Tyre rotation means moving your wheels to different locations on the car – front to back, back to front, and to opposite sides. Rotating your tyres helps them wear more evenly. The goal is for all the tyres to wear at the same rate, so you can replace them all together, rather than one or two at a time.

Tyres can wear unevenly for several reasons. The weight of the engine and transmission at the front of the car can cause the front tyres to wear out faster than the ones at the rear. The front tyres also carry most of the braking and cornering load.

Tyres can suffer scalloping, which leaves depressions in the tyre tread. Minor scalloping can be smoothed out by tyre rotation, but if the problem is severe, you may need to have the car’s suspension and/or wheel alignment and balance checked.

Left unchecked, scalloping can lead to significant tyre noise, vibration and rapid tyre deterioration.

Your vehicle owners’ manual should have information on tyre rotation for your car.

Generally, tyres should be rotated at least every 10,000km or at each service. If your car is serviced every 15,000km, consider a tyre rotation at 7500km.

More frequent rotation won’t do the tyres any harm and could even increase their longevity.

A couple of things to keep in mind

Some tyres are directional, meaning they’re designed to rotate on the axle in only one direction. This will be marked by an arrow on the tyre wall.

Tyre pressures differ between front and rear on some vehicles. If you’re moving tyres between front and rear, you may need to adjust the pressures accordingly.