Importance of Tire Rotation and Balancing

One of the great things about modern vehicles is the relatively minimal maintenance that they require from month to month and year to year. For the most part, there isn’t a lot that you have to do in order to keep your vehicle in good condition out on the road.

But that’s not the same thing as needing to do no maintenance at all. There are still some important maintenance points to check off, such as changing the oil at regular intervals (unless you drive an electric vehicle). Another maintenance point you’ll want to keep on your list is tire rotation and balancing, and that’s the topic at hand in this article. We’ll take a look at what these services are, why they are important, and how you can have them completed regularly.

For help with tire rotation and balancing, or any other type of maintenance that your vehicle may require, get in touch with Taylor & Sons Chevrolet today. We would be proud to serve you!

What is Tire Rotation?

Before we get into the specifics of why these services are so important, let’s back up for a minute and cover the basics of what both of these services include. This might be review for you, but it’s still worthwhile to make sure we are on the same page.

First, let’s talk about tire rotation. As the name suggests, this is the act of moving the tires around your vehicle so they land in new positions. The tires on your car or truck can work in any of the four positions (for most standard passenger vehicles – there are exceptions for specialty vehicles and tires). The pattern of how the tires are typically moved will depend on the vehicle in question. Here’s a quick primer –
• Front-wheel drive. This is the most common type of vehicle on the road, so we’ll start here. If your vehicle is front-wheel drive, you’ll generally move the front tires straight back while the rear tires cross the vehicle as they move forward. In other words, the front left tire will move to the back left position, while that back left tire will come up to the front right.
• Rear-wheel drive. The pattern is just the opposite in this case, so it’s the back tires that come forward on the same side of the vehicle while the front tires cross as they go back.
• All-wheel drive. Finally, when all four wheels have drive power, they are going to cross in both directions. The back right tire will become the front left tire, and so on.

Of course, while this is good information to have, you likely aren’t going to handle this task on your own. When you take your vehicle to a qualified service department like the one at Taylor & Sons Chevrolet, the professional technicians will understand these patterns, and everything will be handled for you.

What About Tire Balancing?

It’s easy enough to look at a tire and wheel assembly and think that it is a perfect circle, but that’s typically not quite true. The center of gravity often does not match up with the center of the wheel, and as a result, you might notice that your vehicle vibrates while heading down the road. Tire balancing service uses weights to counter any imbalance that is occurring in the tires. This is not a DIY project – proper tire balancing requires the proper equipment to both measure the tire and apply weights correctly.

The Many Benefits

So, with those explanations complete, let’s take a closer look at what you stand to gain from these services. We already mentioned above that having your tires balanced can help with vibrations that you might be experiencing on the roads, but that’s really just a starting point. Other gains you can enjoy from these two services include –
• Better grip on the road. The first, and most important, benefit of having your tires serviced is to maintain a firm grip on the road while you travel. You might take traction for granted while driving, but it only takes a momentary slip to lead to a major problem. You want to make sure you have good tread on your tires, and you want that tread to be making as much contact with the road at any given time as possible. Both of those objectives will be served by keeping up with tire rotation and balancing over time.
• Longer useful life. By rotating your tires, you’ll even out the wear to the tread pattern that takes place as the miles add up. This is because tires in the four positions on the vehicle wear in different places and at different rates, so rotating them will even things out and allow you to use as much of the tread as possible. That speaks to the previous point about maintaining a grip on the road, and it is also why you can look forward to a longer useful life from each tire. In this way, ongoing tire service can save you money in the long run by delaying the time when you’ll need to purchase a new set of tires for your vehicle.
• Spot other issues. If you are having your tires rotated at regular intervals, that means the tires will be in the hands of trained professionals, and other issues that might be developing can be spotted. Often, this will mean treads that are wearing down and may need to be replaced soon, but other tire health issues could come up that you might not notice while going through your day-to-day life.

Thank you for taking a moment to stop by Taylor & Sons Chevrolet, and we hope this article has helped to highlight the importance of having your tires rotated and balanced regularly. Whether you need this service completed, or any other kind of service for your vehicle, our team will be proud to assist. Get in touch right away to get started!

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