If you have a true classic, a car that is at least 40 years old and the accompanying instruction booklet, you will (almost) be sure to come across an article advising you to rotate the tires after a good number of kilometers in accordance with a special pattern.
Front wheel driven
That of course depends on the remaining profile and the same tire size all around. For front-wheel drivers it is advised to swap the front tires with the rear tires and then also cross them. Also include the spare tire in the 'circuit'. That is of course from the direction of rotation indicated on the (more modern) tire. There is an 'arrow' or something from 'outside"or" rotation. The best tires must be on the front axle.
Rear wheel driven
A certain pattern must also be followed for rear-wheel-drive cars, whereby the spare wheel may also participate in traffic for one time. Also in this case depending on the direction of rotation indicated on the tire. All in all a whole undertaking, but actually unnecessary, because you do not drive so many kilometers with your classic car every year.
And… good profile or not, the age of the tire is also very important, just like tightening the wheel nuts with a correctly adjusted torque wrench. The correct tightening torque can be found in your workshop manual. This action does not work with the central wing nut of a spoke wheel. Having written all this, we would like to draw your attention to the fact that 'in the workplace' there is still discussion about the phenomenon 'the best tires on the front'. Indeed, it is claimed that a car with the rear wheels steer and is corrected with the front wheels. Reference is then made to a shopping cart of which one rear wheel always swings away, making it difficult to maintain 'direction'. If that happens with the front wheels, people have less trouble with that. The front wheels of such a shopping cart focus on the 'row line' of the rear wheels ... Well, if you still want to change, then keep the instruction booklet and don't forget the correct tire pressure ...?!
Cool if you still have the original instruction booklet with your old classic car. I am going with my old one soon Citroen CX to the garage for a turn. Tire alignment, tension, etc. Maybe I will also change my tires, I will hear what my garage owner thinks!
In the past, when I was still doing autocross, I worked at various scrap yards because I could put together my entire motocross car for free. During that “car scrapping” I noticed that an awful lot of cars still had a brand new spare wheel in the car. Usually never used, even though it was the same tire the car was on. In the past, when you were still allowed to drive around with different profiles, I always had brand new tires on my own car at the front of the track, because I had caught them anyway. Apparently not much was done about tire rotation in the past!