Tire rotation question

Tiny
MDCYZONE
  • MEMBER
  • 2018 LAND ROVER DISCOVERY
  • 27,000 MILES
I went to a LandRover dealer and among other things I asked for a tire rotation, since the front tires are more worn than the back tires. When I took the car back I noticed the good tires (from back) were installed on the left side and the worn tires on the right side. Instead of rotating them in X. I asked why and I was told the tires balance is better this way. I was surprised because I have never heard of this concept: good tires on right and bad tires on the left side. I am trying to talk with other mechanics and see their opinion. What do you think about this? Is this okay? Or sounds like a bad joke? Thank you, Michael
Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 AT 4:54 PM

9 Replies

Tiny
MHPAUTOS
  • MECHANIC
  • 31,937 POSTS
Hi there,

Normal tire rotation is front to rear and not cross rotated. Cross rotation is a practice that was used with old style cross ply tires. tire rotation should be done at every service for maximum tire life, modern cars often only get serviced once a year, so it’s a good practice to add a tire rotation mid service, also maintain correct tire pressures and get a wheel alignment if there is any sign of excessive front tire edge wear. This should help maximize your tire life. I have added a link to help understand tire information.

Mark (mhpautos)

https://www.2carpros.com/articles/how-car-tires-work
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 AT 5:18 PM
Tiny
MDCYZONE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
Yes, I get this. But in my case the move left and right. The back tires are on the left side, and the front tires are on the right side. This is not front-rear, this is sort of left-right. I have never heard of this. My question is this a common practice? Did you ever heard about it?
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 AT 5:25 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 14,185 POSTS
Never heard of that. Normally you either use an H pattern with the fronts going to the rear or a version of a cross pattern, Common one is the fronts go to the rear and the rears swap sides going to the front.
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 AT 5:30 PM
Tiny
MDCYZONE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
Basically the mechanic only moved the front left tire to back right, and that one to front left. At first I thought that was a mistake. I am confused about this.
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 AT 5:30 PM
Tiny
MDCYZONE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
Thank you. Should I go to another mechanic to do that the right way? X or H?
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 AT 5:32 PM
Tiny
STEVE W.
  • MECHANIC
  • 14,185 POSTS
I would measure the tread on them and see if there would be any reason why they did it that way. I can't think of one unless the tread depths match better. Personally I'd still redo it myself. Probably in an H.
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 AT 5:37 PM
Tiny
MDCYZONE
  • MEMBER
  • 6 POSTS
My opinion is this: someone did not complete the job. When I went back to ask why they did that, they sold told me this lie. The tires are not so bad. Thank you for your advice. Michael
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Tuesday, March 23rd, 2021 AT 5:41 PM
Tiny
JACOBANDNICKOLAS
  • MECHANIC
  • 110,068 POSTS
Hi,

Take the vehicle back to them and tell them you want both of the better tires on the front and the other two on the rear. Honestly, what they did makes no sense at all. I always recommend the better tires stay on the front for steering control.

The idea they told you, "the tires aren't so bad" still doesn't justify what was done. It appears you need to tell them exactly what you want and not what they want.

Let me know if they take care of the problem.

Joe
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Friday, March 26th, 2021 AT 7:26 PM

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