Is tire rotation still necessary?

[Dan C]

I am not rotating mine as I want an excuse to get rid of the oem hankooks as soon as possible.

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[Adventureboy]

The fronts will always wear on the tire shoulders more than the rear as a result of changing direction around corners and curves. Your driving conditions and style determine how urgent this is for your truck.
1) Mostly highway miles - much lower need for tire rotation
2) Spirited driving around corners and sharp curves - much higher need for tire rotation

Rotating regularly takes care of either case, but you determine how often it is needed based on your mix between the two extremes.

For me, it is easy. I rotate spring and fall when I swap out the summer/winters, simply because it is no additional effort. I don't count the mileage.

 

[flux capacitor]

It really depends on whether you like to replace all tires at the same time for aesthetics. I could careless since tires after short time all tires look the same anyway. Unless you want a whole different tire or brand just by two of the same. Front wheels on vehicles always wear out the front tires faster. Your back tires last longer without all the turning. I have replaced my front tires on my car twice with the same tires on the rear. I like saving money and have practiced this for years of only having to buy 2 tires at a time. I think you wear out your whole set of tires faster by rotating them. Take it from Scotty Kilmer Stop Rotating Your Tires

 

[Pacific.NW]

Mine get rotated through the fact I swap winter / summer tires twice a year. ¯\_(ツ)_/¯

 

[mr.Magoo]

Is buying just two new tires a thing in the US? What about age?

5+ years old winter tires are borderline illegal in Norway due to the rubber hardening.

Most of the vehicle condition is up to the owner, so completely bald (like down to / past the wear strip) 10yr old all season tires are not uncommon, because it still works, right.
Most states do not have any sort of reoccurring inspection which is why it isn't uncommon to see vehicles that look like the crusher just threw up.

Ultimately there's those who care and then there's those who don't, but it's also about economics, there's a LOT of people barely getting by, so they're not going to buy four new tires because it's the right thing to do, they'll buy one used if they can/have to.

I run dedicated winters (Hakkas) simply because I know (AND value) the difference it makes.
Few people (in Michigan) do - I can't even convince the wife, so I'm either a bad negotiator or that's how deeply rooted the all season mentality is (probably a bit of both).

 

[RickLightning]

I run dedicated winters (Hakkas) simply because I know (AND value) the difference it makes.
Few people (in Michigan) do - I can't even convince the wife, so I'm either a bad negotiator or that's how deeply rooted the all season mentality is (probably a bit of both).

The last time I put on dedicated snows was decades ago. Same area as you, AWD is fine if you've got good tires. About to replace the Mach-E tires, debating between Defender 2 and CrossClimate 2, the latter would be better in the snow.

 

[Athrun88]

The last time I put on dedicated snows was decades ago. Same area as you, AWD is fine if you've got good tires. About to replace the Mach-E tires, debating between Defender 2 and CrossClimate 2, the latter would be better in the snow.

Can vouch for the CrossClimate2's if you're on the fence. I have them on the wife's Q6 and they were solid this past winter. Next door neighbour has them on his Q5 and loves them as well. Pricey, but I think they're worth it if you're mostly paved road driving.

 

[Joe Dablock]

Also, tires do develop a scallop that tends to make noise, by rotating the tires so they rotate in the opposite direction, the scallop wears off and the noise goes away.

The other thing is garages encourage you to come in for tire rotation so they can look your vehicle over for other maintenance issues that they can suggest that you need.

 

[21st Century Truck]

The last time I put on dedicated snows was decades ago. Same area as you, AWD is fine if you've got good tires. About to replace the Mach-E tires, debating between Defender 2 and CrossClimate 2, the latter would be better in the snow.

IMHO and from personal experience, using Winter tires is more about the cold temperatures and the much softer Winter tire compound that doesn't harden when it's cold (i.e. "a good grip" in icy conditions, even without any snow on the road) than about the relatively small risk of snow-digging.

 

[K6CCC]

I'm in So. Calif. so winter tires is not an issue. I don't normally rotate tires at all with the exception of buying new tires normally go on the front and the existing front tires move to the rear at the time of buying two new tires.

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