So do I rotate runflats?

[BlueBeastie]

I just hit 10k km and was wondering if I should rotate.
When I got the car, the sales person said that I mustn't rotate my tyres.
Me now confused!

Ok thanks!

 

[Mike1]

Your salesman lied, part of the criteria he gets rated on for customer satisfaction is his telling you that you must rotate your tyres every 7500 to 13 000km on your BMW.

When you sign the file after the hand-over it says it there in big print. :thumbs:

So yes you should, especially considering how expensive they are.

---

Excuse my asking, which Cape Town Dealer did you buy from?

Just curious as if the car is new and is a Blue Cooper S than it is possible you bought it from me. :fencelook:

Though I would definitely have told you to rotate the tyres, 135kw on the fronts is a nightmare.

 

[BlueBeastie]

Nope bought from another dealer.

Thanks for the info!

 

[Jakkals_F30]

I reckon it's always suggested to rotate tyres to get even wear on them and can't see that it would cause any issues whatsoever.

If you had narrow wides it would look funny though but with same all round... Rotate would be good :thumbs:

 

[killua]

My dealer also said it negatively affects handling if you rotate your tyres...

 

[drugekull]

Well I say if BMW wants to dictate how to maintain your tyres they should cover them in the motor plan

My Previous e90 had wider ones on the back so i could not rotate them but now my 320d has the same all around so I will be rotating them

Your fronts will wear more on the sides and your backs will wear more in the middle so it will make a difference to the durability of your tyres

That dealer that said it will affect handling needs to go see a doctor something wrong with him.

I also filled mine with Nitrogen this will make your tyres run cooler and stop the preasure from increasing when they get hot so they will last longer the tech at the dealer said that it does not make a difference and I told him what I thought but since he is not paying for his tyres I don't think he has a say.

 

[P1000]

I also filled mine with Nitrogen this will make your tyres run cooler and stop the preasure from increasing when they get hot so they will last longer the tech at the dealer said that it does not make a difference and I told him what I thought but since he is not paying for his tyres I don't think he has a say.

The mech is correct. You can do some internet research if you do not believe me.

 

[drugekull]

I also filled mine with Nitrogen this will make your tyres run cooler and stop the preasure from increasing when they get hot so they will last longer the tech at the dealer said that it does not make a difference and I told him what I thought but since he is not paying for his tyres I don't think he has a say.

The mech is correct. You can do some internet research if you do not believe me.

Ok cool

I have done a bit of researched on this though
I found from a lot of sources that N2 will reduce the airloss in your tyres so you don't have to check your preasure as often this happens because Nitrogen Molicules are larger and more dense than air so it does not seep out as easy.
They also keep your tyre presure constant when tyres get hot this I tested myself run normal compressed air do a long drive on the highway and come back and check you preasure it will be about 30 - 50 kpa higher. Now do the same with N2 and do the same drive your preasure will be the same has when you toped them up
This does impact the wear of your tyre over time not a lot but a good few percent.

this will also reduce fuel consumption not huge amounts but everything counts at the end of the day

Look I am not expert this is what I have found for myself if you have heard different let me know

 

[moranor@axis]

there is no way to get 100% nitrogen into your tires and considering that air already has alot of nitrogen in it (if i rem right its 70%) the small amount of extra nitrogen in your tire will do nothing...

the nitrogen myth comes form motor racing where all the teams had to switch to nitrogen because compressed air was a fire risk... others thought it was because it gave an advantage when used in the tires...

 

[Philip Foglar]

In principle I would say it is essential to rotate tyres, personally I recommend every 5k km for best results. Now with narrow/wides this is a bit of a problem - can't obviously rotate front to rear. I know it's not advisable to rotate left to right, but provided the tyres are directional I would think you could do that. Not sure though. But one of the main reasons why I am reluctant to go the whole narrow/wides route...

With regards to Nitrogen in tyres, you will never get a 100% Nitrogen, but maybe over time because the Oxygen will escape quicker than the Nitrogen. The main reason for filling with Nitrogen is that it is "dry" compared to compressed air that has water vapour in it. This will always be a debate, but if it works for motor racing and even aviation then it can't be all that bad. And now it seems most places provide free top-up.

 

[hennie]

if you rotate or not rotate you will get very close to a certain km on a tyre depending on were its fitted
the only advantage is that all tires can have the same amount of wear on them and when you fit new you have 4 fresh tires all around
where if you just change 2 you might end up not getting he same tyre front and back as the ones that was originally fitted is discontinued

 

[Philip Foglar]

I think frequent balancing is most important, but I prefer being able to move the tyres front to rear so that the wear patterns can be alternated for more even overall wear.

 

[BlueBeastie]

Ok got them rotated, balanced, etc. Good thing I did, the fronts are already looking tired after 10000km.

 

[BMW M]

The 18" Mitchelins (Narrows & wides) on my BMW have now done around 24000km and the front ones still look brand new, the rear have about 50% tread left.