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      05-06-2015, 06:05 PM   #1
keylime503
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Tire Rotation on a lease

I did a search but didn't find anything specific or recent.

I have a 2015 428i lease with square 17" setup Pirelli Cinturato P7 All-Season RFTs. I've had the car now for just over 6 months (36 month lease) and have around 6,600 miles on the odometer.

I took my car in for it's first service (oil change) about a week ago. When I got the car back with the service paperwork, it says the dealership measured 5/32" tread on rear tires, and 7/32" on the fronts. Assuming the tires started with 10/32" tread (is this accurate?), this means my rear tires are at less than 50% life after just six months. Is this normal? Yes, I drive pretty aggressively, but I don't track my car. Just wondering what the normal tire-life expectancy is.

On another note, should I bother paying for someone to rotate my tires so the front and rear tires wear more evenly? If so, how much should I expect to pay for this at a) BMW dealership ($) and b) Indy tire shop.

Thanks!

Last edited by keylime503; 05-06-2015 at 08:10 PM.. Reason: listed rears twice
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      05-06-2015, 08:00 PM   #2
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Think you have a typo - guessing 7/32" is the FRONTS

Not sure if new tires are exactly 10/32" or not, but it seems to me the dealership would rotate tires for you. I usually do my own rotating, but often where you get the tires will do it free, for life of tire. Just to pay someone else would probably be no more than ~$10 a tire, so ~$40 total perhaps.

eta - I would expect to get perhaps 30,000 miles from all-season OEM Pirellis if driving normal
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      05-06-2015, 08:14 PM   #3
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Yes, I meant fronts. Fixed it now.


Tire rotations is specifically listed as something that is not covered under the BMW Ultimate Service plan, so I assume it would be extra and likely overpriced. Just trying to get an idea of if others think it's worth it to rotate so that I need to buy new tires at the same time for front and back (in case I decide to go non-RFT). Then again most people on this forum probably have a staggered setup...
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      05-06-2015, 08:26 PM   #4
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I'm not sure anyone would recommend NOT rotating your tires for the life of them. Sucks BMW doesn't include it since no other shop will do it free since you didn't buy them there. There's also no jack or spare so you cant do it yourself if you wanted. Leaves you with no options really. Not sure I'd tell you to do it every 6,500 miles because of the cost, but perhaps every 10,000 or so would get the job done.

Just my .02
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      05-06-2015, 08:33 PM   #5
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Are you two serious? Of course you rotate and balance your tires. No warranty will cover this, it's a wear issue. Just like you'll need to buy your own tires.

KeyLime, is this your first car or something? rotating and balancing your tires not only makes them wear evenly, but helps with ride, steering, braking, and cornering. Lease or not, you must still maintain your car dude. You're paying good money for it, it's yours and your responsibility.

Your wear sounds about right for RFTs, as they rarely last beyond 16K-20K. Hard braking wears tires out much quicker also, so keep that in mind during the stoplight drag racing.
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      05-06-2015, 08:37 PM   #6
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i have 30,000 miles on my original tires.
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      05-06-2015, 08:43 PM   #7
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltidef32 View Post
You're wear sounds about right for RFTs, as they rarely last beyond 16K-20K.
http://www.edmunds.com/bmw/3-series-...000-miles.html
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      05-06-2015, 08:44 PM   #8
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Quote:
Originally Posted by justinnum1 View Post
i have 30,000 miles on my original tires.
Yeah, but what does your tread look like? Take some pictures and post them.

Performance tires, particularly Summer tires, don't last long, RFTs even less.

If you drive like grandma on smooth, cool streets and highways, your tires last longer. Smooth highway driving makes them last longer also.

However, if you drive a BMW likes it's meant to be driven and any city driving, it'll take your miles down on tires.

If you can't afford the cost of regular performance tire replacement, first, ditch the RFTs, and honestly, don't get a performance car.

Camrys are for drivers who want to buy the cheap $99 tires from Wal-Mart only once every 4 years.
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      05-06-2015, 09:03 PM   #9
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Way to come in and derail a thread with babbling grandma wearing summer tires on a walmart Camry BS.

OP - unless you know someone that can help you rotate, I guess you'll have to get a shop to rotate for you. They can toss your car on a lift and do it in under 15 minutes, so it shouldn't cost too much. You're smart to ask, as it needs to be done at some point to keep things in proper order. If you keep the car long enough to get new tires, that shop could likely rotate for free going forward.
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      05-06-2015, 09:26 PM   #10
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Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltidef32 View Post
Yeah, but what does your tread look like? Take some pictures and post them.
From the link I posted above, Pirelli P7 RFT after 25k:
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      05-06-2015, 09:52 PM   #11
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Billfitz
Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltidef32 View Post
Yeah, but what does your tread look like? Take some pictures and post them.
From the link I posted above, Pirelli P7 RFT after 25k:
[img]http://services.edmunds-media.com/im...212153_717.jpg[/img]
See my second post, as I addressed possible variations. Those are also no season tires and are horrible for performance.

No season tires last a bit longer than Summer rubber. Location and driving style impact wear.

One anecdote in favor of longer wear doesn't invalidate many years of evidence to the contrary. Heck, read the tire and wheel forum here to see what real world experiences have been. Plan for the worst and hope for the best.

Tarheel, my posts have 2 audiences, one for the current active forum and the other for future readers who come here to learn. Everything I said is valid. Fact is, not many people know cars and definitely not tires. The average person views them as an afterthought; they are not.

Tires are the first and most important consideration about a car. A guy asking should tires be rotated over 36 months cries out to learn from someone who knows better. Lease or not, bad tires will kill you or leave you stranded. Good tires will save your life and get you home. The advice you gave was also very good.

I ride Michelin Pilot Super Sport tires on my new F32. These are tires for the initiated. The RFTs are stacked in the garage where they belong.
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      05-07-2015, 01:56 AM   #12
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I never insinuated that you shouldn't rotate tires over 36,000 miles, that's ridiculous. I came here to ask if 1. BMW will rotate tires under the maintence service (as this is my first BMW under warranty), and 2. Since most people on this forum have a staggered setup (sport/msport lines), I was wondering what people here recommend since my tires IMO are wearing far faster than expected.
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      05-07-2015, 05:46 AM   #13
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keylime503
I never insinuated that you shouldn't rotate tires over 36,000 miles, that's ridiculous. I came here to ask if 1. BMW will rotate tires under the maintence service (as this is my first BMW under warranty), and 2. Since most people on this forum have a staggered setup (sport/msport lines), I was wondering what people here recommend since my tires IMO are wearing far faster than expected.
Ok, but read the language of your first post.

You said your tires are the square set up. Then at the end you ask "should I even bother to rotate the tires".

If you have a square set up and the front is wearing quicker, normally it would obviously be yes. However, this is a RWD car, unless it's an X Drive, so you always try to keep the newest tread on the wheels that move the car. What you always need to do is have your tires balanced even if no rotation.

I have a staggered set up, tires aren't asymmetrical, so I get them balanced and side to side rotated each oil change or as needed for wear. Cost = about $70 at dealer.

Also, BMW or not, this is always the rule and no company will take care of wear maintenance, if they did, that would be desperate; BMW is not.
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      05-07-2015, 08:04 AM   #14
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I know I've seen this in other threads too, but In the owners manual, BMW specifically advises against rotating between front and rear axles. Their theory is that once the tires are seasoned in place, rotating would change the handling characteristics of the vehicle. I have an x drive, and my OEM Pirelli's were down to 4/32" at 26k. I replaced them with the new Bridgestone DriveGuard RF's...don't want to mess with changing tires. They're noticeably better than the Pirelli's.
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      05-07-2015, 08:45 AM   #15
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Quote:
Originally Posted by keylime503 View Post
Yes, I meant fronts. Fixed it now.


Tire rotations is specifically listed as something that is not covered under the BMW Ultimate Service plan, so I assume it would be extra and likely overpriced. Just trying to get an idea of if others think it's worth it to rotate so that I need to buy new tires at the same time for front and back (in case I decide to go non-RFT). Then again most people on this forum probably have a staggered setup...
If its leased and you are going non rft do it now so you can put rft back on at lease return. What does leasing have to do with tire rotation?
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      05-07-2015, 08:45 AM   #16
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Quote:
Originally Posted by philbake View Post
I know I've seen this in other threads too, but In the owners manual, BMW specifically advises against rotating between front and rear axles. Their theory is that once the tires are seasoned in place, rotating would change the handling characteristics of the vehicle.
That can occur if the rotation period is too long. If you want to get the maximum tire life every 4,000 miles is about right. That makes having a jack and wrench a good idea.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=43
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      05-07-2015, 12:42 PM   #17
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[QUOTE=keylime503;17868133]
Tire rotations is specifically listed as something that is not covered under the BMW Ultimate Service plan, so I assume it would be extra and likely overpriced. /QUOTE]


Quote:
Originally Posted by rolltidef32 View Post
Are you two serious? Of course you rotate and balance your tires. No warranty will cover this, it's a wear issue. Just like you'll need to buy your own tires.
s yours and your responsibility.
rolltide, he didn't say WARRANTY, he said the maintenance plan doesn't cover it. Rotation IS a maintenance issue and should be covered, except BMW doesn't believe in rotations.


Quote:
Originally Posted by Heel328 View Post
I'm not sure anyone would recommend NOT rotating your tires for the life of them.
I agree, and yet BMW is ADAMANT that it not needed.



Keylime, as was mentioned, you can get them rotated at any tire shop (Big O, Discount, ect, ect), if anyone wants to charge you more than $20 to do a rotation laugh at them. It is recommended to get them rotated every 5-7k miles depending on driving style.

New tires can vary depending on manufacture and style to be between 9/32 and 13/32. You can check Tirerack for the specific specifications on the tires you have. Looks like your's come at 10/32.
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      05-07-2015, 12:53 PM   #18
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Thumper333 View Post
I agree, and yet BMW is ADAMANT that it not needed.
The Devil's Advocate in me says that since to be effective the average user would have to rotate every four months BMW just doesn't want to part with that much potential cost, and they're not going to say that something that Ultimate Service doesn't cover is an item that should be done. It does go against what the tire industry has been saying for longer than most of us have been alive.
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      05-07-2015, 03:13 PM   #19
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Suggest you get an alignment as well as a tire balance. At first I was skeptical the F30's alignment would get so molested after just a year and 4 months of use but when I took mine in to have it done, it was really off. Bad alignment will kill tires. If you're really unlikely it kills tire from the inside first so you don't notice. Then one day you see a white thread on the inner edge of the tire. Corded = Dead.

Looks like f30 could really benefit from an annual alignment.
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      05-07-2015, 04:11 PM   #20
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Billfitz View Post
The Devil's Advocate in me says that since to be effective the average user would have to rotate every four months BMW just doesn't want to part with that much potential cost, and they're not going to say that something that Ultimate Service doesn't cover is an item that should be done. It does go against what the tire industry has been saying for longer than most of us have been alive.
That is probably not far off if not dead on. For them it's volume. It doesn't cost much in actual cost to rotate tires....but in real cost (tech time, SA time, loaner, ect, ect) it would be extremely expensive for them.


Quote:
Originally Posted by menncars View Post
Bad alignment will kill tires. If you're really unlikely it kills tire from the inside first so you don't notice. Then one day you see a white thread on the inner edge of the tire. Corded = Dead.

Proper and regular rotations help avoid this as they will visually inspect the tires at the same time and call out uneven wear before it gets that bad.
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      05-07-2015, 05:23 PM   #21
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Tread measurements at the dealer

Just so we are clear, the tread depth reported is to the wear bars, which is 2mm less than the mfg depth. So if the tire mfg says. 10 mm origional, it is really 8 mm to the wear bars. Pirelli, Michelin and Continental all require proof of rotation to claim a mileage warrantee adjustment.
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      05-07-2015, 05:53 PM   #22
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Billfitz
Quote:
Originally Posted by philbake View Post
I know I've seen this in other threads too, but In the owners manual, BMW specifically advises against rotating between front and rear axles. Their theory is that once the tires are seasoned in place, rotating would change the handling characteristics of the vehicle.
That can occur if the rotation period is too long. If you want to get the maximum tire life every 4,000 miles is about right. That makes having a jack and wrench a good idea.
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=43
Interesting. Thanks. I purchased the new Bridgestone DriveGuard Run Flats from Discount...they rotate/balance for free every 3,000 miles.
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