My dealer pointed out to me that the SRX has a different size tire between the front and back wheels and therefore did not know how you would be able to do traditional tire rotation. Is this true? I looked at the specs and it sure does look that way. What do you do in this case?

My dealer pointed out to me that the SRX has a different size tire between the front and back wheels and therefore did not know how you would be able to do traditional tire rotation. Is this true? I looked at the specs and it sure does look that way. What do you do in this case?
You rotate left to right, cannot rotate front to back.

Then I assume the tires are not unidirectional?

Just checked and the tires are not unidirectional so miscreant is right: rotate left and right only.

The owner's manual (page 5-72) states that your tires should not be rotated and that each tire should be used only in the position it is in.

Guess it would not be a bad idea to know which is which if you have any tire balancing etc done. '94 MARK VIII has directional wheels (not tires) and tire dealer put them on the wrong side when new tires were installed.

Never have thought x-ing tires and rolling the other direction was any benefit unless you like the noise they make.

Did not rotate side to side but while the SRX was in for electrical abnormalities I decided it was time to move all the wheel weights to the inside since winter is coming and road salt etc. will mark the wheels.

They did a force balance and had enough problems with the front tires (Goodyear) that they were replaced under warranty (9,000+ miles). Still not sure what the exact problem was. I had not felt any problem with the balance or alignment. Guess it does not really matter that I should have to replace the rear tires before the front since they are different sizes.

Did not rotate side to side but while the SRX was in for electrical abnormalities I decided it was time to move all the wheel weights to the inside since winter is coming and road salt etc. will mark the wheels.

They did a force balance and had enough problems with the front tires (Goodyear) that they were replaced under warranty (9,000+ miles). Still not sure what the exact problem was. I had not felt any problem with the balance or alignment. Guess it does not really matter that I should have to replace the rear tires before the front since they are different sizes.


HI! :D
For what it's worth, many tire sellers (TIRE RACK in Motortrend/Car & Driver magazines) sells winter kits for the SRX. They put 4 same tires on cheaper rims with no problems! When mine wear out (probably much sooner as the "V" rated OE tire is very stiff, I will replace with a single size all the way around. They will be the same 18" my AWD V-8 came with but not 2 different widths....a compromize size will be selected with help from these experts! Then I can rotate tires normally! I only go back to front, and back again on same side of car, with any radial tires to prevent belt flexing/damage! This evens out the wear just fine! good luck, and don't rotate the OE tires!! :thumbsup:

Keep in mind that if you move wheels around, you have to reprogram the tire pressure monitoring system since each wheel transmits a unique code. The electronics in the car need to know which code corresponds to which position. It sounds fairly simple to do, but I haven't tried it.

Any reason why the SRX did not come with all season tires like every other SUV? How bad are these things in the snow if you get caught without snow tires? Whats the point of all wheel drive? I drive evey December from Ma.to Florida and back in spring but I have gotten caught in rough weather on occaison with my Yukon, Envoy and others with no problem. Gettin nervous now. I pick up my SRX on Tuesday.

Now things may have changed, but, it is not necessarily a good idea to move wheel weights from side to side.

Wheels used to be and I assume still are balanced 2 ways. The first is static balancing whereby weight is added to make sure the wheel is balanced and has no tendency to rotate because one radian of the wheel is heavier that the rest which will cause the wheel to rotate until the heavy side is down when the wheel is off the floor and allowed to freely rotate. If you only have static weight you can move it to either side.

The second element of balancing is or was called dynamic balancing. This process is performed after the wheel has been statically balanced. Dynamic balancing is accomplished by spinning the wheel and seeing if it has any wobble from side to side. Dynamic weights are placed on oppsite sides of the wheel (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock) for instance. Most importantly, one is placed inside the rim and the other placed outside the rim as you are fighting side to side wobble.

Now I haven't balanced wheels for a long time but that is the way it used to be done.

Any reason why the SRX did not come with all season tires like every other SUV? How bad are these things in the snow if you get caught without snow tires? Whats the point of all wheel drive? I drive evey December from Ma.to Florida and back in spring but I have gotten caught in rough weather on occaison with my Yukon, Envoy and others with no problem. Gettin nervous now. I pick up my SRX on Tuesday.

Mine came with Michelin Pilot HX MXM4 - I assumed all SRXs came so outfitted. Like many All-Seasons, the Pilot is a compromise tire that is only so-so in the snow. I've been considering putting my favourite snow-rated All-Season (the Nokian WR) on the SRX - they only come in 235/60/18 size (no 255/55/18 available). Nokians are little known but hard to beat in the snow - I first had them on my '92 Mazda 929 (RWD) and I never lost traction with them. WRs are hard to find but, IMHO, they cannot be beaten in snow and ice and yet are still quiet, and quite decent on wet and dry. To that extent, I put them on my '00 Bonneville and just left them on all year round - they performed admirably. In fact, between two cars, we've logged about 90k kms on Nokian WRs since 2002 and can attest to the fact that they give excellent traction even as they age - not all tires can claim that. The set on the Bonneville have over 60 kms on them and they have enough tread on them to make it through one more winter. I've never achieved that before.

In the 235/60/18 size, they're V rated and carry a 107 load rating. If you can find them, expect to pay a tad over $US 200 per tire installed.

Here's a some links to the Nokian WR:

First, a review: Snow FAQ: Nokian WR (http://www.snowtire.info/TireReviews/2nd%20Annual.html)

Next, Nokian's page on the WR: Nokiantyres.com - the WR (http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/tires_popup.cfm?id=17)

And finally a link to the Nokian dealer locator: Nokiantyres.com: Dealer Locator (http://www.nokiantires.com/newsite/map.cfm)

SRXs with 17" wheels come with Goodyear Eagle RSA tires, which are not particularly good snow tires either. However, both the Goodyears and Michelins are technically all-season. I read somewhere or other that the Cadillac OEM version of the Pilot HX MXM4 has been modified for increased snow traction. However, that 255 width in the back is just too wide IMO for good snow performance, regardless of the tire type.

TireRack doesn't have a winter tire package for the SRX. There are two issues: the manufacturer calls for two different sized tires for front and back, and some models have tire pressure sensors mounted in the wheels. There have been a few threads about good options for putting winter tires on the SRX.

i am using 235x65x17 on all four wheels, no tire sensors, and no problems. as we speak. brand is cooper.

pagpc

Now things may have changed, but, it is not necessarily a good idea to move wheel weights from side to side.

Wheels used to be and I assume still are balanced 2 ways. The first is static balancing whereby weight is added to make sure the wheel is balanced and has no tendency to rotate because one radian of the wheel is heavier that the rest which will cause the wheel to rotate until the heavy side is down when the wheel is off the floor and allowed to freely rotate. If you only have static weight you can move it to either side.

The second element of balancing is or was called dynamic balancing. This process is performed after the wheel has been statically balanced. Dynamic balancing is accomplished by spinning the wheel and seeing if it has any wobble from side to side. Dynamic weights are placed on oppsite sides of the wheel (3 o'clock and 9 o'clock) for instance. Most importantly, one is placed inside the rim and the other placed outside the rim as you are fighting side to side wobble.

Now I haven't balanced wheels for a long time but that is the way it used to be done.
I remember doing bubble balancing. The wheel placed on a horizontal plane and you placed weights on a trial and error basis until you found the right one to get the bubble in the center. Tap the weight on the rim and that was it. The force balance spins the wheel and forces the tire against a surface to simulate contact with the road.

As for winter tires, I have found that most tires with good tread and proper inflation tend to do fairly well on snow with front wheel drive or all wheel drive. I can appreciate that those @ 8500 feet in Colorado or in Buffalo might require a true winter tire. Our first new car, a '59 VW, with rear engine and rear wheel drive would go about any place. I have not driven the SRX on snow yet.

I hve seen wheels that were perfectly bubble or static balanced that would almost rip the balancer out of its mountings when the wheel was run up to 100 MPH.

Just reading through the archives of GMTechlink and noted that the October 2003 Techlink (http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/images/issues/oct03/TLOct03e.html#story18) suggests: "On the 2004 Cadillac SRX, due to dissimilar front and rear tire widths, the tire and wheel assemblies cannot be rotated from front to back. They may be rotated from side to side." The December 2003 Techlink (http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/images/issues/dec03/TLdec03e.html#story7) adds to this with: "An article in the October TechLink referred to tire rotation on the 2004 Cadillac SRX. It pointed out that, because of dissimilar sizes, tires cannot be rotated between front and rear. TIP: Side to side rotation, while technically possible, is not needed."

So there we have it: GM tells us that tire rotation isn't necessary. :hmm:

Just reading through the archives of GMTechlink and noted that the October 2003 Techlink (http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/images/issues/oct03/TLOct03e.html#story18) suggests: "On the 2004 Cadillac SRX, due to dissimilar front and rear tire widths, the tire and wheel assemblies cannot be rotated from front to back. They may be rotated from side to side." The December 2003 Techlink (http://service.gm.com/gmtechlink/images/issues/dec03/TLdec03e.html#story7) adds to this with: "An article in the October TechLink referred to tire rotation on the 2004 Cadillac SRX. It pointed out that, because of dissimilar sizes, tires cannot be rotated between front and rear. TIP: Side to side rotation, while technically possible, is not needed."

So there we have it: GM tells us that tire rotation isn't necessary. :hmm:
I read the same GM Tech Links as you. I have never liked running tires the opposite direction which all moving side to side would accomplish plus more tire noise. Ran my '96 Explorer 36,000 plus miles and never moved a tire. No problem with wear. Bet eventually someone will do an "X" rotation.
Found this search tip in the GM Tech site-

You can search the TechLink archives, in a roundabout sort of way. Go to www.google.com and select the advanced search option.

In the blue box, type in the key word(s) you want to search. You can limit the search four different ways, depending on which box(es) you type in.

Then in the next section of the form, on the file format line, select ONLY and select Adobe Acrobat PDF.

On the domain line, select ONLY, and then type http://service.gm.com in the box provided.

Click on the grey Google Search button. This will display a list of every issue of TechLink containing the specified key words. From this, choose the one that describes what you’re looking for.

SHORTCUT TIP: If you want to avoid the form page, you can just type the search request in the input box on the main Google page. You must type your keyword(s) followed by this string exactly as shown. Spaces and punctuation are critical.

keyword site:http://service.gm.com filetype:pdf

This will find exactly the same items as the first method.