DIY Tire Rotation

[KuroNekko]

So I rotated my tires myself today for the first time. What a major pain in the ass. I usually have a shop do it for the convenience, but after watching the last guy do it at NTB so slowly and apathetically (not to mention not as advised by the owner's manual), I wanted to do it myself.

I drove my car to a level parking lot and used a small hydraulic jack, a jack stand, and the Kizashi's emergency scissor jack for the first time. I hate the way you use the lug nut wrench and the hub cap pry tool as a crank. It's just awful to use as they come loose frequently and cranking takes much longer than a traditional crank tool would.

The jacking points on the Kizashi are also miserable. There is no space to jack the car on the boss and then also put a jack stand there. The central jacking point for the rear is so far up that you need a full size garage jack to use it. I had to use both the small hydraulic jack and the scissor jack diagonally on the bosses to put in a jack stand yet on another side. This was the only way I could get two diagonal wheels off the ground simultaneously.
Now I see why the guy at NTB did the front to back/back to front instead of the diagonal cross-swap as indicated in the owner's manual for non-directional tires like our OEM Dunlops. He was also using a hydraulic jack on the ground instead of a lift.
Honestly, having the car on a lift and getting them cross-swapped is well worth the $20 shops charge.

I was wondering how the others here rotate it themselves. Honestly, I can only see it being easy if you have a full size hydraulic jack and have 4 jack stands. You'd only have to jack the front and rear at their centers once and place jack stands all around for all wheels to come off simultaneously. Then, you could do a diagonal cross-swap rather painlessly without wasting so much time jacking the car up and down on different sides.

I also want to note the owner's manual is very confusing. It says to not use the boss for the car's scissor jack with jack stands. However, in the graphic, that's where the jack stands are supposed to go. Huh?
See below (taken straight from the owner's manual):

Capture.JPG (93.44 KiB) Viewed 9742 times

[bootymac]

Honestly, I can only see it being easy if you have a full size hydraulic jack and have 4 jack stands. You'd only have to jack the front and rear at their centers once and place jack stands all around for all wheels to come off simultaneously. Then, you could do a diagonal cross-swap rather painlessly without wasting so much time jacking the car up and down on different sides.

Yup, this is usually the case with DIY tire rotations. Even with the proper jack and 4 jack stands, it can be tedious.

I use a low profile aluminum rapid jack from HF: http://m.harborfreight.com/rapid-pump-1 ... -7814.html

[murcod]

I had to use both the small hydraulic jack and the scissor jack diagonally on the bosses to put in a jack stand yet on another side. This was the only way I could get two diagonal wheels off the ground simultaneously.

That sounds just a little bit dangerous. It would be safer (but a lot slower) to use the spare and only jack one corner (or end) at a time.

OR

With some vehicles you can do a front to rear rotation on the same side by using the front factory jacking point only. You just need to jack the vehicle a little bit higher than normal until the rear wheel also lifts off the ground. I haven't tried it with the Kizashi, but it should work.

You could do that on both sides using the factory jack (swap both sides front to rear), then jack the front end with the floor jack and swap the front tyres side to side. That would match up with the front wheel drive rotation pattern recommended here: http://www.bridgestone.com.au/tyres/pas ... ation.aspx

(If you can't fit safety stands somewhere underneath then keep your body parts out from under the vehicle.)

[twoqttsdad]

I like to use the temp spare when cross rotating. I just use it as a starting point and end up using it twice just to hold up the car. The stock jack works fine without having to use jack stands since I'm removing and replacing one tire at a time. I like to snug on two lugs and move on, then when all are done I torque all of the lugs down.

[KuroNekko]

No doubt that the double jack was dangerous. At one point, the scissor jack started slipping so I had to undo it. However, I was never under the car as it was a tire rotation.
Using the spare is a good idea but would take so long.
Honestly, it's such a pain to do a cross-swap yourself. I'll probably just pay a shop next time but tell them I need a cross-swap. I'd most likely do it again myself once I have a nice large jack and four beefy jack stands. This way, I'd be more comfortable to take my time and inspect the brakes, shocks, etc. as well.
I don't want to get a large jack as of now as I don't want to buy tools I can't take with me when I move.

[honsonwong]

Yes, if you have one jack only, then using the spare tire is the way to rotate the tires.

[Woodie]

You could just do front-to-rear, I don't think it makes much difference. Plus, most tires are directional nowadays.

You could also do dross-swap using the jack stand instead of the spare. Jack up the entire side of the car as murcod suggested. Take off both wheels on one side, put the back on on the front and the jackstand under the back wheel hub. Then, jack up the other side, put the right front on left rear, left rear on the left front and let it back down. Jack up the right and put the left front on the right rear. Same thing as using the spare except no lug nuts involved. Probably not a bad idea to get your spare out and give it a good lookover/pressure check anyway.

[bootymac]

You could add the tire rotation to your oil changes. The front is already lifted and it's something to do while the oil is draining!

[KuroNekko]

You could add the tire rotation to your oil changes. The front is already lifted and it's something to do while the oil is draining!

I use ramps for everything unless the wheels need to come off. I find ramps much safer and more convenient than jacks and I also do most of my work on an inclined driveway. Ramps with wheel chocks are my preference.

I really think that for me to rotate them again myself, I'd just want a heavy duty jack and 4 jack stands. A level surface is also a must.

[bootymac]

Having used both, I personally think a jack and jack stands are far more convenient and versatile. However, I also do all my work on a flat surface.

The central jacking points make it stupid easy to raise either end. Five pumps and the car is high enough for me to put jack stands in with enough room to work underneath.

I stopped using ramps when they wouldn't clear all of my vehicles. It's also a pain to start the car just to drive up ramps every time I wanted to work under the car.

But I recognize the appeal of ramps and their use. To each their own