Can Radial Tires Be Cross Rotated?

‍What are Radial Tires?

All tires have a series of cord plies inside, making them strong and sturdy. These cords can be made from steel, nylon, or other textile materials. These cords are located all around the tire. The tread covers them from the top and the inner layer from the bottom.

The cords can be arranged in a criss-cross fashion for some tires. These tires are called cross-ply, bias-ply, or simply bias tires.

If the cords are arranged in a straight line and perpendicular to the direction of travel, the tires are called radial-ply or radials. The name comes from the cord plies placed radially from the tire center.

Advantages of Radial Tires

The design of radial tires is efficient at dissipating heat and offering a softer ride. There are many more advantages that radial tires offer over bias tires. Here are some of them:

• Better Road Grip: These tires provide the best maneuverability and handling for your vehicle.
• Strength: A stronger core protects the tires in rough and tough conditions. Steel belts add to the strength of the tires.
• Flexibility: With the radial layout, most strength remains on the tire's surface, and this allows the sidewall to be flexible and absorb shocks and bumps on the road.
• Less Prone to Blowouts: Air expands with temperature. Radial tires have good heat-dissipating abilities and can maintain their air pressure at safer levels, making them less prone to blowouts.
• Fuel Economy: Radial tires provide more miles to the gallon with lower air and rolling resistance due to their ergonomic design.

Importance of Tire Rotation

Not all tires receive the same amount of power on a vehicle. Similarly, the weight of the vehicle is not evenly distributed. During turns, one tire has to move slower than the opposing one. These factors, among others, contribute to uneven tire wear, which ultimately reduces longevity.

Tire rotation needs to be done at frequent intervals to ensure that all tires wear out evenly. This way, you will not have to compromise on the handling or traction of your vehicle. On the other hand, when your tires are worn out evenly, there is less chance of having an overly worn-out patch on the tire, which will be more prone to punctures and even blowouts.

Rotating tires as per the recommendation of your vehicle's manufacturer, increases tire life and significantly increases safety while running on the road.

Unidirectional and Multidirectional

Unidirectional tires are designed to run in one direction. They usually have an arrow-shaped pattern on their treads. These tires perform superbly in terms of low noise and road grip. The arrow-shaped tread is used to dispel water efficiently and minimize aquaplaning. But all of this can be achieved only when the tires are installed to rotate in the correct direction.

Multi Directional tires, also known as symmetrical tires, have tread with identical inner and outer edges. These tires work well rotating in any direction, except sideways of course. These tires are economical and offer adequate water dispersion and have good grip.

How to Rotate Radial Tires

As discussed above, tire rotation is important for your vehicle's performance and safety. For radial tires, you must follow the following instructions

Unidirectional Tires

Unidirectional tires can rotate in one direction only, so they have to remain on the same side of the vehicle. There is not much you can do in this case other than swap the front and rear tires on both sides of the vehicle

Multi Directional Tires

Tire rotation is different for various cars; let us look at each one individually.

Front-Wheel Drive

• Slide the front tires to the same side rear hubs
• The rear driver side tire will go to the front passenger side
• The rear passenger side tire will go to the front driver side

Rear Wheel Drive

• Slide the rears to the same side front hubs
• The front driver side tire will go to the rear passenger side
• The front tire on the passenger’s side will go to the rear driver-side

Four-Wheel or All-wheel Drive

For 4WD and AWD vehicles, the tires are changed in a double X fashion; this means that:

• The front tire on the passenger’s side goes to the rear-drive side
• The front driver side tire goes to the rear passenger side
• The rear passenger side tire goes to the front driver side
• The rear driver side tire goes to the front passenger side

Rear and Front Tires of Different Sizes

• If you have installed different sizes of unidirectional tires on the front and rear, you will not be able to make any rotations.
• If you have installed different sizes of multidirectional tires on the front and rear, you can swap both tires on the vehicle's driver side with the respective tire on the passenger side. This way, the front tire remains in front, and the rear tire remains in the rear.