20k Service - Service Tech didn't rotate tires because they were all wearing evenly. Does this make sense or is this pure laziness?

[Flippy]

A couple days ago I took my car in for it's 20k VW Care service and upon checking out I never spoke to the service department guy I was dealing with, I just grabbed my paperwork from the cashier and went home. It was few hours later that I noticed that the service tech noted that they didn't rotate the tires on the vehicle because the front and rear tires were both at 6/32 and were wearing evenly. Am I crazy, to think that they might be wearing evenly because they have been properly rotated in the past and now it's time to do so again or am I missing something here. Is this a valid reason not to rotate tires or am I dealing with a lazy ass service department?

 

[gixxerfool]

Laziness. You’re correct. If you’re waiting for them to show signs of uneven wear to rotate, it’s too late. Rotations will help to keep feathering and cupping down especially if you drive aggressively.

 

[jimlloyd40]

Laziness. The fronts have to wear faster because they are driving the car and doing most of the braking.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

If they are all even what does it matter? Do you rotate the tires when you’re taking possession of a new vehicle and driving off the lot with all tires evenly new?

 

[dtfd]

Laziness. The fronts have to wear faster because they are driving the car and doing most of the braking.

and the entirety of the turning.

there is no way tires can wear evenly in a FF car.

 

[dtfd]

If they are all even what does it matter? Do you rotate the tires when you’re taking possession of a new vehicle and driving off the lot with all tires evenly new?

if the vehicle is new the tires would all the pretty unused so, no rotating wouldn't make any sense. 20k miles is roughly the half-life of a tire. That's about the time to rotate if you're already doing a service.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

If I am putting on my track day tires and they’re all evenly worn, do I put them on, then take them all off again and rotate them before driving on to the track?

 

[jimlloyd40]

and the entirety of the turning.

there is no way tires can wear evenly in a FF car.

I agree.

 

[dtfd]

If I am putting on my track day tires and they’re all evenly worn, do I put them on, then take them all off again and rotate them before driving on to the track?

do you live 20,000 miles away from the track? If you do, yea it's probably a good idea.

Otherwise if you live a reasonable distance away the difference in that drive is negligible. As negligible as the tire wear on a car being offloaded from a truck into a dealer lot.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Let me be clear with the scenario… Took off my street wheels and tires. My Track Tires are even. I Bolt them on, then Take them off immediately, rotate them, then torque the lug nuts to drive on to the track. Why would I do such a thing? Tires are even. Why bother….That’s what the tech concluded. You can call it lazy. I call it being efficient with his time.

 

[RobertJG25]

Its possible that the tires were actually worn the same amount....for example if they both started at 10/32 lets say, then went to 8/32 (front) and 9/32 (rear) by your 10k interval and rotated, they would all be at 7/32 by 20k assuming they wore at the same rate prior to the first swap.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

Another scenario… mid track weekend, I’ve worn the front tires on my GTI significantly more than the rear tires, so I swap them before the next sessions. I run a few more sessions and now I have even tire wear. Do I take off my evenly worn tires, rotate them, then drive more? No I don’t, because they’re evenly worn tires!

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

One more scenario….
You take off your wheels and tires (all evenly worn)…. You set them aside and wash them with soap and water to clean off the brake dust which has accumulated. Now your wheels are nice and clean and you can’t tell which pair went on in front previously because the brake dust accumulation has been cleaned off.
You have 4 shiny wheels with evenly worn tires. Where do you put each wheel/ tire on now, front or back?

 

[krs]

One more scenario….
You take off your wheels and tires (all evenly worn)…. You set them aside and wash them with soap and water to clean off the brake dust which has accumulated. Now your wheels are nice and clean and you can’t tell which pair went on in front previously because the brake dust accumulation has been cleaned off.
You have 4 shiny wheels with evenly worn tires. Where do you put each wheel/ tire on now, front or back?

I put a metal punch stamp on the back surface that faces the hub, therefore I know where they go. I'd then refer to my notes to see which wheel came off which hub, and then rotate.

 

[SouthFL_Mk7.5]

I put a metal punch stamp on the back surface that faces the hub, therefore I know where they go. I'd then refer to my notes to see which wheel came off which hub, and then rotate.

For heat cycle purposes? You probably have a psi log also per ambient/track temperatures. Lol!