No tire rotation for BMW
tli...@my-dejanews.com
I remember my 1992 E34 525i says no tire rotation is necessary. Is this still
the case for BMW owners? Has anyone found this "odd"?
Thanks for advise
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Norman Boehl
rotated (at about 30,000 on the tires). Boy, did I ever hear a lot of
road noise. As soon as I undid the rotation, all road noise was gone.
I think (maybe wrong) that under 4-wheel suspension as the BMW is
implemented, the tires establish a "tracking" preference. After established,
moving the tires might cause improper tracking for a given tire, thereby
causing the raod noise.
Any other thoughts?
Norm
tli...@my-dejanews.com wrote:
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Matt O'Toole
>
> My 85 recommends the same. Once I strayed from this, and actually
> rotated (at about 30,000 on the tires). Boy, did I ever hear a lot of
> road noise. As soon as I undid the rotation, all road noise was gone.
>
> I think (maybe wrong) that under 4-wheel suspension as the BMW is
> implemented, the tires establish a "tracking" preference. After established,
> moving the tires might cause improper tracking for a given tire, thereby
> causing the raod noise.
Every BMW owners' manual I've ever read recommends no
rotation. I don't believe the talk about tires' cords
taking a set, etc. My observation is that BMW rear tires
wear a lot more in the center, while the fronts wear fairly
evenly. The rears become noticeably "flatter" within just a
few thousand miles. If you put the "flattened" rear tires
on the front, they tend to wander and make noise. So, the
solution seems to be to either rotate them a lot more often
than most people would bother to, or to not rotate them
all. I've done it both ways. I may have squeezed a few
more miles out of a set with rotation, but not enough to
offset the cost of the labor, if I was paying for it. I
even wonder if it's worth the hassle, doing it myself. With
a $300 set of tires, I'd have to rotate them 7 or 8 times
over their lives to save maybe $50. So, I see why BMW takes
the view that they do. If I had a newer BMW with really
expensive tires, I'd be more inclined to rotate them
religiously.
Matt O.
developer
all...on any car.
BMWs included.
tli...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message <707qcl$rsn$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
Matt O'Toole
> Basically, if you keep your tires balanced, there's no need to rotate at
> all...on any car.
> BMWs included.
Balancing has nothing to do with it. Tires may wear more on
the shoulder or more in the middle, depending on which car
they're on, and front or rear. The camber change
characteristics of each suspension are different. The kind
of driving matters, too: if the car is cornered hard,
shoulder wear is more likely on a car prone to that.
Another issue is with some front wheel drive cars,
especially small ones. The fronts wear so much faster than
the rears, which hardly wear at all. If the tires aren't
rotated, the rubber in the rear tires may deteriorate from
sunlight and ozone long before the tread is worn out. Not
only is this a waste of valuable tread life, it can also be
dangerous. Some tires are prone to sidewall failures and
tread separation when they get old like that. Anyone
remember the Michelin MXLs that were common on Volkswagens
in the 80s?
Matt O.
Walter Kay
four I've owned, my front wheel drive daily driver is a different story.
If you dont see any wear difference between front and back there is no need
to rotate.
tli...@my-dejanews.com wrote in article
Moooseboy
them to be rotated every 5-6K miles. Rotation patterns are set, front to rear
or crisscross, but we determined a rotation pattern, as needed, to correct any
uneven wear or feathering patterns on the tread. My experience has been that
tires that are rotated and their balance corrected every 6K miles would see a
benefit of smoother, quieter ride for a longer period of time.
I must say that rotation at large intervals does nothing but to put a set of
tires with a wear pattern in the tread onto a wheel that has different wear
characteristics. Front tires wear differently due to the fact that they are
doing most of the stopping, turning, and the alignment is never maintained in a
perfect setting to stop tire wear ( a car that handles well tends to wear
tires).of course alignments should be done as needed or suggested by
maintainence schedule.
A good quality tire dealer will offer a lifetime balance and rotation
agreement. By using it as suggested your tires will give you a longer life,
smoother ride and the ultimate in handling and adhesion for the life of the
tire.
I would also like to add that someone said that they spend $300 for tires for
their BMW. Which 3 tires are you replacing?
Jeff
"Those are my thoughts and hell I may be wrong"
Matt O'Toole
> I am a former owner of a major line tire store.
Stand up and be counted! Which one, and where? Don't be
shy!
> I would also like to add that someone said that they spend $300 for tires for
> their BMW. Which 3 tires are you replacing?
Oh, I know, you need to spend more than that if you want the
very best for your BMW. Gimme a break. I've been buying
Dunlop D60A2s for the past four or five years for my E30
cars, which use a 195-60-14. They're about $50 each, the
rest being for mounting, and a good dynamic balance. Yes,
free rotation and rebalancing is included. There are many
other tires appropriate for this car at a similar price,
such as the P600, the Sumitomo HTR100, or the Yoko A509.
Matt O.
Dave
<ws....@worldnet.att.net> wrote:
I have a 95 318iS w/30k on it and have never rotated the tires. Its riding
and handling to good so why mess with a good thing. I had a 91 Laser I
bought new and ran that to 60k without rotating the tires. It was FWD too.
Ed Jung
tires front and back so it won't work anyway. Seems like an extravagant way
to go when you think of rotation or damage replacements but at least you get
a full size spare (the front size) which I guess would allow a rotation of
sorts. But the M cars aren't the only ones that are set up this way (911's,
Vipers, etc.). I guess the message is if you can't afford to trash the
tires when the first one of the set wears beyond safety then you can't
afford the car.
Can the former tire store owner comment on this; how you rotate three front
tires/wheels?
tli...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message <707qcl$rsn$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
Moooseboy
rear:
This has been a consideration with many cars for years. In these cercomstances
there is no rotation as tires and sometimes wheels themselves are directional,
so the left front tire has no where to go but the left front. A vehicle like
this requires ( and normally receives) above average maintainance visits
with a high regard to antthing that suggests that it needs attention.
if you were to notice slight wear on your $500+ tire you would correct it as
soon as possible, but once the wear pattern is started is is very hard to
correct it
Moooseboy
I apologize for the contents of last post. I had just opened my eyes for the
day and was typing a rough draft of the post. When I returned from the kitchen
with an espresso (I do not function without two double pours) the message was
gone and a note saying "your mail has been sent" was on the screen. I was then
awake, eyes open, and embarrassed. I'll write it off as being a human being, as
correcting the typos no would serve no function.
When a vehicle has tires and rims that do not allow for rotation you must
adhere to inspections and immediate action to prolong their serviceable life.
This is a very large problem ,but a profitable one, for tire dealers due to
the customer has often been told that the problem is the tires fault. The
complaint is due to a condition of the tire having a wear pattern and the
customer has no options for correction of the wear pattern. The tire must stay
on that position in that direction. If they want the vibration corrected or a
smooth ride quality returned to the vehicle they must replace the tire normally
the pair and correct the cause.
I would say if you can afford the car, you can afford the rubber that comes
with it
Jeff
joe...@mail.qx.net
>Hi:
>
>I remember my 1992 E34 525i says no tire rotation is necessary. Is this still
>the case for BMW owners? Has anyone found this "odd"?
>
>Thanks for advise
>
I have a '78 530ia with 14" tires on them. I do not rotate the tires
for one reason. My car is in excellent alignment. That is, I have all
four wheels aligned. I learned about this when I has a 924 and then a
944. if you don't tell the alignment shop to adjust all corners of the
car you can't get the front end in alignment. That is on 4 wheel
independent suspension vehicles. If the tires are balanced well and
your suspension is in good shape, there will only be a slight
feathering of the tread pattern. This is due to the way the tire hits
the road and pushes the rubber back. BMW's with weak rear suspensions
will wear the inside of the rear tires like those old 280ZX and 300ZX
that you see dragging their rear bumpers when they take off. Simply
accelerating in any car throws the alignment off, because it raises
the front end. Remember cars are aligned from a flat stance. So curvy
roads or alot of stop and go traffic will cause excessive tire wear.
hope this helps, but then again it is only my expierience, and is
subject to suspicion.
Demian Trubey
> Haven't checked my manual but 97& 98 M3's have different size wheels
> and
> tires front and back so it won't work anyway. Seems like an
> extravagant way
> to go when you think of rotation or damage replacements but at least
> you get
> a full size spare (the front size) which I guess would allow a
> rotation of
> sorts. But the M cars aren't the only ones that are set up this way
> (911's,
> Vipers, etc.). I guess the message is if you can't afford to trash
> the
> tires when the first one of the set wears beyond safety then you can't
>
> afford the car.
>
ONLY idiots "trash" money. Being able to afford all the electricity I
want does not mean that I run around the house making sure all
appliances are up and running.I would say you have missed the mark on
this thread. Unless you can shed some light on this 3 tire rotation
deal 8{)Demian
> Can the former tire store owner comment on this; how you rotate three
> front
> tires/wheels?
>
> tli...@my-dejanews.com wrote in message
> <707qcl$rsn$1...@nnrp1.dejanews.com>...
> >Hi:
> >
> >I remember my 1992 E34 525i says no tire rotation is necessary. Is
> this
> still
> >the case for BMW owners? Has anyone found this "odd"?
> >
> >Thanks for advise
> >
Moooseboy
on all four wheels. If they have directional tires on the car the spare is
probably not directional.
Sorry I was asleep this morning but you could not rotate the tires unless they
were exactly the same as what is on both of the front wheels. Common sense
says that the best two tires would stay on the car and the worst would be a
spare. If the car has different sized tires I would put my 2 cents on the fact
that the spare is not able to go into a rotation pattern.
Jeff
"That is how I see it and I may be wrong"