Stock tire rotation

[sabrocom]

Hey all,

Was wondering about milage reccomended for tire rotation. I have my GT all stock tires/wheels. Have about 5k miles on it and wanted to rotate tires soon. Any reccomendations? I wanted to do it over the weekend here at home but was not sure if I had to balance the tires also. Any info would be great! (or should I just take it in to a shop to do it for me?)

 

[bigcat]

DO IT YOURSELF!!! it will take less than 20 mins and its free if you do it. 5k is the recommended tire rotation interval. just be sure to check the cold tire pressure when you rotate them. be sure that they are at recommended pressure. i believe that ford says 32 psi and the tire says max pressure 51 psi for the gt, not sure about the V6. remember when the explorers had the firestone problems? ford and firestone had different recommendations for the tire pressure. i am not sure how the difference in tire pressure would change treadwear. that is a big difference in pressure. owners manual days overinflating causes adverse handling. anyway, i would not take it to a shop for rotaion unless you have a problem with your balance.

 

[Nolyaw]

Hey all,

Was wondering about milage reccomended for tire rotation. I have my GT all stock tires/wheels. Have about 5k miles on it and wanted to rotate tires soon. Any reccomendations? I wanted to do it over the weekend here at home but was not sure if I had to balance the tires also. Any info would be great! (or should I just take it in to a shop to do it for me?)

Rotate those babies on over to ebay, and get youself a set of wheels. Saleen makes a nice 20" for your car...

 

[probepro]

I belong to the over 40 crowd, so my do-it-yourself days are pretty much over, but here's a couple things to consider: Lug nuts should be tightened with a torque wrench to keep from warping the rotors, but no garage I've ever been to does it that way. Also, wheels are balanced while they are on the car, so you really should re-balance you wheels if you rotate your tires. Bottom line, unless there is uneven tire wear, I'd wait until 8K or maybe do it once a year.

 

[grendel]

supose to do it every 6k miles and the do become out of balance but if you dont feel any vibes or anything i wouldnt worry about balancing them just do a rotate. they should be torqued to 100lbs.

 

[probepro]

supose to do it every 6k miles and the do become out of balance but if you dont feel any vibes or anything i wouldnt worry about balancing them just do a rotate. they should be torqued to 100lbs.

Yeah, the manual says I'm suppose to do it every 6K, but the manual was written to be idiot proof. Why would I go through the trouble or expense of rotating my tires if they are wearing evenly, and risk having to re-balance the wheels as well? Needing to rotate tires at 5K is symptomatic of bad wheel alignment, wrong tire inflation, bad wheel balancing, etc. You need to solve the real problem, not move the damage to another corner of the car. The only valid reason for needing to rotate tires at 5K would be if the car is driven really hard. And if that's the case, uneven tire wear will be the least of your expense. Even if I had my own lift and all the right tools and equipment, I'd still do it sparingly.

 

[grendel]

that is why i said suppose, i work at discount tire and i was just stating our guidelines for it.

 

[kimberowner]

I belong to the over 40 crowd, so my do-it-yourself days are pretty much over, but here's a couple things to consider: Lug nuts should be tightened with a torque wrench to keep from warping the rotors, but no garage I've ever been to does it that way. Also, wheels are balanced while they are on the car, so you really should re-balance you wheels if you rotate your tires. Bottom line, unless there is uneven tire wear, I'd wait until 8K or maybe do it once a year.

99.9% of the tires are not balanced on the car!!! You can rotate tires and the balance will not be affected unless a tire is out of balance already and it move to a front spot....then you might feel it more....

 

[Nolyaw]

Yeah, the manual says I'm suppose to do it every 6K, but the manual was written to be idiot proof. Why would I go through the trouble or expense of rotating my tires if they are wearing evenly, and risk having to re-balance the wheels as well? Needing to rotate tires at 5K is symptomatic of bad wheel alignment, wrong tire inflation, bad wheel balancing, etc. You need to solve the real problem, not move the damage to another corner of the car. The only valid reason for needing to rotate tires at 5K would be if the car is driven really hard. And if that's the case, uneven tire wear will be the least of your expense. Even if I had my own lift and all the right tools and equipment, I'd still do it sparingly.

Just rost 'em. The pzero nero's are inexpensive any way. How can you resist not breaking them loose at every stop? Unless its an auto...then I understand.

 

[o5stanggt]

probpro whens the last time you had tires balanced 1975? guys you drive a 300 horse car rotate every 5-6000 i have 13,500 on my 3rd set thats just me though. grendel what discount do you work at im in texas

 

[grendel]

i work at the newer one in victoria

 

[tripsober]

every other oil change i say rotate them, no need to balance them unless you feel a shake around 55mph they are balanced from the factory like every car, and if you wanna have your tires rotated and not done your self shoud cost around 10$ of your money if you find a good place that dont rip people off to. They should use a torque wrench atleast to 100lbs

 

[05Stangster]

My rule is also every other oil change. However, I will probably lean to every oil change b/c my tires seem to "spin" quite a bit when I take off - I think it has something to do with having 300 ponies and an automatic. Man these cars a fun to drive

 

[o5stanggt]

victoria texas are you a tech

 

[grendel]

yup

 

[Over's GT]

on the statement "why re balance them if they feel fine or dont vibrate"

sometimes you just get used to a minor harmonic vibration and everything feels fine, but after you have them rebalanced and rotated the car drives smoother

the balance can and will change slightly as the tread wears and the fronts will wear differently then the rear

rotate every 5000-7000mi and use a tread depth gauge to determine wear

of course, the way you drive effects wear