Tire rotation, balancing and nitrogen

Why rotate your tires?

Rotating moves each tire to a new spot so they wear evenly. The front tires do most of the work on most cars, because they steer and, on front-wheel drive, pull the whole car too. Left alone, they wear out long before the back pair. Most manufacturers say every 5,000 to 7,500 miles, which lines up nicely with a lot of oil change intervals.

Steering wheel shaking on the highway?

If the wheel starts to shimmy somewhere around 55 to 70 mph and smooths out above or below that, a wheel is probably out of balance. Balancing spins each wheel and adds small weights to even it out. A bent wheel or a tire with a separated belt can feel the same, so we check for those too.

Is nitrogen worth it?

It helps a little. Nitrogen seeps through rubber slower than regular air, so your pressure holds steadier between checks. It won't change your gas mileage much or turn a cheap tire into a good one. If you like setting your pressure and forgetting it, it's a reasonable upgrade. If you check your tires every month anyway, regular air does the job.