I have read from the european smartcar pages of owners putting the same size tires (tyres) and wheels on the front and the rear. Drivers report increased stability and steering response. This would also give you the ability to rotate front to rear. I am very interested in what Continenal has to say about running their tires reverse bias, generally this is a no - no! My 1956 VW beetle got over 80,000 mi on tires rated for 40,000 without rotation. Is scalloping of the front tires a common occurance with the smart and is there a fix like different suspension?
Friends-radial tires (what we all run these days) are rotated from one side of the axle to the other only. My '01 Miata is only on its second set of 205/45 R16 Z rated tires (@ 55M miles) due to 4 wheel alignment and rotation every 7-10M miles. The Smart's DeDion rear suspension does not get aligned [it's a version of a beam axle] so the front alignment and rotation on each axle may be the key to longer tire life.
Not So!! Tire rotation with radials, especially belted radial tires should be from front to rear or rear to front on the same side of the vehicle unless the tire manufacturer indicates their tires can be run reverse biased. The belts and tread tend to "set" in one direction and when run against that set it creates adhesion breakdown and ply seperation. Be careful!
7. - Never rotate tires from side to side, only front to back.
Radial tires can be crossed from side to side in the rotation pattern. The old front-to-back rule applied to bias ply tires. Regular tire rotation every 6,000 to 8,000 miles promotes more uniform wear for all tires on a vehicle. Goodyear recently designed a light truck tire system that requires no rotation, the Wrangler RF-A, which provides a rear tire with a different tread design from the front tire.
http://www.idavette.net/tire_wheel/tire_myths.htm
Quote:
Originally Posted by NTASA
Tire Rotation
Rotating tires from front to back and from side to side can reduce irregular wear (for vehicles that have tires that are all the same size). Look in your owner's manual for information on how frequently the tires on your vehicle should be rotated and the best pattern for rotation.
A Tire Rotation Example
For maximum mileage, rotate your tires every 5,000 miles. Follow correct rotation patterns.
Since the smart has different size tires front and back, your rotation pattern will be left to right on both axles.
Download the RMA's informative brochure "Be Tire Smart ... Play Your PART." (Adobe Acrobat Reader required.)
I just checked the tires on my smart. They are Conti Contacts, T speed rated and they are not marked as directional rotation tires so they can be moved from side to side. Am I missing something, or overlooking something?
The reply I got from Conti was that the tires could be switched from side to side. In the interest of science mine will stay where they are and I will report how they wear...mine are conti pro contacts
karl
The reply I got from Conti was that the tires could be switched from side to side. In the interest of science mine will stay where they are and I will report how they wear...mine are conti pro contacts
karl
Great!! Glad we finally cleared the air on tire rotation. Well done!! Good information and finally, the right information.
Rotation: Regularly rotating your vehicle's tires will help you achieve more uniform wear. Unless your vehicle owner's manual has a specific recommendation, the guideline for tire rotation is approximately every 6,000-8,000 miles.
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