How-To16 February 2026·4 min read

Tyre Rotation Guide — When to Do It and Why It Matters

Regular tyre rotation can extend the life of your tyres by thousands of miles. Here is how it works, when to do it, and why so many drivers skip it to their cost.

Tyres wear unevenly depending on their position on the vehicle. Front tyres on a front-wheel-drive car carry the additional burdens of steering and driving force, meaning they typically wear faster than the rears — often at a rate of two to three times quicker. On rear-wheel-drive cars, the rear tyres bear the brunt of the driving load. By rotating tyres between positions at regular intervals, wear is distributed more evenly across all four, extending the life of the full set.

As a general rule, tyres should be rotated every 6,000 to 8,000 miles, or at each service interval if that falls within a shorter distance. The standard rotation pattern for non-directional tyres involves moving the front tyres straight back to the rear on the same side, and the rear tyres crossing over to the opposite side at the front. Directional tyres — those with a tread pattern designed to rotate in one direction only — should only move front to rear on the same side, not cross over.

Not all vehicles are suitable for tyre rotation. Cars with staggered fitments (wider tyres at the rear than the front, common on performance cars) cannot rotate in the conventional sense. If your front and rear tyres are the same size and type, rotation is straightforward and well worth doing. Ask about rotation when you next have any tyre work carried out — it takes very little additional time.