I'm a new 06 MCS owner, and was wondering about tire rotation. I rotate the tires on my other car (an Audi) about every 5-7K miles, so I figured the MINI would be about the same. I searched through some posts here on tire rotation, and it seems like this has been a debated topic--as I have run into after searching through my owners manual and service and warranty manual and finding no mention of tire rotation. Strange. So I made some calls and sent some emails. Here's what I've found, for those interested. My email to MINIUSA is below, followed by their response-->

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Sent: 3/24/2006 12:00:00 AM
To: <MINI.assistance@askMINIUSA.com>
Subject: Tire rotation?

Hi,

I have a 2006 MINI Cooper S. I noticed in the Service & Warranty manual
that tire rotation is not mentioned (other than one brief statement that
tire rotation is excluded from coverage, which would imply that it
should be done but is not covered under the maintenance agreement).

So I called MINI Customer Relations Department to ask how frequently I
should rotate my tires. I was told "never rotate the tires."

I have never had a car where tire rotation was not recommended, and the
only situation I can think of where this would be the case is when the
front and rear tires are different sizes and are unidirectional (like on
a Corvette, for example). On my MINI, all four tires are the same size,
so I would think front-to-rear rotation would be recommended.

So I checked on the northamericanmotoring.com discussion forums, and
most owners seem to all rotate their tires every 3000-5000 miles.

Then I called my MINI dealer, and was told a confusing answer of "do it
frequently, or don't do it at all, but it's up to you."

So what's the deal on tire rotation on the MINI Cooper S? Should I
rotate my tires, and what mileage interval? And... why do I get a
different story with every source?

Thanks for your help!
---------------------------

Now the response. (I applaud MINI for their rapid and thorough response. If I had sent the same message to Audi, their response--if I had even gotten one--would have been "Huh? Tire rotation? What's that?" or something equally worthless.)

From: MINI.Assistance@askMINIUSA.COM [mailto:MINI.Assistance@askMINIUSA.COM]
Sent: Friday, March 24, 2006 3:23 PM
Subject: RE: Tire rotation? [1-373385411]

Thanks for writing MINI. Sorry, MINI does not recommend tire rotation.

Depending on individual operating conditions, different wear patterns appear on the front and rear axles. In the interests of safety and optimized handling characteristics, changing tires between axles is not recommended. So, that's the MINI stance on tire rotation. If you have any specific or technical questions about this, please contact the service department at your MINI dealer.

If there are further questions I can assist with, please feel free to drop me an e-mail. I will be happy to lend a hand.

LET'S MOTOR.

MINI Customer Relations and Services
Representative
866.ASK.MINI (275-6464)

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Nonetheless, I still plan on rotating about every 5K miles.

 

didn't rotate the original tires -got 20 k out of the fronts. Rotated the replacements front to back every 5k -got 40 k out of all 4 . You do the math. I experienced no compromise on wear or handling doing the rotating.Just be sure to do your homework about properly torqueing your lug bolts : 92 lbs/sq./in done innitially and then checked after a day or two. I change my oil every 5 k too, and the dealer insists that 10 k is good enough....go figure. Jock

 

Interesting info about tire rotation and interesting that MINI doesnt have any recommendations either.....Guess they figure we are all smart enough to figure it out ourselves! I plan to rotate as needed once mine comes in and figure it will be 5-8k between rotations as I have done on all my other vehicles.

 

"Depending on individual operating conditions, different wear patterns appear on the front and rear axles. In the interests of safety and optimized handling characteristics, changing tires between axles is not recommended."

I find this statement odd and misleading. The only time I could see it applying is if you had tires that had not been rotated and had considerable wear. I think that frequent preventitive tire rotation is best. I watch my tire wear and if I see a pattern starting then I rotate. I want all four tires with close to the same tread depth and as evenly worn as possible. The goal is to have all four tires working equally effectively. Given how fast the fronts wear I think that about 5,000 miles is time for rotation. I have done mine sooner. If you don't rotate then pretty soon you will have front tires that are nearly worn out and back tires with half the tread left. So you will have very uneven traction and if you are driving in the wet you could have real problems given that the front have to accelerate, turn and brake the car. I want the tires with the most tread in front and rotating is the only way to get that. I also want to have four equally fresh tires of the same make and model on each wheel. If you don't rotate then there is the temptation to just buy two front tires. Traction greatly reduces as the rubber ages and the carcass responds differently after tens of thousands of miles of flexing. So I don't want to preserve tires by leaving them on the back.

 

92? I was told 88.... I don't remember where I read it, or who told me, but that is the number sticking in my head.

 

I had drama concerning this very issue last fall -- the dealership rotated my tires, and when I called askMINI to see if they were supposed to, I was told that they should not have. I then returned to the dealer with this information and they said it was up to their techs. I calle askMINI again and was told that they do not recommend it, that the dealership would have to un-rotate them if I wanted, but that ultimately it was left up to the service managers at the dealerships.

There is no united front. There is just a lot of aggrivation. *sigh*

 

Yes indeed, you got MINIs "stance" on the subject. It appears to be a C.Y.A. policy for whatever reason. Anybody in-the-know, including MINI mechanics who speak candidly, will tell you otherwise. Policies like this are a result of the general dumbing-down of consumers and our litigious society. Don't let it preclude common sense.

 

My dealership told me I needed to rotate them frequently. Of course I waited way too long & just did it My front tires (now on the rear) look worn in the center & the rears (now on the front) look almost new. I am hoping they will just last thru June when I plan on ditching the runflats anywho .

 

If you have lowering springs, it will be even more so. Has to do with cornering and camber. That said, when you rotate, don't push quite as hard for a couple hundred miles. But like others have posted, rotate often, otherwise you'll be buying lots of pairs of tires!

FWIW,

Matt