4 or 5 tire rotation????

[Reseg]

You'll get 25% more miles before needing new tires with a 5-tire rotation (though you'll need 5 tires vs 4), and here's why:

Let's use round, easy numbers. Say your tires are good for 40,000 miles and you do a 5-wheel rotation every 5,000 miles. You will end up doing 9 rotations before the original 4 on the ground (as well as the spare) hit 40k miles, and since all 5 tires will be in the spare position twice, the total miles the vehicle will travel is now 50,000.

Grey block indicates which one was the spare for that 5,000 mile period.

40,000 + 25% = 50,000

However, in my case, I don't drive enough to reach that 40k, before the tires get old and need changed anyway.

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[jayteal]

Always do five tires and generally at or near the same time as oil changes (5-6k miles). Easier to do, can do at home and really never understood why some only do four tires when you've got a fifth wheel to help extend the life of the entire set of five.

 

[JSFoster75]

What rotation do most have done? And maybe why?

I always do 5 for the following reasons:

• Longer use of tires (adds 20% life to usage)
• Eventually the spare tire will dry rot and become unusable if not rotated
• Forces me to maintain the correct air pressure in all 5 tires instead of just 4.

 

[FLTrailRider]

5 because 25% more wear and after the x number of years that 5th tire is too old to be used safely for a spare through a whole new set of tires.

 

[shekmark]

5 because 25% more wear and after the x number of years that 5th tire is too old to be used safely for a spare through a whole new set of tires.

I see the age mentioned a couple of times. My daughters 2010 JK spare was never used. That is now 11 ish years old. Do I need to trash it?

 

[grimmjeeper]

I see the age mentioned a couple of times. My daughters 2010 JK spare was never used. That is now 11 ish years old. Do I need to trash it?

Tires dry rot and can fail once they get too old.

That's why I do a 5 tire rotation. May as well use up the tire. You need to replace it anyway.

 

[Chupacabra]

Tires dry rot and can fail once they get too old.

That's why I do a 5 tire rotation. May as well use up the tire. You need to replace it anyway.

And if you rotate your own tires, doing a 5-tire rotation is a lot easier because you're only jacking up one wheel location at a time.

 

[Stormin’ Moorman]

I buy my tires @Discount Tire and they do rotations and balancing for free. (Probably the main reason i buy there) They never complain about a 5 tire rotation so that's what i get. I also change tire brands a good bit and if I did 4 tire rotation i would always be throwing a perfectly good tire away. There's no good reason to do a 4 tire rotation on a jeep.

 

[BDinTX]

We cut a sidewall around 4000 miles on the odometer. I was able to just replace it but it got me to thinking - if the same thing happened at 10, 15, 20 thousand miles I would have had to (at a minimum) bought two new tires. After that I was thinking a 4 tire rotation was the way to go. Then in a previous discussion the conversation of tire rot came up. That pushed me into the 5 tire rotation camp but I don't believe there is a clear "better way".

The reality is - either method is a gamble and you're betting on which will happen first and the safer bet depends alot on how you use your Jeep.
1) A non-repairable flat tire (4 tire)
2) Keeping all tires the life of the tread (5 tire)

 

[jeepoch]

Dissimilar sized tires cause mechanical hardship on differentials and transfer cases, especially 4WD and AWD designs. Tires rotating at different revolutions per unit distance at each end of the axle present binding forces that stress the differential. From the differential's perspective it's like the vehicle is always turning even when going straight down the road.

Tires rotating at different revolutions per unit distance between front and back axles present binding forces that stress the transfer case. Applied power to each differential is uneven and causes overall powertrain wear.

Why do you think smaller sized donut spares on most cars are only rated for 50 miles max? Donut rubber can easily last thousands of miles minimum.

If you really don't want undue powertrain trouble after replacing a tire (for whatever reason), ensure that all four tires are the same diameter after the replacement of any one. The only good way to do that is to have a spare that is just as evenly worn. The only practical way to do that is to use all five tires and rotate all of them periodically. The more often the rotation, the more even the wear.

Hence always rotate all five tires at 4 to 5K mile intervals.

Anything else and you're only hurting your vehicle. Especially if you don't fix the flat right away and continue driving with that unevenly worn spare.

It doesn't take much circumference change (different diameter) on your tires to cause mechanical binding. You'll certainly notice more metal shavings in the sludge of your diffs when changing your gear lube if the four running tires are not all the same size.

Performing a 5 tire rotation has way more benefit than just some 20 to 25% more tread life. It also increases the overall longevity of your powertrain as a whole.

Just do the five tire rotation, your Jeep will thank you in the long run.

Jay

 

[BrntWS6]

4...always got ~75k miles out of my tires so I'd rather keep the spare rim and tire in good shape.

 

[jahysea]

All the comments about more mileage out of 5 tire rotation are true. Wearing spare evenly has benefits true. Easier to jack up one wheel at a time if you have one jack true. Tires expire, true. But my JK is an 08 and has 30k miles, I had to upgrade all 5 tires not due to wear but age.

Despite all this I do 4 tire rotation. I live in NorCal and run trails like Rubicon and Fordyce, lots of loose granite. My black wheels get lots of scratches. My spare rim is at eye level and looks perfect, don’t wanna scratch it up. I may drive my JL more than my JK but I suspect my tires still age out before they wear out. So one vote for keeping the spare pretty.

 

[JD Jeep]

Dumb question, but my 2021 (on order) will be my first Jeep since my 1980's CJ. Does the tire pressure sensor come into play when doing a 5-tire rotation? Meaning it is just an idiot light or specific to the tire? Also, does the spare have a sensor? Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but I thought it was relevant to the discussion.

 

[plex]

I always do rotation as needed, whether 4-tires or 5-tires, meaning I measure the tread depth on each tires, if one wore faster than others (typically rear passenger due to gas tank and drive axle), I put it on spare. For example, right now I have

Front driver 11.5/32
Front passenger 11.5/32
Rear driver 11/32
Rear passenger 10.5/32
Spare 12/32

So I swap rear passenger with spare, and put rear driver to front passenger.

I have done this practice for years, not sure how much extra longevity I got, given most of the time I swapped entire set out around 40k for a different type/brand tire, just for the sake of new tire (toy). But with this method, I can make sure they wore out evenly.

 

[Mikester86]

Dumb question, but my 2021 (on order) will be my first Jeep since my 1980's CJ. Does the tire pressure sensor come into play when doing a 5-tire rotation? Meaning it is just an idiot light or specific to the tire? Also, does the spare have a sensor? Sorry if this is a little off-topic, but I thought it was relevant to the discussion.

Spare is exactly the same as the 4 on the ground. Speed sensors only report the rotating tires, so the spare does not report until it is put into service.

Each tire in service reports the air pressure individually, and you will see that displayed.

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