Tire Rotation?

I probably know the answer to this question already, but is it possible to rotate tires left to right without dismounting the tires from the wheels? The tires I am talking about are Pirelli P-Zeros. My 2002 C2 runs the right rear tire down to the wear limits in 5000 miles. The left rear still looks like it has another 3-4000 miles to go. The fronts have a little over 20,000 on them and the front left still shows about 5-7000 miles to go with the front right now approaching the wear limit. I find it rather strange that the tires on this car wear out the right side first. I am guessing it must be an alignment problem??? All of my driving is in canyons so I figure I am not going to see any decent wear on my tires like I was driving in straight lines on the freeway. However, I am curious as to why the right side tires wear out first. Tom L 2002 C2

You'd have to dismount the tires, because if you just switch the wheels, the tread on the tires will not be facing the proper direction - as most tires, especially performance tires, are designed to rotate in a certain direction.

I was under the impression that Pirelli P-Zeros were non directional? Although, I would think that they would take some type of set from running in the same direction for a period of time. Tom L

If tires are non directional, you don't need to dismount them. However, not sure why you would even want to do that since it's the same weight being put on them as opposed to switching to the rear like on a regular setup. J

I have the exact same issue w/ my RR tire wearing much faster than the others, but the car pretty much came to me this way. I just ordered a set of the Conti Sport Contacts (comes w/ 'free' Magellan portable GPS) and I hope to see more even wear patterns. But why the right rear?

If there is an arrow indicating direction of rotation on the tire, then it's directional and shouldn't be moved to the other side of the car without dismounting and remounting. However, IIRC, I had P-Zero Neros some years ago and they're not directional. I rotated them regularly. Also - there is an argument that directionality only matters when driving in the wet, so if it's summer and you live in a dry climate, you can rotate them. I'm not suggesting this, only putting it out there for discussion.

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CHECK YOUR CAMBER! Same happened to me...I went thru my rear left in 5k miles...the entire inside wore to the belt...didn't notice it until it was up on a lift doing the muffler mod. Anyhow, I got the wheels aligned and camber set. it was way negative, hence the uneven wear. Money well spent. Have had my current tires on for 8k...even wear all around. J

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Yes, the P-Zero's are asymmetric, non-directional, and can just be switched left to right without dismounting tires. That's one of the reasons I like the P-Zero's, in addition to it's exceptional dry traction and hefty shoulders. Of course, this is contrary to old wisdom, that says radial tires should never be switched left to right but switched front to rear . I do the left to right all the time, especially on the track even in between runs. And, to be honest, even with the directional tires going the wrong way, so long as the track is dry.

Thanks for the input everyone. I think I will go ahead and rotate the P-Zeros and see how they do. It is worth a try anyway. Although the right rear wears faster then the other tires, it does wear even. However, 5000 miles sucks! Also, it took over 20,000 miles on the fronts to notice that the right front wore out faster then the left. I am thinking that the reason the right rear wears out so fast is that it maybe the driven wheel? Don't know if these cars are limited slip or just drive off of the right rear wheel? Tom L 2002 C2

I switched the rears left to right without dismounting. Pirelli P zero rosso. They made a woooo sound at exactly 68MPH that was the only problem I had. Got another year out of them.

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because in USA most (all?) 996 diffs are not LSD and most turns are to the right and are sharper than left turns. When car turns to right, left side (outside) rear wheel must speed up. In doing so it transmits torque to inside wheel. As this wheel/tire is usually less loaded it will slip and thus the wear. Try this: extend arms straight out and bend at elbows bringing fingers of both hands into mesh. Your fingers represent the gears of the diff. Twist the left forearm while holding your fingers locked as best you can. This mimics the action of the car turning to the right. Note how the fingers of the left arm want to twist the fingers of the right arm that you are holding still? Going straight is you trying to rotate both forearms together. No resistance. You can alleviate this right rear wear some by being a bit more easy on the throttle until car straight. Gassing engine hard during corner will subject inside tire to more torque and more slippage and thus more wear. Differences between front tire wear is almost always attributable to alignment. All it takes is when pulling into parking space bumping a parking curb to knock alignment out enough to cause uneven wear. Sincerely, Macster.

Alignment, alignment, alignment... Have it checked.