technician will notice and repair them.
Camber issues, where a wheel leans slightly, can result from worn-out ball joints, tire rods, or struts. And bumps against curbs, potholes, or road debris can cause slight wheel misalignment. Any of these issues will cause your tires to wear down unevenly. If not caught and fixed early on, you’ll soon have to replace your entire set of tires, or one of your tires might fail you on the road.
Reduce the Risk of an Accident
Even with perfect suspension and alignment, various factors lead tire treads to wear unevenly over time. Additional weight at the front or rear of your vehicle might be enough to cause this. The extra pressure at the engine end of the car can do the same.
If even a single tire wears down significantly ahead of the others, that tire has worsened traction and also absorbs more wear and tear while you’re driving. Just a single worn-down tire can cause a blowout or skid. By rotating often, you reduce the chance of this happening.
Extend the Lifespan of Your Treads
Finally, regular rotation makes sure that one or two of your tires don’t need to be replaced far in advance of the others. By spreading out the rate of tread wear, you’re helping your entire set to last longer. This saves you money over the years.
Your owner’s manual will lay out the tire wear tendencies of your particular Chevy model. It will also tell you the recommended rotation pattern.
Three Main Ways a Chevy Dealer Rotates Tires
For switching tires around, there are three common patterns. If you have rear-wheel drive, they’ll use either the X-cross or the forward cross pattern. The X-cross means your wheels are simply swapped in a diagonal pattern. The forward cross means bringing the forward tires to the rear axle and the rear tires to the front, then swapping over the forward two tires.
If you have front-wheel drive, they’ll usually use the rearward cross. This is the exact opposite of the forward cross pattern. There are some other variations of pattern based on whether you have a spare tire or mismatching tire sizes at the front and rear of your car.
Have your tires examined and rotated today at Airport Chevrolet GMC. We’re a family-owned and operated dealership that’s been serving the region’s drivers for three successful decades.
Connect with us
