Towing Service Bakersfield CA

Towing Bakersfield - Wheel Balancing and Tire Rotation

To continue our discussion on how to maintain your car's tires in tip top shape so as not to be stuck on the road for faulty alignment or flat tires, below is more information from Julie Sussman, et al, book Dare To Repair Your Car. But if you den up stranded with your tires non-functional, give us call. We have the best tow trucks in Bakersfield!

​Aligning and Rotating Wheels and Balancing Tires

Alignment, balance, and rotation are the ABCs of tire maintenance. Well, okay, maybe they're the ABRs, but no matter which acronym you attach, they are the basic steps in keeping your tires properly maintained. Each of these steps extends the life of the tires, conserves fuel, and provides better steering. What's not to love?
Normally, we would give you DIY instructions, but not this time. For those of you who cringe at handing over your car to a mechanic, we love your can-do spirit and certainly don't want to deflate it one little bit (hee-hee). However; the alignment of the wheels and the balancing of the tires has to be done professionally, and we think that rotating wheels is not worth your time since it can cost less than a movie ticket (Some tire centers even offer free balancing and rotation for the life of the tires if you purchase the tires from them.) A mechanic will also be able to look for irregular treadwear patterns on the tires and diagnose any unusual problems.
Rotating Wheels

Having said all that, if you still want to rotate the wheels yourself, do it while you're changing the oil because the car will already be jacked up. And then move yourself to the head of the class!

Whether you choose DIY (Do It Yourself) or DIFM (Do It For Me), you should refer to the car owner's manual because on some cars the front set of wheels are a different size than the rear set.

What It Is

Rotating wheels means that the wheels are moved to different positions on the car Most of the car's braking power is in the front; therefore, the front tires typically wear out faster than the rear tires. So if you rotate the wheels, you’ll be able to get more life out of all your tires. Always refer to the car manual for rotation recommendations, if there are none, then the wheels should be rotated every 6,000 miles, or twice a year.

 Rotation Patterns

When you think of wheels being rotated, you probably assume that it's done in either a clockwise or counterclockwise movement. But it's not that simple. In fact, there are multiple rotation patterns based on multiple factors.
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• The front and rear tires are different sizes.
• A full-size spare can be added to the rotation.
• Your car's high-performance tires are either unidirectional or asymmetrical. These tires are marketed as excellent wet-weather tires because of their tread patterns. These tires must be rotated correctly or they may hydroplane more than regular tires. The tires should be rotated according to the direction of the arrows on the sidewalls.
• Your car has 2-wheel, 4-wheel, or all-wheel drive.
• There are one or two new replacement tires.

See the illustration for the correct rotation patterns for each tire. If you are the original owner of your car; the first wheel rotation is very important because all future rotations (with the original tires) will depend on it."