We may have more snow, ice and cold to face here in Richmond but, there’s little doubt that we’re nearing the end of the winter of 2022-23. If you have run snow tires this winter, you may want to run them a little bit longer, just to make sure you don’t need them before you take them off. But it is time to start thinking about rotating your tires.

Rotating your tires is a procedure that Richmond, as well as other, car owners often overlook. It is a highly recommended procedure. In fact, as Bridgestone explains on their Website, tire rotation may be “required to keep your tires covered under warranty.”

Why would tire manufacturers require car owners to rotate their tires to maintain warranties unless there was a pretty good reason for doing so? Here are some of the reasons that you should have your car’s tires rotated:

• Rotating the tires spreads wear evenly on the tires. If the wear continues in one area, the tires will loose tread in that area sooner than if the tires are rotated and the wear is shared with other parts of the tire’s tread.
• Rotating tires keeps the tread wear uniform from tire to tire. It’s a better and safer idea to have tires that are in similar condition. If you think about it, if one tire has more tread than another, it may have more traction. It will grab differently from tire to tire and could cause instability in handling. This is even more critical if you have an all-wheel-drive vehicle.
• Tire rotation reduces stress on steering and suspension components and the drive chain. The steering and suspension systems are such that one weakness anywhere in the system tends to put additional strain on other components. And, when tires are suddenly grabbing the road, or loosing traction, it can have a jarring effect on the drive train.

The point is that tire rotation extends the life of your tires while increasing safe operation of your vehicle. 

Now, as for those snow tires, if we do have some more winter weather here in Richmond, you’ll be happy to know you’ve got snow tires to give you additional traction on icy and snowy roads. But, once we’re fairly sure winter is over, it’s time to put your summer tires (most likely all-season tires) back on the car.

Snow tires, while they have a better grip on winter roads, are also louder while you drive – the effect of that more significant tread design. And you want to save those snow tires for next winter.

Many auto repair shops will store your off-season tires for you. If you purchase another set of wheels, they don’t even have to mount the tires to the rims. You just bring the car and they switch out the tires and wheels in one fell swoop.