Can someone answer this? How often should one rotate tires on a MINI?
I am thinking every 10,000.

 

Every 5K is optimum.

Go to one of those places that does it free of charge. On the US West Coast I've had no problems with Discount Tire Centers doing my free rotations...

 

5000 miles definitely

Keep the tire pressure up and monitor regularly.

In my area I go to the Costco auto center- as a member they do my rotations free- no purchase needed. I do pay for balancing the fronts as needed if the tires are stock. Once you buy tires from them then the rotation and balancing are free.

 

Thanks folks for the information! I'm at 10000, so I had better do this next week qricker than a fart.

 

>>Thanks folks for the information! I'm at 10000, so I had better do this next week qricker than a fart.


Actuall by now you should have rotated them twice. So the tires should be in the same position as when you picked them up from the dealer. You should be fine until 15k or so....




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Happy Motoring!

 

>>Can someone answer this? How often should one rotate tires on a MINI?
>>I am thinking every 10,000.


5-6000 miles is the way to go. When I was in the aftermarket tire and wheel business, we recommended this interval. The rule of thumb was "Every other oil change" but that would not apply here.

 

This topic I think will fit better in Beneath the Bonnet - there may be people there who can give you a better idea for a scheduled rotation.

 

I just rotated mine yesterday, at 5200. Since I'm running H-Sports with no camber correction (read: about -2.2 degrees of camber in the rear!), it's very important for me to rotate more often. Surprisingly, the tire wear was quite linear and balanced!

so yea, every 5k miles is perfect!

[EDIT: YEAAAYY! My Two Thousandth Post! ]
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>>I just rotated mine yesterday, at 5200. Since I'm running H-Sports with no camber correction (read: about -2.2 degrees of camber in the rear!), it's very important for me to rotate more often. Surprisingly, the tire wear was quite linear and balanced!
>>
>>so yea, every 5k miles is perfect!
>>
>>[EDIT: YEAAAYY! My Two Thousandth Post! ]
>>_________________

Ryan you are one sick man.

Get this: I asked my Mini dealership Head Service Manager, (not just the guy who services Minis, but manages all of the dealership's service dept. including BMW - Tom) if tire rotation was included in the service warrenty. He told me that Minis didn't need thier tires rotated, and that tire rotation is all a ploy by the tire companies to help make your tires wear out quicker. He went on to say that it takes approximately 6,000 miles for your tires to "learn the vehicle" so that it runs best. (go figure?) If you rotate your tires, your car will never ride the same, because it's constantly going through this "learning process". He said, "You know how your car can vibrate at 60-70mph? That's because your tires can never be perfectly balanced once they are rotated, they wear in different places."

I thought this was the most rediculous thing I have ever heard, but I have yet to rotate my tires. ?? 8100 miles now. Obviously most of us will flame this guy, but does anyone agree with him?

 

The service guy above sounds logical. Whether it's true is another issue.

If we don't rotate the tires you will end up replacing the front tyres sooner, rather than all 4 later. So I don't know. I have always heard that you should replace all the tyres at the same time with the same brand, style and size.

Then I think, what if I get a flat and the tyre cannot be repaired. I can't afford 4 new tyres everytime I get a flat. I'm going to just replace the damaged tyre.

Do the tyre experts and manufacturers have any input?

 

>>
>>Do the tyre experts and manufacturers have any input?


they will if this thread gets moved to the tirerack forum

 

Be sure to get your tires balanced on your first rotation.

I had mine checked and only one of the four tires were in balance. One of them was wickedly out of balance and the two others were moderately out of balance. Doesn't look like the factory balance is too good. Where I had mine done, they said other car manufacturers being way bad in balancing tires. My MINI wasn't as bad as most he said.

 

a few things regarding tire rotation and your service writers comments...
"tire rotation is all a ploy by the tire companies to help make your tires wear out quicker"

That's completely insane. Why on earth would any tire maker want their tire to wear out too fast and lose a repeat customer, much less those potential customers due to reputation? Not to mention that many of these mfgs. offer Mileage guarantees.
If the tire wears prematurely, they aren't selling a new one. They're writing an adjustment credit to get the customer a new tire.

Tires are rotated for two reasons. To reverse cupping/feathering wear due to improper alignment (doesn't apply to directional tires), and help maximize tread life.

Back in the early days of radial belted tires it was common belief to not change the direction of tire rotation by crossing sides, but technologically, tires have come a long way and that's not a problem anymore.

 

>>Ryan you are one sick man.
>>
>>Get this: I asked my Mini dealership Head Service Manager, (not just the guy who services Minis, but manages all of the dealership's service dept. including BMW - Tom)


Thanks for the advice Ryan I told him he needed a new hobby, literally. He then asked me out for coffee (ok, joking there )

Bottom Line: Rotating your tires will make them last longer. Conspiracy theorists find some new topic to annoy yourselves with.


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so are we rotating the front tires to the back, and back to front?

tahnks :smile:

 

Front to back with your directional tires. If you don't have directional tires, move the fronts straight back, and the backs will cross to the front.

 

>>Front to back with your directional tires.

thanks :smile:

 

My front tires are worn horribly from autox and well...'spirited driving'.

I just made an appt to get the rotated tomarrow.

7100 miles: 2100 miles too late, or just in the nick of time?

 

uppps i 've reached 12k and have not..yet done it..
What is the life of the stock tires suppsed to be?? Anyone know

 

I finally got around to rotating my tires at 13.5 k miles.
A little late, I know. I have 16" with Dunlop SP5000 runflats.
The front tires were definitely worn a lot more than the rear, probably from track days. The wear was more pronounced at the edges (inflation was ok).
I changed front to rear, no side-wise swapping. The car runs just as well as before, and I think I will get more miles out of my tires this way.
My guess is I will be able to get around 35k miles, max 40k miles out of the tires, a far shot from the 60+ k I got on my old Outback, but then, I do much more spirited driving!

 

For those doing their own rotation, two questions: Cleaning and waxing the front and back of the wheels during the rotation, what do you recommend as the best wax for the job? Torqueing the studs back on, how much to apply? Gotta job to do this week-end.

 

I was just going to drive tell the front tires were gone. then replace them. I think the rears will last a long time.

 

>>For those doing their own rotation, two questions: Cleaning and waxing the front and back of the wheels during the rotation, what do you recommend as the best wax for the job? Torqueing the studs back on, how much to apply? Gotta job to do this week-end.

I heard that wheel wax is good. Then clean with simple green weekly. I hand tighten/ with wrench my studs.

 

75-80 ft/lbs for tourque

 

i'm going to rotate my brand new Goodyears off the car and Yokohama's on
gonna call the tirerack, today and order
btw: i'll rotate with every oil change....between 3000 + 5000 miles


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