Miles are a crucial part of every Ford vehicle’s life. Like years on a person, you can use
miles to gauge a bunch of things, including when to change the oil or top off other
fluids, deciding to replacing brakes or worn driveline components, as well as moving around those tires
The longer you wait, the more something could happen that leaves you stranded
somewhere.
It doesn’t even need to be a tread issue either. You may realize there is
plenty of grab on that rubber, but they are making way more noise than they should.
And that is when someone asks when you last did a tire rotation.
Rotation?
Yes.
Now, this may seem silly and something obvious to some, but we’ve seen plenty of
examples over the years of those who buy a Ford and never plan to think about tires again
until they are worn down.
But it is certainly important. Especially with a Bronco that has larger and wider tires.
Sure, slapping on all kinds of aftermarket products to your Bronco will make it perform better, but ignoring tires is just like ignoring your feet on a long hike.
See, miles do not just grind down a tire’s tread, they also cause rubber to wear unevenly
no matter if it is pavement driving or a mix of street and trail. As miles accumulate, the wear gets worse if not addressed. This is even more true for those who swap out the factory street tires for something with a softer, knobbier rubber compound like larger all-terrain or mud-terrain versions.
It isn’t hard to tell when someone either does not rotate their tires, or doesn’t rotate
them properly. Just listen for the sound. Tires that remain in the same position for tens
of thousands of miles at a time, especially front tires, develop all kinds of wear issues
that are reflected in a harsh, repeated smack on every tire spin.
Needless to say, this significantly decreases a tire’s life and could even cause a safety issue if ignored. So, to best avoid this issue, a regular inspection and rotation of your Bronco’s tires is absolutely recommended.
After spending some time driving and checking your tires for wear, you’ll eventually
notice your front ones will start showing signs of uneven tread lugs or less tread on the
outer edges because those are the steering tires. It’s certainly natural for the fronts to
wear faster than the rears for this reason, as the rear tires are stationary and will only
wear poorly if other factors are present — like unbalanced wheels or improper tire
inflation.
So get in the habit of visually checking your tires, and not relying on the vehicle’s TPMS (tire pressure management system) to let you know if there is a problem.
A simple glance, or light sweep of the hand over the top of the tread, will allow
you to see and even feel for possible staggering lug patterns, low sidewall tread and low
pressure. Tires are expensive, and performing these checks can help you keep them
road-worthy as long as possible.
To keep those tires fresh and long lasting, a good maintenance plan is to rotate tires
every other oil change, between 6,000-9,000 miles, or around 6 months — whichever
comes first. What this involves is removing each wheel from the vehicle, and
repositioning at a different location. Some owner’s manuals do provide a specific
rotation scheme, which is especially important to follow for AWD (All-Wheel-Drive)
equipped transmissions that supply power to all four wheels all the time.
Generally, AWD vehicles involve swapping front and rear sides when rotating. In other
words, front driver to back passenger, and passenger front to driver rear. On front wheel
drive vehicles, move the front tires to the same rear positions, then take the back driver
to front passenger, and rear passenger to front driver.
For Broncos equipped with a four-wheel drive system, the best way to rotate without
using a spare, is to pull off the tires and move each front tire to the opposite rear
mounting position: front driver to rear passenger/front passenger to rear driver. Rear
tires then move up to the same side driver position: rear driver to front driver/rear
passenger to front passenger.
If you plan to mix the spare tire into the rotation, simply move the front tires to the same
corresponding rear tire position, put the rear driver tire in the spare spot, move the spare
to front passenger and back passenger to front driver.
Simply put, this kind of ‘modification’ can’t be understated, and you’ll thank yourself by
driving on tires that are well maintained, and performing exactly how the manufacturer
intended.
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