goliath

I read somewhere that front to back and back to front rotation doesn't address the rotational wear on the tires. The correct procedure is to use the "X" rotation. driver front to passenger rear. Passenger front to driver rear. The tires develop some kind of pattern of wear and if you put front to back the pattern continues. reversing the tires offsets the rotational pattern. Or something like that....

I was going to purchase the Michelins MS2 but my local tire dealer convinced me that the Toyo H/T Open Country were similar at $60 less per tire. 65K warranty versus Michelin's 70K and lifetime free rotations. And the Toyo's have 2 deep grooves situated on either edge of the tire. Great in the rain and not much noise. Very little hydroplaning. Time will tell if I made the right decision.

crazirider1

I only have 4500 miles on my new 2011 xlt, I put a leveling kit on about 500 miles ago and the next day had it aligned. my tires are already showing very bad wear on the outside edges of the front tires so I rotated them tonight and it goes back to the ford garage on wed. So they can double check the alignment, but it looks to me that these tires have issues anyways! Not very happy about that after spending almost 40000 on a new truck!

Hankman

I would imagine the alignment is a bigger issue than rotation. I had my truck lifted 4" and am about to go back for my fourth alignment due to tire wear. It sucks but most shops don't do a great job they just do it good enough. I also agree that tire rotation is just as important I've heard that a cross (X) rotation is the best and I've also heard that fronts straight to rear and rears cross to front (hope thats not too confusing), but I've not seen any hard research that either is better.

dave91gt

My 2012 with about 3000 miles on the factory SRA's are all feathering. Front and rear. Truck drives fine but I must say these are the softest squirmiest tires I have ever owned. Why Ford put such a weak tire on a $42k truck is beyond me. At least it will speed up the justification for tires of my choice. It will help with convincing my chief financial officer-wife.

tennisfam4

I sure would like to know how to rotate these tires. The Ford owners manual states to cross them, driver front to pass rear, pass front to drivers rear, pass rear to pass front, driver rear to driver front. I asked a tire dealer about this and he told me not to cross them. Anyone know for sure?

Hankman

I used to work at Discount Tire. Most tire shops don't make the bulk of their money off rotating and balancing tire, they make it from selling. Also, customer satisfaction is normally a priority(speedy service). Cross rotating tires takes more time and effort and can also lead to confusion about where the tires go. The fastest most efficient way to rotate is just a straight fronts to rears, so most tire shops will prefer this method so they can get you in and out quick.

All this being said I have not personally seen any data on which method is best. I personally cross rotate mine like Ford says just because I think it is better, and gives the tires a chance to be at each spot on the truck. Tires wear differently on different sides of the vehicle due to turning(mainly fronts). Again, I do not know for sure, just my 2 cents.

tennisfam4

Anyone..With 26000 miles and 4 rotations front to back, would it be to late to change to the "X" rotation the next time I rotate.

ftrucktough

The rule of thumb for rotations is to move the primary drive wheels straight, and cross the non-drive wheels. So, in our trucks, rears go straight up, fronts cross back. The exact opposite from what you do on a front wheel drive car.

fordfan77

This is the correct way to do it, but it can't be done with some of the street or high performance tires that are directional.

ftrucktough

Yup, which I don't think any of our truck tires are?