Our tax dollars at work

Or: there are plenty of morons in the world, and most of them work for the government...

I run a Girl Scout troop with my wife, and we're currently doing a badge on cars and driving, since most of them are driving age or will be soon. I'm teaching them routine maintenance, etc. etc. etc. While putting together an information handout, I came across this site:

NHTSA guide on tire safety

...which contained the following image. What's wrong with this picture?

Absolutely pathetic.

What IS wrong with that picture?

don't switch tires from left-right or right-left. I ruined a couple sets of tires before I figured that out

You know that's what I thought he was getting at. However my personal experience runs counter to that. This is the method I've always used, as it is what I normally see presented in books and on various websites. Also, it is endorsed by the Tire and Rim Association. Of course exceptions are to be made for tires or wheels or different sizes front to back and directionals but I don't see a problem with this for modern, radial tires.

I always get a nasty pull when I switch tires side-side. They also seem to make the tread round instead of flat. Not a difference in tread depth, but like the tire has arched.

These points might be caused by the cheaper off-brand tires that I was using back in those days but I'm not about to risk ruining my good tires now.

I've always wondered why every book, shop manual, and owners manual uses this rotation pattern when it only seems to cause me issues. Maybe I'm missing something.

ownage

As long as you don't have directional tread there should be no problem. I do my Jeep that way.

Because the tire treads shown in the picture are directional and therefore should only be rotated front to back/back to front on the same side of the car without the crossover.

I think that might be reading a bit too much into a sketch that some government lackey was told "to make look like four tires".

Tighe wrote: What IS wrong with that picture?

Nothing about the side-to-side bit, or directional tread (nice eye though, ECM). Forget the fact that it's depicting rotational patterns and look at it as a diagram.

Then, please explain to me the functional difference between:

• Rotating the right rear tire to the left front (left picture, suggested for RWD and AWD cars), and...

• Rotating the left front tire to the right rear (right picture, suggested for FWD cars)

I think the difference is that the pretty picture is more easily digested by the non car savvy (or car interested) general public.

Try to explain to half the people out there to "move the drive wheels forward or backward on the same side of the car and cross the non drive wheels from front to back or vice versa."

MGAMGB wrote: Number the tires: 1 2 3 4 After the rwd rotation it becomes: 3 4 2 1 After the fwd rotation: 4 3 1 2

Ahh... well, perhaps I have a little public servant in me. Or maybe it's the Captain Morgan in me.

...I can't find anything wrong. I'm with the other guys, I have non-directional, symmetrical tires, so I do the modified X.

I can only add that Junior Brown is also my hero, and that I am Semi-Crazy.

Duke wrote: Or: there are plenty of morons in the world, and most of them work for the government... I run a Girl Scout troop with my wife, and we're currently doing a badge on cars and driving, since most of them are driving age or will be soon. I'm teaching them routine maintenance, etc. etc. etc. While putting together an information handout, I came across this site: NHTSA guide on tire safety ...which contained the following image. What's wrong with this picture? Absolutely pathetic.

Time for you to move to Mexico? I'm sure they are not so helpful....

Man, you like to find the smallest things to "prove" that our govenement is useless. Must be tough living in America, paying taxes. Gotta hate the army that defends you, the clean air you breathe, the clean water you drink, the roads you drive on.... I could go on.

Eric

The problem is that they are assuming Americans know:

• Which wheels their car drives
• What a lug is
• What a lug wrench is
• What a jack is and
• How to operate those three items together

Those are some pretty glaring omissions.

alfadriver wrote:

Duke wrote: Or: there are plenty of morons in the world, and most of them work for the government... I run a Girl Scout troop with my wife, and we're currently doing a badge on cars and driving, since most of them are driving age or will be soon. I'm teaching them routine maintenance, etc. etc. etc. While putting together an information handout, I came across this site: NHTSA guide on tire safety ...which contained the following image. What's wrong with this picture? Absolutely pathetic.

Time for you to move to Mexico? I'm sure they are not so helpful.... Man, you like to find the smallest things to "prove" that our govenement is useless. Must be tough living in America, paying taxes. Gotta hate the army that defends you, the clean air you breathe, the clean water you drink, the roads you drive on.... I could go on. Eric

gotta love the patriot act. and taxes. and social security starting to suck. in america now the constitution is unconstitutional. but hey, i guess its unamerican to want a better america. but this about tires.

alfadriver wrote:

Time for you to move to Mexico? I'm sure they are not so helpful....

Man, you like to find the smallest things to "prove" that our govenement is useless. Must be tough living in America, paying taxes. Gotta hate the army that defends you, the clean air you breathe, the clean water you drink, the roads you drive on.... I could go on.

Eric

The truly wonderful thing about being an American is that we are all free to bitch about it.

alfadriver wrote: Man, you like to find the smallest things to "prove" that our govenement is useless. Must be tough living in America, paying taxes. Gotta hate the army that defends you, the clean air you breathe, the clean water you drink, the roads you drive on.... I could go on.

[Life of Bryan] Alright. Alright. Alright. But aside from paving the roads, providing us with a functioning sewage system, and maintaining the public safety, what have the Romans ever done for us? [/Life of Bryan]

Caesar salad and the toga party come to mind...

I loves me some caesar salad while wearing a white sheet surrounded by a throng of beautiful women.

alfadriver wrote: Time for you to move to Mexico? I'm sure they are not so helpful.... Man, you like to find the smallest things to "prove" that our govenement is useless. Must be tough living in America, paying taxes. Gotta hate the army that defends you, the clean air you breathe, the clean water you drink, the roads you drive on.... I could go on. Eric

Wow! Generalize much?

This is the best country on the face of the planet and I can't imagine living anywhere else. Doesn't mean it's perfect, though.

Yayzoo. Thanks for giving me the opportunity for free speech that our valiant servicemen and servicewomen have fought and died to defend...

Besides, if you actually read a little further, you'd see that I've already admitted to being the moron for failing to understand what this diagram was trying to show me.

Thanks for sharing, though. < thumbsup >

Salanis wrote: The problem is that they are assuming Americans know: * Which wheels their car drives * What a lug is * What a lug wrench is * What a jack is and * How to operate those three items together Those are some pretty glaring omissions.

lolz can i hAz lugZ y0. my friends tire failure

Duke wrote:

alfadriver wrote: Time for you to move to Mexico? I'm sure they are not so helpful.... Man, you like to find the smallest things to "prove" that our govenement is useless. Must be tough living in America, paying taxes. Gotta hate the army that defends you, the clean air you breathe, the clean water you drink, the roads you drive on.... I could go on. Eric

Wow! Generalize much? This is the best country on the face of the planet and I can't imagine living anywhere else. Doesn't mean it's perfect, though. Yayzoo. Thanks for giving me the opportunity for free speech that our valiant servicemen and servicewomen have fought and died to defend... Besides, if you actually read a little further, you'd see that I've already admitted to being the moron for failing to understand what this diagram was trying to show me. Thanks for sharing, though. < thumbsup >

LOL!! You take every opportunity to bitch about paying taxes.... Generalization? Not even close. Try reading you bitch at small items, and some that you don't even seem to know the right answer (like this one), but bitch anyway.

Yea.

Yes, I read that you admitted that you were wrong. So you ASSUMED that the data was wrong and bitched. Free speech is wonderful. And gotta love bringing up the troops that died for us- apparently the only good thing our tax dollars goes for....

Have fun being miserable.

Eric

Simple - Don't rotate tires. Duh.

Tires are evil. We should make every effort to destroy them.