Dub D

Just had my first "low tire warning" experience with my new C7 Grand Sport at 9500 miles. As I was brushing up, looking at the Owners Manual, I saw a note on page 279 about rotating tires side to side every 7500 miles. These tires are "run flats", and do not have direction markings, as the "run flats" do on my C5 Vette. These are the OEM Michelin tires and just have "OUTSIDE" on them. So, should they be rotated when I fix that back tire ? I had assumed that you didn't rotate Vette tires. What is the general opinion?

fireinv38

you cannot rotate Grand Sport Tires. Size is different front/rear.

SnowyATX

I will never do side to side like manual states ever again. The tires got noisy as hell. I’ll just deal with uneven wear. These are AS 3+ ZP tires.

Walt White Coupe

My opinion: Unless you drive your car only on an oval race track in the same direction, then moving tires side to side (I can't even call it "rotation") is a major waste of time. But be warned there are lots of members here that love to waste their time with some useless work.

joemessman

I come down on the no rotation side. More chance for rim damage. I have never really benefited from it when I did rotate. I'm not saying my practice is the best, but I prefer not to. I do it with a four tire setup, as I do with my Escalade.

Elk

Which is why they are rotated sided to side.

I find side to side extends tire life and have not experienced increased noise or other issues. It is hardly a critical practice however.

owc6

Why would there be more chance for rim damage?

taz2016

Normal maintenance. It wouldn't be recommended if it didn't help. I've never had a problem but I suppose if you have uneven wear or cupping it could cause noise or vibration.

madrob2020

There isn’t. Some think “rotation “ means tires need to be broke down & remounted which is not correct. Our tires are designed to be “swapped” side to side (but of course not front/rear-different sizes) because they are non-directional (can rotate in either direction). Tires are stamped “this side out” on sidewall which is all that matters. The inside & outside edge is constructed differently due to being run flats & for the cornering stability. Since OM says do it, I surmise it will aid to even out wear patterns from hard driving/cornering. Your choice, your car. Makes no difference to me but I do it since I tend to LOVE feeling those cornering Gs!😳

Avanti

Actually look at your tires, all of them. See any potential issues of uneven wear? If you have to measure to be sure, you probably have no problems. If that's the case, just drive it.

I know it is apples-to-oranges to a large degree, but I never had an issue with any of the tires on my C5 (which I still have) not rotating the unidirectional Goodyear RFs. I see nothing about my C7 at 7500 miles that motivates me to mess with it, as it shows now. All the best whatever you decide.

owc6

Yep, which is why I asked him the question, as he seemed to think the OE tires are directional. They are asymmetrical, but not directional and have a definite outside side.

I did the side-to side swap back in '14, and never again! It made the car feel "floaty" which was horrible. I just get the street alignment with everything set as close to zero as possible. I get very even wear and long tread life.

Mad*Max

they can clean the insides of their rims while they are at it

NortonCO

I do most of my own maintenance, but not everyone is so-inclined or capable. With all due respect, there is "more chance for [rim] damage" any time anyone works on your car.

sgt1372

I've got 6 vehicles. Others like the C7 have different wheels sizes F&R.

I never bother rotating the tires on any of my vehicles and it never seems to make any difference in terms of tire wear or longevity, at least not enough that I notice.

joemessman

The installer recklessly handling your wheels and chipping the paint with their tools and whatever.

Vetteman Jack

Rotate them if you want - the manual states it can be done side to side and it may help even out wear over the long run.

But I do not rotate tires on any of my cars and I still get very good tire wear from all of them. Just keep an eye on the wear pattern and take corrective action if warranted.

Gearhead Jim

We have two sets of wheels-sensors-tires (PSS and AS3+) that we swap back and forth every Spring/Fall. When the wheels are taken off, I mark their position and the next time put them on the opposite side. Also, we get an alignment check with a good Tech, about every 10-15k miles. Tire wear is normal and I've never noticed anything different from one set to the other.

MMD

For a daily driver I find it not possible that regularly rotating an asymmetric tire is going to extend tire life. If your front end is properly aligned, evenly on both sides of the vehicle, tire wear will not improve as a result of rotating tires side-to-side. You're just wasting your time and money rotating these tires. The only thing an owner can do to maximize the life of their tires is keep them properly inflated, keep the suspension aligned, and drive your vehicle reasonably which is almost impossible to do in a Corvette.

Myfourth1

gpotski

whoops!