[D4D]

Originally Posted by void_001

Hi Guys

My Swift Vxi is 7 years old (2007 Sep model) and done 35k.

...spare tyre was looking brand new & shining. I was expecting that as per the manual the M.A.S.S guys would be doing the tyre rotation whenever I gave it for service, looks like they haven't been doing that.

Could you advice if rotating the tires is a good option - if yes, do I go for the Maruti recommended 4 tire swap or 5 tire swap? [[ Off topic: Surprisingly (or not would be a better word) - the Maruti manual for Swift & DZire is the same - is this indeed the case or some tech boffin uploaded the wrong file to the wrong link? ]]

Or do I need to go for a new set of tires & discard the spare tire - that almost brand new.

Thanks a ton in advance.

Cheers!

First of all tyre rotation must be done every 5000 km so that the tyres wear out evenly.
At 35k km, don't bother rotating the 5 tyres now. Although it won't harm switching diagnol tyres.

When you replace your set, replace only 4 tyres. And use the fifth one as a spare. In case of a puncture, replace the fifth one ONLY till the "new" tire is repaired. Remember: The spare will be over 7 years old!

Not to forget, rotate your new tyres according to schedule.

[supremeBaleno]

@void_001 : Obviously 5-tyre swap is better since it helps run all the tyres equally. But in your case, spare has been unused all these years. If I were you, I would start using it now, but many here would suggest not to - rubber hardening etc. In which case, you could continue doing 4-tyre rotation and keep this as spare tyre (retain it even after you change the other 4 tyres when they wear out, for the occasional use when any of the running tyres get punctured). BTW, are your tyres JK Vectra ?

BTW, are your rims steel or alloy ? VXi does not come with alloys AFAIK. In which case, I wonder why MASS did not rotate the spare (if at all they did any rotation) ?
Or do you have after-market alloys on the 4 running wheels & spare has stock steel rim ? In which case, tyre unmoun/remount would be needed if spare is rotated, which
might explain why MASS did not rotate the spare.

[void_001]

Thanks a lot for the quick response D4D

Originally Posted by D4D

First of all tyre rotation must be done every 5000 km so that the tyres wear out evenly.

I know, that was entirely my oversight

Originally Posted by D4D

At 35k km, don't bother rotating the 5 tyres now. Although it won't harm switching diagnol tyres.

That would be the left rear to right front & right rear to left front, isn't it?

Originally Posted by D4D

When you replace your set, replace only 4 tyres...

What do you think would be a good mileage to replace the set?

Thanks again.

[D4D]

Originally Posted by void_001

That would be the left rear to right front & right rear to left front, isn't it?

Yes. You could also just switch rear with front tyres. Reason to interchange both: The front tyres are bearing the weight of the engine for a long time.

What do you think would be a good mileage to replace the set?

Thanks again.

Generally 7-8 years is what people recommend. Do it around 50k kms. This could very on driving habits, conditions. If you have about 1.8-2 mm of tread left, go ahead and do it.

[void_001]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

BTW, are your tyres JK Vectra ?

BTW, are your rims steel or alloy ? VXi does not come with alloys AFAIK. In which case, I wonder why MASS did not rotate the spare (if at all they did any rotation) ?
Or do you have after-market alloys on the 4 running wheels & spare has stock steel rim ? In which case, tyre unmoun/remount would be needed if spare is rotated, which
might explain why MASS did not rotate the spare.

Thanks for the response supremeBaleno - Using the stock set that came along with the car - the steel rim JK ones. No sure why MASS didn't rotate the spare - now I am not sure if they've been rotating the main on ground ones. Need to check it up with them.

[void_001]

Well, checked with the MASS today. To be honest, I wasn't surprised. The answer was - they haven't rotated the tyres at all. When I asked why, the ruse / excuse

1. I had not told them explicitly to do this when I gave it for any service
2. Most of their customers ask them not to touch their wheels - so they avoid doing that

I am no longer sure if I really need to leave my car at MASS for any future services - if they're going to be so wantonly ignorant, I will be better off with a good service set-up place, me thinks.

Thanks a lot for your advice guys!

Cheers.

[supremeBaleno]

Originally Posted by void_001

checked with the MASS today. The answer was - they haven't rotated the tyres at all. When I asked why, the ruse / excuse
I had not told them explicitly to do this when I gave it for any service

Well, they cannot use that excuse because the manual clearly indicates that rotation needs to be done as part of the periodic service(s).
Pasting below an extract from my Baleno's manual and I am sure it is there in the manual of all Suzuki cars.

[void_001]

You're right supremeBaleno. The manual does say that. Even my swift/desire manual says that. But wasn't done.
Have stopped counting in on these MASS and decided to get it done at a trustworthy place like Madhu's in Bangalore

[dreamlhasa]

Please explain me this. Tyres rotation.....Does it involve only shifting the tyres WITH THE RIM to another place , or the tyres to be taken out of the rim and fitted reverse and then shifted to the new position?? Also, do I need to do the balancing every time we rotate the tyres.

[CoolCarNi]

Originally Posted by supremeBaleno

Well, they cannot use that excuse because the manual clearly indicates that rotation needs to be done as part of the periodic service(s).

It's not possible for the naked eye to check whether tyres are rotated when specifically told to do so at the a.s.s. One way to overcome this is to paint numbers on the tyres! If the tyres are not rotated you will come to know

[carboy]

Originally Posted by dreamlhasa

Please explain me this. Tyres rotation.....Does it involve only shifting the tyres WITH THE RIM to another place , or the tyres to be taken out of the rim and fitted reverse and then shifted to the new position??

Nope. It's rotation of tyres without removing them from the rim.

Originally Posted by dreamlhasa

Also, do I need to do the balancing every time we rotate the tyres.

Nope. The only times balanced tyres need to be rebalanced when they are taken out of the RIM.

[swami.n]

Originally Posted by void_001

Hi Guys
...
...

While checking for something (lot of clatter coming in from the boot due to some loosely fitted tools), was kind of taken aback to see that the spare tyre was looking brand new & shining. I was expecting that as per the manual the M.A.S.S guys would be doing the tyre rotation whenever I gave it for service, looks like they haven't been doing that.



Could you advice if rotating the tires is a good option - if yes, do I go for the Maruti recommended 4 tire swap or 5 tire swap?

Or do I need to go for a new set of tires & discard the spare tire - that almost brand new.

Thanks a ton in advance.

Cheers!

Hi Void_001,
Sorry for the delayed response.

I usually do a 5 wheel rotation every 5000kms on my Figo, just to ensure that all 5 tyres are equally used and provide maximum overall kms for the set of 5.
I would recommend the 5 wheel rotation unless your spare is of a different size like in few of the cars.
Some may keep the 5th one untouched, but I feel even if it is untouched, the rubber few years old will not be like the new ones.

In your instance, if you find the in-use tyres good enough for few thousand more kms, you can rotate & get the unused spare into use.

And I always do the rotation @ a dedicated tyre sale/alignmet outlet and ensure they follow the diagram(which I have on my phone).

Originally Posted by void_001

I know, I know - I should've taken care of this from my side too - but I travel frequently and don't always hand off the car for service myself.. Thats a lame excuse, but there it is.

Bad that you dint notice it for so long, but anyways its better late than never. From now on you can ensure it for your current and future cars.

Originally Posted by void_001

[[ Off topic: Surprisingly (or not would be a better word) - the Maruti manual for Swift & DZire is the same - is this indeed the case or some tech boffin uploaded the wrong file to the wrong link? ]]

On Topic to your off topic question, May be Maruti agrees that its after all a swift pasted with a boot and nothing much needs to be added to the manual to differentiate both

[amitpatnaik]

I have a year old Ford Figo Titanium with allow wheels which has clocked 11700kms on odo. During the last service at 10K interval, I had asked the ASA at Ford to do wheel allignment. While delivery he said that the rear left wheel has two punctures which he has fixed the puncture. So should I go for tyre rotation now and keep the repaired tyre as spare. The spare wheel is not alloy. If I do tyre rotation then should I do the wheel balancing and wheel allignment also. Kinldy request the experts to advice as I am planning a highway trip by next week.

[Rahul Rao]

@amitpatnaik
You are going to face punctures in different tyres time and again, so keeping a punctured tire as a spare is not a good idea.
Always follow a fixed interval for tire rotation preferably your service interval (10,000km) in Ford. Unless spare is of a different size have 5 tire rotation, in case you cut a tire and other 4 tires are good, then you can replace it and keep the new one as a spare and then onward follow a 4 tire rotation till it is time for a new set.

I balance the tire if it has a multiple puncture, and at every alternate tire rotation as a routine.

Rahul

[Jose.solorider]

Hi, Its been 2 years and approx 20k run on odo.
I did horizontal rotation.

I forgot to change the rear which is unused for last two years.

Shall I put the unused spare in rear driver side? Since my other Tyre are 20k run and this would be a brand new Tyre.

Car is Ford Ecosports and Tyres are MRF I am not sure if they are unidirectional or not, since I don't know how to find it either.

I am attaching few picture which I found on bridgestone .