robersml

I have an 84-Z and I want to get new tires on the back (255/45/17) and the front (225/45/17), but as all of you undoubtedly know, if I do that, then I'll never be able to rotate them. So my question is, is it okay for me to not be able to rotate my tires? How long do directional tires typically last if you never rotate them at all for the life of the tire? Just wondering because I love the wide look in the back.

side note: I'll have a free alignment when I put on the new tires.

Convoy25

iTrader: (3)

i'm in the same boat as you. i have taller tires in the rear so i cant really rotate them.

and i suppose it depends on the way you drive to determine how long the front/rear tires last.

if you do peel outs and burn outs, the rears will obviously last shorter than the fronts.

1988-305-tbi

you can rotate them left to right, i run 265/40/48 and 275/40/18, the fronts wear way fatser than the rears, ill probably end up putting new tires on the front before the rears are 1/2 gone, but next time i need front tires, the 1st set of rear tires should be as worn out as the second set of fronts, if your alignment is good and braking system works good, they should wear even left to right, just replace the fronts and rears in sets and forget about rotating them, many new sports cars run staggered wheels heights/widths, not a big deal to not be able to rotate them

AlkyIROC

My truck has different tires on the front than the rear. I don't even rotate them side to side. When the rears wear out, I buy new ones. The fronts last a lot longer and as long as the front suspension is properly aligned with no worn steering or suspension parts, they won't prematurely wear.

Rotating your tires balances out the wear. It also means that when you're due for tires, you'll need to buy 4 (or 5 if you use the spare in the rotation) all at once.

camaronewbie

And, those of us with IROC wheels and the 16" rims can't rotate either, as our backspacing won't allow the rear wheels to be installed on the front - so none of us rotate either.

Guest

I've never rotated my tires on thirdgens with 16" wheels. The only issue I've ever run into is wearing out the outside edges of the front tires, and of course all 4 dont wear out at the same time but thats ok with me.

DJP87Z28

When I had my 16 " Iroc wheels and wanted to rotate the tires I had the tires dismounted and rotated to the correct wheels.

robersml

Hey guys, thanks alot for the info... I have another question now.

How wide of a tire is too wide for up front? I'm asking because i wanna run 255/45/17's in the back but not sure if 255's will be too wide for the front. Is 245 too wide also? They said to keep my warranty I need to rotate them, and as we all know, you can't if their different sizes, so I'm just thinking about making all of them 245's or 255's

CharcoalBird

iTrader: (4)

You can rotate them. Only it won't really be a rotation, it'll just be a swap from side to side not back to front. Take them to the shop and have them rotate them for you, that way you can keep your warranty if the tires are still good.

DJP87Z28

I am using 245/45/17 tires with 17x8.5 wheels. I can rotate the tires & wheels now.

robersml

I'm getting directional tires so actually I can't rotate them if their different sizes

robersml

How do the 245's feel on the front? I'm thinking of going 245's all the way around. I'm just worried about them being too wide for the front. How do they feel?

CharcoalBird

iTrader: (4)

Your not paying attention to what i'm saying. When rotating directional tires, they MUST be dismounted from the wheels and put on a different wheel. Since yours are different sizes front to back, you take the front two tires and switch sides. So the tire that's on the LEFT FRONT now, will go on the RIGHT FRONT. Same with the back 2 tires. LEFT REAR tire goes to the RIGHT REAR wheel, and the RIGHT REAR tire goes to the LEFT REAR wheel.

DJP87Z28

The original tires were 245/50/16 on 16x8 wheels so I went +1 on the new package. So don't worry about 245/45/17's, they will fit (NO problems with the fronts) and this way you can rotate them front to back (same side) if directional.

Stephen

iTrader: (12)

Do all 4 of your wheels have the same backspacing/offset? Mine used to (I had the rears widened to 11", to fit 315s) and coulda easily rotated all 4 at home, without dismounting, remounting the tires & having them balanced.

I run 275/40/17s up front, with zero rubbing. You could get that size on all 4 corners, with zero rubbing (depending on the backspacing/offset) of the wheels.

robersml

OOOOOOHHH okay, now I see what you mean. That would actually work out perfectly. good advice. I appreciate it. By the way, would you happen to know if you need wheel spacers for some torq thrust wheels? I just bought some 17x9's but I swear, it doesn't look like the mounting pllate is deep enough into the rim as my old stock 5-spoke wheels are. The offset on these are 45