BMW xi tire rotation

Hello Members:

What is the accepted tire rotation practice for the 328xi series?

BMW doesn't recommend rotating tires. If you search the forum, there are several discussions as to the pros and cons.

Originally Posted by pastman

Hello Members:

What is the accepted tire rotation practice for the 328xi series?

BMW doesn't recommend rotation, but I do it anyway. As long as you have a square setup, I don't see any reason not to. Sure, some will say the negative camber in the rear will reduce grip until the recently-swapped tires wear in a bit, but for normal, everyday street driving (even including the occasional panic-stop) I don't think performance is affected to such a drastic degree.

I first rotated around 12k miles after noticing some ever-so-slight sawtoothing on the fronts. I've been rotating every 5k or so ever since without issue.

Aside from the longer treadlife, the next most important benefit is getting the wheels off once in a while to clean back there plus add a thin smear of anti-seize to keep the corrosion at bay.

The rotation pattern is dependent on the tires you have. The stock Turanzas my car came with were non directional, so the rotation was an X pattern. The Kuhmo summer tires were directional, so front to back.

I rotate every 5,000 miles or so. That has worked out well for me.

If you have a asymmetrical setup, don't bother rotating.

Also, although I think the BMW advice against rotating is ridiculous, I am not sure rotation buys much with an AWD vehicle.

Does anybody know BMW's rationale for not rotating tires? I run Nokian WR G2's year round (I live in Connecticut). I'm quite pleased with their performance in rain and even substaintial snow, and my days of driving more than 8/10ths in the dry are behind me. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

Originally Posted by pastman

Does anybody know BMW's rationale for not rotating tires? I run Nokian WR G2's year round (I live in Connecticut). I'm quite pleased with their performance in rain and even substaintial snow, and my days of driving more than 8/10ths in the dry are behind me. Any info would be greatly appreciated.

BMW says that it's a safety problem and that you might die (not in so many words). In the meantime, Mercedes, Audi, VW, Germany's equivalent of the AAA all recommend tire rotation...not to mention every other car manufacturer in the world...and every tire manufacturer in the world. BMW marches to its own drum.

You should obey BMW! Suffer the noise that non-rotated tire's produce.

Thanks for the info, I think I will rotate them.

Originally Posted by pastman

Thanks for the info, I think I will rotate them.

Go for it. As long as you have a square setup and non-directional tread, a standard X pattern is totally fine.

Actually, the Nokian WR G2's are assymetrical. My feeling is that the tires that steer the car are subjected to different wear than the tires in the rear of the car. I think that simple "front to back" rotation will be the way to go. Thanks for your input.

Asymmetrical means different size in back and front. You should not rotate under that circumstance.


You may mean directional, in which front to back is fine.

Originally Posted by rtgirard

Go for it. As long as you have a square setup and non-directional tread, a standard X pattern is totally fine.

+1 go with the x pattern change.

Originally Posted by Kilgore Trout

Asymmetrical means different size in back and front.

That's "staggered." An asymmetrical tire has different tread patterns and/or compounds on its inboard and outboard edges. It doesn't affect the rotation pattern unless the tread is also directional.