G35x said:
Usually rotating your tires every time you get your oil changed is a good rule to go by. That is if you have all four new at the same time. If you for any reason have to only get 1 tire, make sure it's the same tread style as the one across from it. A different tread pattern will cause small, weird handeling changes, other than the fact that one tire is newer than the other. If you only get 2 tires at once, make sure both of them are in the front, regardless of if it's front wheel drive or rear wheel drive. This will give you the most traction where it's needed, the tires that turn the car.
Also, if you have directional tires, you won't be able to rotate them properly. when rotating normal tires, you would take the drivers side front and swap it for the passengers side rear, than the passengers side front with the drivers rear. Directional tires have tread that points foward and that's must follow the the direction the tires rotate when the car is driving foward. If these types of tires are mounted backwards, they have a tendancy to make a lot of noise and go against what they were designed to do. They are also more expensive than standard tires. There was a big craze for them when I worked at Pep Boys. People would put them on the least performance orientated cars ever built.
Lets say you have a 225/45R18, you are gonna spend more than someone with a 225/75R16. First, your tire's sidewall is harder than one that is taller and second, your rim size is larger (which is normally the reason for a smaller series tire, i.e. 40/45/50).i bought 2 215/70/15's and they were 35 or 40 each, plus mounting, valve stems, disposal of old tire and this new tire tax from the wonderful DMV! My GF's Scion tC has 195/50R18's and they are gonna be pricey, unless she gets some Pep Boys brand or maybe goes a little taller with her tires.
