Scwmcan wrote:As usual your cars look great. I am curious as to why you rotate your winter tires parts way through the season ( not that it is a bad thing). With the milage you put on your vibes I wouldn't think it was necessary but I am sure you have your reasons, and would like to hear them ( not trying to convince you not to BTW).
The winter tires get rotated every 5000 miles just like the summer tires do, but we don't put nearly as many miles on the winter tires as we do on the summer tires, so this means the winter tires typically only get rotated every other winter. For example, the winter tires on my Vibe have not been rotated since March of 2011 and the winter tires on my mom's Vibe have not been rotated since February of 2011. I keep strict track of when the winter and summer tires need to be rotated. When I swap between the two, I have a little notebook in the glovebox of each Vibe (where I keep track of oil changes and any other maintenance, etc.) where I assign a number to each wheel and tire so I know exactly what position to put them in when they go back on the vehicle and I do the math so I know when they need to be rotated next. Below is an example of one of my entries:
Friday November 25, 2011 - 27,785 Miles
• Installed winter wheels & tires - Rotate summer wheels & tires after 4616 miles =
34,656 miles
• 1 = front driver | 2 = rear driver | 3 = front passenger | 4 = rear passenger
Saturday March 24, 2012 - 30,040 Miles
• Installed summer wheels & tires - Rotate winter wheels & tires after 1406 miles =
36,064 miles
• 1 = front driver | 2 = front passenger | 3 = rear driver | 4 = rear passenger
Here is how I would figure out the mileage for the next rotation...
So, when I installed the winter wheels for winter 2011-2012, the Vibe had 27,785 miles on it. The summer tires had just been rotated not too long before putting the winter tires on, so once the summer tires were put back on in the spring of 2012, they needed to go 4616 miles before needing their next rotation. When the summer tires were put back on, the Vibe had 30,040 miles which means... 30,040 miles + 4616 miles = next rotation of summer tires at 34,656 miles.
Hopefully this makes sense to everyone. It might seem like a lot of extra work and all, but I am very particular about the maintenance of our Vibes and I want to be sure everything is done when it's supposed to be so the Vibes will continue to be problem free for us for many many years to come.
! When I got my Vibe home from the shop, I checked the tire pressure, all 4 tires were around 28-29 PSI, so I brought them all back up to 32 PSI and then re-installed the wheel covers. I also pulled my spare out and checked it. It was a couple pounds low, so I put it back up to 60 PSI and that was that.
), but we're supposed to get some rain over the next few days, so I am hoping the rain will help wash the roads off a little. I hate seeing our Vibes so dirty 
. I can't wait for spring!
!
)
Get her back at 10 am today, barring fate.
The Garmin nuvi 2455 for only $115.00 A neat little tool for assisting me in my travels to Florida & back 
