Should I swap my front and rear tyres over?

The second yearly service highlighted a need for the front tyres on my Volkswagen Touran to be changed. This will be the first tyre change. All the tyres are the 215/55 R17 Continental Premium Contact. Volkswagen suggested I replace the front tyres and a friend suggested I swap the front and back tyres over. What would you suggest? Very much appreciated.

Asked on 21 August 2020 by Michele

Answered by Georgia Petrie
You can rotate the wheels, but it's worth noting that many manufacturers and tyre suppliers (like Kwik-Fit) don't recommend tyre rotation. Part-worn tyres are more prone to punctures so you're increasing your chances of a blowout. Because of the stresses and strains on making front-wheel drive cars do both the driving and the turning, your front tyres will have experienced very different wear patterns to the rear, too. Swapping them over could worsen the ride quality and grip levels.

If you still want to rotate them, it'll be different depending on the type of tyre and whether the car is front, rear or all-wheel drive cars. For directional tyres, the front tyres swap with the rears, staying on the same side of the vehicle. For front-wheel-drive, move the front tyres to the rear on the same sides. Replace them with the rear tyres but move these to the opposite side. The rear right will go to the front left, the rear left to the front right.
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