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[dunit]

Has anyone done tire rotation on the runflats.
I believe they can be rotated side to side.

[FirstClass]

Why would you?

[blueaudi18]

Originally Posted by FirstClass

Why would you?

People do make more right turns than left. This will balance out the wear on the tires? I don't know know by how much, but whatever helps.


side note, i do know know if rft are rotatable.

[JSpira]

BMW says not to rotate.

It will introduce more problems than it will solve.

[ZuerstBMW]

Originally Posted by JSpira

BMW says not to rotate.

It will introduce more problems than it will solve.

Exactly.

[John 070]

I thought as a general rule, one doesn't reverse the direction of radial tires (belt shift?), which is what would happen if the left is simply moved to the right. If the RE050A's are directional, one wouldn't do that period. You can't dismount the tires either, because there is an outside and an inside. On a tire that is the same (i.e. doesn't have a side that faces outwards), one can dismount and remount so that the tire is rotating the same way. But that's extreme....

The making right turns more than left turns thing, was that a joke? Can the steering rack be rotated too if that's true, to even out the pinion wear?

[E90Graphite07]

If you don't have the sports package, and all the wheels/tires are the same size, it's fine to rotate the tires; I'm sure most owners here have the sports package, thus, you can't rotate'em due to their different sizes. FYI!

[JSpira]

Originally Posted by E90Graphite07

If you don't have the sports package, and all the wheels/tires are the same size, it's fine to rotate the tires; I'm sure most owners here have the sports package, thus, you can't rotate'em due to their different sizes. FYI!

BMW's proscription against rotating tires has nothing to do with the sport package and staggered tires.

[Lassaxi]

BMW's recommendation against tire rotation stems from the fact that, for maximum handling and safety, it's best not to mess with the tires once they're broken in on the wheel they're on. The handling detriment is more pronounced on a finely tuned suspension system like a BMW than, say, on a Toyota Corolla, and a number of other manufacturers recommend against tire rotation as well.

However, for me, the potential improvement in wear and tread life outweighs the very slight detriment that comes in the first couple hundred miles after rotating. Besides, to the average Joe like me, it's completely unnoticeable.

Other than this, there is basically no disadvantage to rotating the standard, non-sport package all season 16s that come on my 328xi. The post-rotation difference on performance tires would be more significant. BMW's recommendation is geared toward optimum performance and safety, but the decision is ultimately up to you.

[ENINTY]

The other reason BMW recommends against tire rotations is because there is no cost benefit. The amount of extended tire life you get from rotating tires is not worth the cost of paying a shop to rotate them. If you are going to rotate them yourself, then there is a benefit of extended tire life.

If you have the staggered set up on the sport package you can only rotate side to side. I rotated my bridgestones 5 times over the first 23K miles and found no noticeable difference in handling. I've since switched to non-runflats on a non-staggered set up.

[John 070]

On a FWD car, imho (having owned them obviously) rotation is a necessity. Otherwise, you'd have fronts completely shot while the rears are in great shape. On a RWD car? Like some have suggested, probably just not as much to be gained. Let's pretend that our fronts don't cup when the car is brand-new and factory fresh.

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by John 070

If the RE050A's are directional...

They're not. Directional tires are always marked as such on the sidewall.

Originally Posted by JSpira

BMW's proscription against rotating tires has nothing to do with the sport package and staggered tires.

Indeed, the manual for my (very non-sport) 1990 525i recommended against tire rotation.

[UncleWede]

I called my SA on this just this week. He told me the recommendation on my non-staggered was to not rotate due to the 50-50 weight balance. WTF? The rims/tires weigh the same. He said because they are designed to wear inside-back/outside-front that rotating them would throw it out. I told him I wanted to save BMWNA the money when these tires get noisy, he told me to blow it off. . .

[griffmac]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

The other reason BMW recommends against tire rotations is because there is no cost benefit. The amount of extended tire life you get from rotating tires is not worth the cost of paying a shop to rotate them. If you are going to rotate them yourself, then there is a benefit of extended tire life.

If you have the staggered set up on the sport package you can only rotate side to side. I rotated my bridgestones 5 times over the first 23K miles and found no noticeable difference in handling. I've since switched to non-runflats on a non-staggered set up.

Don't all tire shops do free lifetime rotate and balance on tires they install?

[gotturbo]

My tires definately had some of that trailing edge wear on the outside front tread blocks. I can't think of the word for it right now but each individual tread block is higher in the front than in the back. I rotated them left to right to get them to even out and eventually go the other way, but now my first service is coming up and I want to let the dealer see it. Just in case they might call it abnormal and do something about it. It's a shame though because the rest of the tire is holding up well, and so are the backs. I've heard people say not to reverse the direction on radials, but that would essentially make all tires uniderectional, and they are not.

[blueaudi18]

Originally Posted by JSpira

BMW says not to rotate.

It will introduce more problems than it will solve.

they also tell u to change your oil every 15000 miles...

[blueaudi18]

Originally Posted by John 070

I thought as a general rule, one doesn't reverse the direction of radial tires (belt shift?), which is what would happen if the left is simply moved to the right. If the RE050A's are directional, one wouldn't do that period. You can't dismount the tires either, because there is an outside and an inside. On a tire that is the same (i.e. doesn't have a side that faces outwards), one can dismount and remount so that the tire is rotating the same way. But that's extreme....

The making right turns more than left turns thing, was that a joke? Can the steering rack be rotated too if that's true, to even out the pinion wear?

No thats not a joke.. i read it it somewhere due to roads in america, people tent to turn right more than left getting to where they need to go. I dunno if you can rotate the steering rack or not, but if $10 tire rotation is a whole lot different the hour hany hours of labor it take to do the steering rack.

Rotating criss cross is a different story.

[Lassaxi]

Originally Posted by ENINTY

The other reason BMW recommends against tire rotations is because there is no cost benefit. The amount of extended tire life you get from rotating tires is not worth the cost of paying a shop to rotate them. If you are going to rotate them yourself, then there is a benefit of extended tire life.

I don't know if that's why they don't recommend it, but it is a valid point. If you're paying more than a few bucks to have the tires rotated and re-balanced, you're probably not going to come out ahead. However, many tire centers (and some dealers) will do it for free if you buy your tires (or car) from them because it gets you in the door more often.

[ENINTY]

Originally Posted by Lassaxi

I don't know if that's why they don't recommend it, but it is a valid point. If you're paying more than a few bucks to have the tires rotated and re-balanced, you're probably not going to come out ahead. However, many tire centers (and some dealers) will do it for free if you buy your tires (or car) from them because it gets you in the door more often.

My statement is what is stated in the 1989 E30 owner's manual, and if I remember correctly, the 1997 Z3 manual. I agree about tire dealers offering free rotation and balance, but most charge a bit extra (or it is in the price already) for lifetime balancing.

[web1b]

Since the tires are not covered by BMW warranty, there is no benefit to BMW to rotate them with free maintenance. It would cost them money in labor and not save them any money down the road since the risk of replacing prematurely worn tires is not on them anyway.

[rje]

Originally Posted by gotturbo

My tires definately had some of that trailing edge wear on the outside front tread blocks. I can't think of the word for it right now but each individual tread block is higher in the front than in the back. I rotated them left to right to get them to even out and eventually go the other way, but now my first service is coming up and I want to let the dealer see it. Just in case they might call it abnormal and do something about it. It's a shame though because the rest of the tire is holding up well, and so are the backs. I've heard people say not to reverse the direction on radials, but that would essentially make all tires uniderectional, and they are not.

Better check if you have a pull to the right or left while driving straight, usually more pronounced at higher speed or check if your steering wheel is straight and not pointing slightly to the right or left. This could mean that you might need an alignment or something got damaged down there. Uneven wear on tires are usually an alignment issue.

[gotturbo]

Originally Posted by rje

Better check if you have a pull to the right or left while driving straight, usually more pronounced at higher speed or check if your steering wheel is straight and not pointing slightly to the right or left. This could mean that you might need an alignment or something got damaged down there. Uneven wear on tires are usually an alignment issue.

No pull at all, the car feels like it tracks great.