should I rotate to spread the wear

[fabes]

This is on the C220 Sports Coupe

I have Michelins on all four corners - good tyres (but quite expensive) on 17's

Rears are around the 5mm mark
Front are now at 3mm (poss just below)

This being my first RWD car I thought the rears would wear more, being the driven axle, but the front obviously have as they started out pretty even when I got the car two and half years ago with very recent tyres and tread on them.

Tyre pressures are always okay, I don't heavy brake and I don't see much wheel spin (TC kicks in and its a diesel for heavens sake!)

I would prefer to opt away from Michelins as they are expensive, I don't do much mileage and I have been impressed by the Falkens I put on the Zafira a few months back - am planning to drop a set of them on next.

However, I don't like having a mixture of tyres (personal pref) so if I swap round, do you think I'll get another 6 / 9 months on the 3mm tyres before I need to swap (all four)

I don't want to get rid the good part worn rears and having only 3mm or so on the front will worry me when the temperatures drop and the roads get (even) wetter.

Thoughts, advice and ramblings appreciated.

 

[BTB 500]

I've just rotated the wheels on the Vito (swapping diagonal corners) as the front tyres were scrubbing the outside edge on roundabouts etc.

 

[fabes]

Swapping Diagonal

never though of that (and don't have enough jacks)

Mmmmm...

Ta

 

[Baron_Samedi]

I did the swapping thing on my CLK... had to change them back because the car didn't look right

 

[Rory]

Rears are around the 5mm mark
Front are now at 3mm (poss just below)

........

However, I don't like having a mixture of tyres (personal pref) so if I swap round, do you think I'll get another 6 / 9 months on the 3mm tyres before I need to swap (all four)

I don't want to get rid the good part worn rears and having only 3mm or so on the front will worry me when the temperatures drop and the roads get (even) wetter.

Thoughts, advice and ramblings appreciated.

I'd look out for Costco's next offer (usually Oct/Nov) and change all 4 then.

As you suggest, if you swap them around hoping for 6-9mths from them then you're going into winter with very worn tyres all round. You should always have the least worn tyres on the rear so leave them as they are now.

 

[fabes]

I'd look out for Costco's next offer (usually Oct/Nov) and change all 4 then.

As you suggest, if you swap them around hoping for 6-9mths from them then you're going into winter with very worn tyres all round. You should always have the least worn tyres on the rear so leave them as they are now.

Now thats a question there

Given the front have worn quicker than the rear (yes there's a heavy diesel lump sat on top of them) it would show that for driving, braking and steering that front have more importance - even on a RWD car, no?

The rears with TC to help control, only push the car along, whilst the front stop and steer the car (albeit with with some ABS support)

when you hit the brake pedal, how much goes to the rear wheels - it isn't 50% is it?

Again, correct inflation on both axles (am keen on that) so that cannot be the isseue and wear is even across the tyres - so its normal wear.

I am leaning to therefore have the better tyres on the front, even on a RWD Merc??

Is this wrong?

Any more thoughts appreciated

PS don't have a Costco near enough to me & Falkens are around the £70 mark

PPS would change them for winter (October-ish)

 

[fabes]

I did the swapping thing on my CLK... had to change them back because the car didn't look right

I have the same tyres and wheels all round so I don't have / shouldn't have that issue at least.

Cheers

 

[Mactech]

I have never know a RWD car wear its fronts quicker than rears!
All the Mercs I have had in the last few years have worn the rears at almost twice the rate of the fronts. (C, E, SLK and S Types) The 4WD ML seems to use its tyres at the same rate.
Provided all your wheels are well balanced (and the same size!), I would be in favour of diagonal swapping. I do it twice a year when I change from my winter to summer wheels but it does mean you are hit with a bill for 4 tyres at once.
I also think that changing them once they are down to 3mm is good practice.
In addition to the more obvious safety in the wet aspect, you will also get less road noise and better ride comfort with more tread on the tyre.

 

[GrahamC230K]

Rears are around the 5mm mark
Front are now at 3mm (poss just below)

.

Not sure how you managed to wear the fronts quicker, assuming all 4 fitted at the same time, but I would in your shoes be replacing the fronts anyway. I change my tyres at 3mm as I am not happy with wet performance with less tread. With 5mm of tread on the back and your trend of wearing the fronts more, I would be inclined to not be swayed from putting the new tyres back on the front.

 

[R2D2]

Every service I rotate my tyres. left to right then front to back because the near side front takes the most wear on roundabouts, then the edges of the fronts go with power steering and the middle of the rears wear with traction. Swapping them around regularly means you spread the wear more evenly.

 

[lynall]

Never rotated tyres in my life, simply they wear out and i buy some more

Plus if the tracking, caster and camber abgles are fine they should wear lovely and flat, all four of mine are wearing out dead even across the treads, slightly heavier on both front outer edges but thats the weight and size of the car coupled with my driving!



Lynall

 

[Rory]

I am leaning to therefore have the better tyres on the front, even on a RWD Merc??

Is this wrong?

Yes. There's usually no argument with RWD. With FWD people argue that the newer tyres should go on the front but that's still wrong.

Reason is that oversteer (rear wheel skid) is much harder to control and the car will usually spin.
Understeer (front wheels running wide) is much more predictable generally less dramatic.

Of course Merc's have all sorts of electronics to deal with this stuff anyway, although even that can't completely defy the laws of physics.


As other's have said, there's something very odd going on with your car to wear the fronts out faster than the rears. I'm the world gentlest driver, and pretty well only use my C270CDi on long motorway runs, but my rear tyres wear at twice the rate of my fronts. In fact I only changed the fronts at 40K as the edges were worn and looked bad - the main part of the tread still had 4mm.

 

[BlackC55]

I was always taught never to swap tyres on opposite corners as the internal cords get used to running one way. When you swap them and they run in the opposite direction the cords loosen up and the tyre is less effective under braking.

I was also told this when racing karts so I have always stuck to it.

 

[st13phil]

I was always taught never to swap tyres on opposite corners as the internal cords get used to running one way. When you swap them and they run in the opposite direction the cords loosen up and the tyre is less effective under braking.

I totally agree. It's bad practice to change the direction of rotation of radial tyres for the reasons stated. You can happily swap front to rear/rear to front but you should keep the tyres on the same side of the car.

 

[GrahamC230K]

Never had a rwd car that didn't wear the rear down the center, regardless of how low a pressure I ran them at.

So far as new tyres on the back, yes the text book reason sounds good to me, but so long as the rears are healthy, say 5-6mm I don't see the issue and tend to leave them as they are in such a scenario.

 

[BTB 500]

AFAIK all the major tyre companies recommend rotation to even out wear. The only exception I've seen is for directional tyres.

Racing/track tyres may well be different, but I don't have them on my Vito

 

[BlackC55]

AFAIK all the major tyre companies recommend rotation to even out wear. The only exception I've seen is for directional tyres.

Racing/track tyres may well be different, but I don't have them on my Vito

Yes, so the tyre is rolling the same way it always has been not swapped on opposite corners.

 

[Ronnie]

Would not bother swapping as 3mm is the time to renew not swap....performance considerably diminshes once you are down to 3mm.....safety first !!

 

[fabes]

Would not bother swapping as 3mm is the time to renew not swap....performance considerably diminshes once you are down to 3mm.....safety first !!

Agreed - thats why I picked up on the comment at the service - 3mm is about change time.

Thanks for the views - I have learnt a bit - it seems diag swaps are a no no.

On the back of this I just spoke to 'my mate' who acted as my glamourous assistant when we changed the front pads at his place a few months back - he fixes dirty great big bus engines as a day job but loves to tinker and has ramps, tools and buckets of swalfaga at his farm house.

It seems whilst I had to take a call at the end, he decided to rotate the wheels as we had the back off to check the pads and discs anyway and he forgot to tell me.

That explains the wear!

A couple of months of saving up and I will look at the wear again and decide 2 or 4 (the deals on 4 are attractive)

Cheers for the steers

Fabes

 

[Shude]

It seems whilst I had to take a call at the end, he decided to rotate the wheels as we had the back off to check the pads and discs anyway and he forgot to tell me.

That explains the wear!

Laws of physics still intact then!