Does tire rotation require re-balance and front end alignment?

[smurfslayer]

i have been there 17 times now with my gen 1.

dude? are you trolling firestone parking lots or something? Gen 1 is known to have a permanent alignment from the factory and never needs either motor or transmission work.

You’re supposed to haunt starbucks parking lots and drive thrus, not Firstones ! :-D

 

[bigskyRaptor]

Should the spare be incorporated into the rotation pattern? If so, what about TPMS?

 

[Jonny V]

I got some Firestone mud terrain tires because they were supposed to be rated pretty high and the price was right two years ago. I take the truck back for rotation and re-balance on occasion. I figure that since it's them doing the work, it's no sweat off my back for me to ask them to do it.....

That said, I'll probably go with a different tire next time around. The Firestones are better suited to a lighter weight truck. The issue is that the tread depth is so big, it feels like the truck is squishing around on them. They're about half worn now, and the tread is still 3/4" deep. Handling and all is fine, but speed rating is only to 99 mph.

 

[Jonny V]

Should the spare be incorporated into the rotation pattern? If so, what about TPMS?

Good idea...the guy at Les Schwab down the road from my place knows how to reset the TPMS, or so he told me. One of the tires I'm looking at is the Toyo AT or MT. Including the spare would get you 20% more mileage on a set. Check with your tire guy to see if he knows how to perform this magic trick...

 

[Johnkn]

The spare does not have a TPMS from the factory.

 

[bigskyRaptor]

Right. I'm guessing most of the guys doing their own rotations don't incorporate the spare.

 

[The Car Stereo Company]

dude? are you trolling firestone parking lots or something? Gen 1 is known to have a permanent alignment from the factory and never needs either motor or transmission work.

You’re supposed to haunt starbucks parking lots and drive thrus, not Firstones ! :-D

haha, no kidding. i had 3 alignments in 3 days back in 2015. a lot of offroading knocked out my alignment quite often so im there 3 or 4 times a year getting an alignment.

 

[Raptor911]

The spare is also not balanced.

The spare does not have a TPMS from the factory.

 

[Raptor911]

I never incorporate the spare as it is an odd tire. In other words, once you incorporate the spare you will always have 1 tire that is has a slight tread depth diff. Now if you have 6 tires then 2 tires will have a slight tread depth diff and you would keep those 2 on the same axle.

Right. I'm guessing most of the guys doing their own rotations don't incorporate the spare.

 

[Kahuna]

I never incorporate the spare as it is an odd tire. In other words, once you incorporate the spare you will always have 1 tire that is has a slight tread depth diff. Now if you have 6 tires then 2 tires will have a slight tread depth diff and you would keep those 2 on the same axle.

What do you do when you lose a 5k old tire to damage? Replace all 4? IMO you are over estimating the issue of a 5k mile tread depth difference but different strokes for different folks.