Does if matter what side your tires go on?

[The Stranger]

My girlfriend has snow tires on her car right now and I want to get the regular tires back on there.

The tires are already on rims, besides the tires with the most tread going on the back on the car, does it matter which side of the car the tires go back on? Should I just take it to a tire center? I'd rather not waste the money if I don't have to.

 

[CarolKing]

Take your car somewhere, where they can balance the tires. We go to Les Schwab, they are fairly inexpensive. They may not have that company where you live though.

 

[Duncan MacLeod]

It doesn't matter if the front is more worn than the rear, or vice versa. You wouldn't want the car leaning left or right, though. Since the tires have already been used on their wheels, this should be easy to do and save you money!

Edit: what I mean is, under normal driving conditions, the one side shouldn't wear more than the other. If I were to switch my right front wheel and tire with my left front wheel and tire, I wouldn't be messing up.

 

[Stevenski]

My girlfriend has snow tires on her car right now and I want to get the regular tires back on there.

The tires are already on rims, besides the tires with the most tread going on the back on the car, does it matter which side of the car the tires go back on? Should I just take it to a tire center? I'd rather not waste the money if I don't have to.

It does quite a bit depending on car & tyre configuration & if they are directional or not. Do you know how many miles they have done & any previous rotation history?

I would suggest taking them to a professional to have the tyres inspected, tested & balanced. The two most important component in your safety is your grip level/contact with the road & stopping ability. Correctly fitted, balanced & pressurized tyres will make a huge difference in everything from general ride comfort/safety to fuel economy.

 

[The Stranger]

Ok, this is definitely what I was thinking. I'll take them to Costco or something tomorrow.

Thanks everyone!

 

[al bundy]

I've ways heard that if you switch tire from the right to left that it did something to the belts.and caused the long bubbles in the side wall

At one time you rotated tires with the spare all around the vehicle

Some tires will have an arrow or something to indicate rotation on the side wall
Directional tire

Now most say to rotate front to rear keeping the tires on the same side of vehicle
So going in the same direction just moving front to rear .
That's what I do the spare doesn't get rotated

If the tires are in that good of condition that there's no chopped or uneven threads I would just mount them and go especially if you didn't take them off the rims
Just check air pressure.look inside the driver side door for correct pressure

the tire center will not know what side they go on any more than you unless they're directional tires, now if you get any vibration then you need th shop to check and or balance tire.

And next year if you swap them mark the inside side wall as you take them off.

 

[DDave]

It does quite a bit depending on car & tyre configuration & if they are directional or not.

I've ways heard that if you switch tire from the right to left that it did something to the belts.and caused the long bubbles in the side wall

Top two posts on the topic right here^^^

Now most say to rotate front to rear keeping the tires on the same side of vehicle

Yes! How it should be done.

If you've run tires in one direction, putting them on the other side of the car is not a good thing unless you take them off the rims and reverse so they spin the same direction on the other side of the car. And that's way more work than needed.

 

[The Stranger]

So I guess the question now is, will a shop be able to tell which tire goes where?

 

[Stevenski]

Any shop that is borderline competent will be able to tell from looking at the wear pattern & how the camber & toe in is set up on the car. This reminds me that I need to buy new tyres myself....

 

[hossthehermit]

Put the round part on the bottom ............