Tire rotation isn't the tire industry recommendation as this swaps the 'grip bias' front to rear etc.
Also, it means you need to buy 4 at a time.
Not sure I agree with this.
I have always purchased 4 tires at a time.
Tire rotation helps with even tire wear.
Without rotation you might wear a tire out earlier due to alignment issues.
Some cars have a tendancy to wear out an inner or outer shoulder more.
Tire rotation helps even this wear and get the most out of a tire.
The only time tires are not rotated is when you have different rim size front to rear and are using directional tires.
Then you do not rotate and hope they wear even.
Or you can dismount tires and move to other side.
Critical item is to keep tires rotating in the same direction no matter how you rotate. Keeping rotation the same direction keep direction on strain on belts the same and reduces belt movement and internal wear.
This part may not be an industry practice but from my experience with destructive testing I feel it is good to keep tires rotating in the same direction for their life.
To do this the cross car rotation can not be done unless you dismount the tires and flip while moving.
I know Firestone dealers now only want to rotate front to back and not across. This has changed over the years as my 20 year old Ford truck still calls for cross rotation in manual.
Industry standard.
If you drive under 10,000 miles a year - rotate tires once a year.
If you drive over this then rotate every 6 months.
Most rotations I see now are front to rear keeping tires on the same side of the car.
More rotation is better as it allows for more even tire wear.
Buy all 4 tires at same time (if you can).
If you replace a single tire try to stay with same brand and type of tire.
Tires with better tread life should run in rear.
So if you buy 2 new tires they need to go in rear.
(This is why buying 4 is important). If you drive a front wheel car and buy 2 new tires, they should go in rear. However the front drive wheels will wear faster so the tires with less tread life in front will wear our faster. Less tread and less control.
If you rotate and keep even wear, then you have a better average tread life in all corners. (Even control)
Tire Rack and Bridgestone (seperately) did much testing to determine this.
