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[aus]

Originally Posted by Mr. 5

Most of the time, you cannt do this for a perfromance tire because most of them are directional.

Tire rotation is over rated anyway.

You should have seen my tires off the X5. The inner edge was gone and the outer edge was like new. The stock alignment settings call for a LOT of negative camber.

[Nyulak]

Take the corners faster to even out the tire wear.

[blueaudi18]

people take more right turns than left you know...

[tintivilus]

Originally Posted by aus

If they're directional only, you can.
If they're asimetrical, then you can't.

Originally Posted by AH

+1

Nope, backwards. Directional tires need to stay on the same side of the car unless you take them off the wheels and flip them over. Asymmetrical tires just have an "inside" and "outside" (just like your wheels, duh) so you can rotate to your heart's content.

That being said, BMW has recommended against rotation for as long as I've been paying attention. My 1990 525i said in the manual to not rotate the tires. The idea I guess is that the handling will change unpredictably if you mount tires that are worn in the wrong shape.

To the OP: how the hell hard are you driving? I've got 10K miles on my stock RFT's and they're nowhere near needing replacement.

[CaptChaos]

Are the stock Bridgestone RE050A RFT's directional, asymmetric or neither?

[Zoeb@WheelDude.com]

It's all the same....if you don't rotate you just replace 2 at a time.

If you rotate, you replace 4 @ a time

it costs the same in the long run

[blueaudi18]

Originally Posted by tintivilus

Nope, backwards. Directional tires need to stay on the same side of the car unless you take them off the wheels and flip them over. Asymmetrical tires just have an "inside" and "outside" (just like your wheels, duh) so you can rotate to your heart's content.

That being said, BMW has recommended against rotation for as long as I've been paying attention. My 1990 525i said in the manual to not rotate the tires. The idea I guess is that the handling will change unpredictably if you mount tires that are worn in the wrong shape.

To the OP: how the hell hard are you driving? I've got 10K miles on my stock RFT's and they're nowhere near needing replacement.

i don't even have my car yet. This is my first rear wheel drive car and bimmer.. So i was just wondering how i wuold rotate a staggered setup. Ive been driving Audis all my life. That sounds long but ive only driven for 6 years.
I hear people going through tires like crazy on this forum so in my mind i have this preconception that i will have to change my rear tires every 5000 miles.

[blueaudi18]

Originally Posted by Zoeb2s

It's all the same....if you don't rotate you just replace 2 at a time.

If you rotate, you replace 4 @ a time

it costs the same in the long run

huh?... i dont get it.

rotated u get 2 years out of i set of tires...

no reotating. rear last 1 year. So 4 rear tires
and 4 front tires... that 2 set... in two years..

[Zoeb@WheelDude.com]

Originally Posted by blueaudi18

huh?... i dont get it.

rotated u get 2 years out of i set of tires...

no reotating. rear last 1 year. So 4 rear tires
and 4 front tires... that 2 set... in two years..

You don't have to replace the fronts every time you replace the rears.

[Bimmer335i]

Originally Posted by CaptChaos

Are the stock Bridgestone RE050A RFT's directional, asymmetric or neither?

Anyone??

[Rips335iCoupe]

[myfirstbmw335i]

Originally Posted by txusa03

seek that advice of a tire experts...

Educate yourself, so a "tire expert" doesn't tell you incorrectly just to sell you tires sooner....

Here are the simple facts.......

Directional (a tire with an arrow on the side wall pointing toward the front of the car)...You cannot go side to side UNLESS you take tire off rim and remount so that the arrow still faces forward when mounted on opposite side of car....

Non Directional (will state on the side wall "outside") you can simply move that wheel to opposite side because the word "outside" will still be on the "outside".....even though you don't have to take tire off rim in this circumstance, I would probably still have them balanced, but it's not likely to be necessary...

Your staggered setup will last longer and will wear evenly longer....

[M4TW]

Originally Posted by myfirstbmw335i

Educate yourself, so a "tire expert" doesn't tell you incorrectly just to sell you tires sooner....

Here are the simple facts.......

Directional (a tire with an arrow on the side wall pointing toward the front of the car)...You cannot go side to side UNLESS you take tire off rim and remount so that the arrow still faces forward when mounted on opposite side of car....

Non Directional (will state on the side wall "outside") you can simply move that wheel to opposite side because the word "outside" will still be on the "outside".....even though you don't have to take tire off rim in this circumstance, I would still have them balanced again....

Your staggered setup will last longer and will wear evenly longer....

Now I'm confused.

The OEM 18" staggered Bridgetone summer performance RFT's and ellipsoid rims I recently took off my 335xi are siting in my garage waiting patiently for spring. They are non-directional and I intended to go side to side with them when I reinstall them. If I do that, I should get them balanced?? Why? And would I need to if I didn't swap sides?

Similarly the 18" non-RFT Blizack LM 25's that are on the car now are directional, but not staggard. So I intend to go front to back with them when I reinstall them next winter. Same question on the balancing.

Lastly with the non-directional all season non-staggard that I took off my wife's SUV for new winter rims + tires, I intend to rotate fully in the spring. Once again what up with the balancing?

I thought balancing is something that is done when the tires are put on the rims.

This is turning out to be a real balancing act.

[Jaws]

Originally Posted by Sparkplug

Now I'm confused.

If I do that, I should get them balanced?? Why? And would I need to if I didn't swap sides?

There's no reason to get a wheel balanced if the tire hasn't been removed from the rim.

[aus]

Originally Posted by tintivilus

Nope, backwards. Directional tires need to stay on the same side of the car unless you take them off the wheels and flip them over. Asymmetrical tires just have an "inside" and "outside" (just like your wheels, duh) so you can rotate to your heart's content.

That being said, BMW has recommended against rotation for as long as I've been paying attention. My 1990 525i said in the manual to not rotate the tires. The idea I guess is that the handling will change unpredictably if you mount tires that are worn in the wrong shape.

To the OP: how the hell hard are you driving? I've got 10K miles on my stock RFT's and they're nowhere near needing replacement.

You need to read the whole thread before you go bashing other peopels posts. In ANOTHER post, it was stated he would have to remove the tires from the wheels to do the side to side rotation with directional tires. It if wasn't clear, then I'll state it again. You will need to remove your tires and swap them side to side so they're turning in the proper direction. I though it was just common sense.

And you can NOT rotated a asymetrical tire from side to side if it's also directional... like most performance asymetrical tires are.
Good job confusing the guy more.

[theblackmamba]

Its easy as pie.

Check your tires every thousand miles. Get a tread depth measurement tool.

Check the wear on each tire on the sides and the middle. Record it.

If you see some readings out of wack, take it to a certified repair or wheel/rim/tire shop. Don't tell them whats wrong, just tell them you'd like your suspension, or wheels/tires inspected. If they dont find anything wrong then just check your tire pressure. If they do, call BMW and tell them you have an issue, bring it in and see if they can replicate or tell you the same thing.

Staggered tires cannot be rotated, if you plan to rotated them then you would have to get a 245/255 setup. It will not only look weird, I'm sure your car will drive like shit.

A normal setup with the same all around will and should be fine if the rim width and tires are all the same.

IF you do staggerd, just purchase an extra tire each month. Let's say your tires cost you $1000 / 4, just put $200 aside each month within 12 months and you should be fine.

[KanosWRX]

Just make sure your alignment is always good, and by good I mean wear is even inside and out. Then the tires should wear out evenly left and right. Then depending on what wears out faster, front or rear you will only have to buy two tires at a time

[2swift]

Been doing some research and planning on going with the INV0...you can rotate them since they are non-directional:

http://www.nittotire.com/#index%2Eti...nvo%2Eoverview



After many google searches for this tire, a lot of other staggered fitment vehicles gave some pretty good reviews on them (i.e. Corvettes, Lexus, Nissan 350Z, G35, etc.). As stated, these do have an "outside" and "inside" on the sidewall so a simple rotation is fine. This will certainly increase the mileage.

Only thing I'm waiting for is for them to release the 275/30/19

[calleballe]

Originally Posted by KanosWRX

Just make sure your alignment is always good, and by good I mean wear is even inside and out. Then the tires should wear out evenly left and right. Then depending on what wears out faster, front or rear you will only have to buy two tires at a time

+1. Tire rotating is overrated. Unitl moving to the U.S. I had not even heard about it (driving most of my time on Autobahn in Germany, Switzerland and France)

Make sure to have proper alignment and tire pressure (check often).

I think that rotating tires is something made up to create business for mechanics...or for lazy people that run cars without checking pressure and alignment on a regular basis.

When tires are out, I prefer to get a set of 4 new. Why be cheap on the only lifeline you have between yourself and the road??

[montreal_bimmer]

i say try to rotate front to back and let us know what happens...

[2swift]

What about cars that are dropped and have negative camber? A simple alignment won't fix the problem. I've had some bad negative camber on my previous car and you can easily tell the inside wore much faster than the outside. Instead of replacing the tires, a simple rotation made my tires last longer and saved me some money!

[theblackmamba]

Originally Posted by 2swift

What about cars that are dropped and have negative camber? A simple alignment won't fix the problem. I've had some bad negative camber on my previous car and you can easily tell the inside wore much faster than the outside. Instead of replacing the tires, a simple rotation made my tires last longer and saved me some money!

Then you get camber plates...when you get suspension work done (as with anything else), my token phrase is 'do it right the first time'. If you have a lowered car your tires should not be wearing unevenly -- if it is wearing unevenly then you aren't lowering your car the right way.