Any answer to exactly what the topic says would be appreciated. I have a very good hydrolic (sp?) jack and wanted to know if I can rotate my tires with just one of them or will I need my jack stands as well? Thanks in advance....

 

front to back you'll be fine. use the front jack point and it lifts of the whole side of the car.

if you want do rotate around the car you'll need and extra wheel but you can still do it with one jack and no jack stands.

 

You can easily pick up the whole side of the car, or one end of the car, with just the jack. But use the jack stands for safety if you're going to be under the car at all.

--Dan
Mach V

 

Thanks that was fast....No it would just be front to back so one jack is good news. Should be a quick process. Do you think the torque setting matters much? Whenever I rotate my tires w/ the air gun I feel like I am never using the proper torque settings.

 

Yes, proper torque is important! Why not just torque the wheels by hand? It only takes a few extra minutes per wheel, and you'll get a very acurate result if you have a decent torque wrench.

 

+1 on using a torque wrench. The proper bolt torque for the R56 is 103 lbf-ft, which may be higher than you would torque them to if you did it "by feel" with a manual wrench (since 103 lbf-ft is higher than most cars use). And if you use an air wrench, who knows what the final torque will be - you could easily end up with them significantly over- or under-tightened.

 

get yourself a torque wrench and a 17mm long socket.

If you ever get your wheels worked on check the torque. most places just air gun them on til they are tight. that's not a good idea for a variety of reasons. Bolt stretching being the most important i can think of.

 

1- 2x4 running the length between the jack points. Jack at the center - and the side is up. Always use a torque wrench.

 

Thanks for all the advice guys!

 

Proper torque is important. Either use a torque wrench or buy and use a torque stick with your air wrench.

 

Interesting. Torque for the R53 was 89 ft lbs. Can someone conform 103? That sounds a little high for alloys.

 

Page 125 of the owner's manual (index: Torque - lug nuts / header: tightening the lug nuts)

 

...insurance. Even if you don't intend to get under the car, you are Murphy-proofing yourself.

 

And it's not just the R56 & Clubman that have a torque value of 103 lbf-ft - it's all MINIs with 14mm wheel bolts. Basically, if your car is a GP or was built after mid-July 2006 (note that this includes some 2006 R53/R50 models), it has the 14mm bolts and the higher torque spec, regardless of what the owner's manual says. (As of early 2008, MINI *still* hadn't updated the cabrio owner's manual to reflect the higher spec, even 180 months after they switched over to the larger bolts.)

 

netma1000 - what prevents that 2x4 between the jack points from shifting or slipping? Also, what exactly is above the 2x4? I know that the jack points are reinforced to bear the force of the jack on the frame, not sure if applying force elsewhere might be an issue. I use two small hydraulic jacks and two home-made inserts that exactly fit the jack points and the hydraulic jack "cups". The jacks also have locking pins. They ran less than $30 each.

 

I have not had a problem with shifting or slipping after getting the wood in place. I have a flat pad I'm working on. I understand that one should use the jacking points, but I don't spend the time with small jacks - I'm not under the car at all. I haven't found a good way to do the front or rear at the same time then I do use jack stands. Just my .02.

 

Reviving an old thread, but can't find it elsewhere. Just checking to confirm a few things on tire rotation ('08 R56).

Rotate front to back only (no cross over)?

Use any old anti-seize compound on lug bolts?

Somewhere I thought I saw that the lug size was 16 mm. I tried 17 mm and thought I had a good fit. Now on this thread I see 14 mm. I'll go try it and see what works, but why at least two different numbers (maybe 3)?

Anything else?

Thanks!

 

Yup, we had one snap off after a tire place had fixed a tire

Works great, and then you can get 2 jack stands under the jack points

Mark

 

Front to back with the tire rotation.

The lug size is 17mm. the bolt is a 14mm thread.

 

Thanks. Tire rotation went without a hitch.

I take it they should be rechecked / tightened after 50 miles or so?