Rotating tires on a 996

Somehow I feel like this is a dumb question - I never rotated the tires on my former P-car, and don't rotate the tires on my BMW E38. Now, the other day, this dealer tells me I should be rotating my tires. Given that the tires are (1) directional and (2) the front/rear rims are different sizes, the only way to rotate the tires is to swap the left-right sides by unmounting and remounting them. Seems like overkill to me. I keep my suspension reasonably well aligned so that the tires wear pretty evenly. And frankly, with the sticky tires that I use and the way I drive - tires don't last all that long anyway and I doubt rotating them will make a difference. But maybe I got this all wrong - maybe there's some secret benefit to tire rotation on a 996 that I don't know about. So - how many of you rotate the tires on your 996?

I was thinking about this the other day.Because of the set up on the 911, the rears always wear on the inside-thinking logically-once they were significantly worn, wouldn't remounting and rotating the rears extend the life of the tire? Would having the then outsides of the tires worn make a huge difference when there's a toe-in built into the set-up? Maybe I'm talking crap(easy boys) but thats my logic.

I take my car to the track frequently enough that I actually wear out the OUTSIDE faster. I'm looking to make more negative camber than stock to offset it. My point - if the inside is wearing out, then take it to the track to wear out the outside . I don't rotate the tires. There's an old adage that you're not supposed to rotate radial tires left to right, only front to back. I do know some people do rotate, though. If you have assymetric tires, you can just switch left for right. If you have directional tires, then you'll have to flip the tires on the rims before switching left to right. Some say the tread direction on directional tires matter only if you drive in the wet. So, for track tires driven in the dry only, you can also just switch left to right and use the tires with the tread backwards in the dry.

I recently put my summer tires back and and didn't see any markings indicating that they were directional (and I looked for them). Which tires are? Barry

Directional tires will have arrows on the sidewall indicating direction of rotation. Assymetric tires will have markings indicating "outside" or "inside" or both. What brand and model tires do you have?

For example, the SO2 wll have an arrow, but the Conti will have outter and inner. Just need to check the sidewall of the tire. Link of a pic of the SO2 (notice the arrow on the bottom left): http://www.tirerack.com/tires/BigPic...cleSearch=true

Its going to cost you much more to rotate (unmount, switch over, remount) than it would be just to buy tires a little earlier.

Don't rotate tires on these cars. Just drive more, and replace them more frequently.

Paul's got the right idea!

i find that the rears wear ALOT faster than the fronts. some ppl i read on this board replace their rear tires twice as often as the fronts. is that ok? or should you just replace all 4 at a time? because although the fronts may have good tread wear, they will have more miles on and more heat cycles

Just replace rears as needed as long as the fronts still have decent tread. Otherwise, replace all 4. Always get the same model tire. No need to rotate. Keep the tires properly inflated though.

Usually 2 sets set for every 1 set up front for street tires. Track tires usually go all 4 at the same time.

Can I do it for the street though?

Easier and cost effective is you don't have directionals like the Conti's so you can just move the left to the right and vice versa. You can't with the SO2's. Don't see the utility though since they will still have the outer on the outer regardless of side.

Thanks Dell-however what I trying to get at is,say,if a non-directional tyre which is worn on the inside is taken off the rim and rotated 180 degrees and then re-mounted, wouldn't you get more life out of the tyre without any deleterious effect? The far-less worn outer would now be on the inner-Makes sense to me-but then again I'm a little unique in that way

Oh! now I understand what you are gettig at. The short answer is yes. A 180 degree turn of the turn would net you a bit more life of the tire.

About 2 moths ago I bought SO2A's. Great tire BTW, and I bought an extra set of rears just last Friday. Rears wear twice as fast as the front. This way I have the same tires to match the fronts.

What tire have you seen out there that is non-directional and symmetrical? Dude, these are high performance cars. Are you trying to save $400?