DIY tire rotation

[gtae07]

For me it is faster to rotate myself at home. Walmart is 15 mins away, and there might be a wait too. Takes me 15 mins for simple front to back rotation.

I've found it to be far cheaper and faster to change my own oil and rotate my own tires (and for that matter, to do most fixes/changes to stuff in the house). So I have all the equipment now and should be able to do the Tesla's tires in less time than it would take to just drive somewhere.

 

[Eto Demerzel]

What is the torque spec on the lugnuts?

 

[gmenounos]

My Model 3 won't be due for a tire rotation for another few hundred miles, but I plan on using this: RennStand - The RennStand Jack Stand - RennStand
It's worked great for my Golf so I bought the adapters for the Model 3: RennStand Jack Pad Compatible with Tesla / Porsche (18M-P08) - RennStand
I bought 2 stands but you could get by pretty safely with just one if you made sure to stay out from under the car.

 

[shyboy]

If doing breaks or working under the car yes I always do Jack plus stands.

If just rotating tires I think your ok with just a lift. If car falls while it would be freaky its not gonna crush you as when your under it.

car not gonna crush you, but the repair cost would definitely crush you. LOL!!

 

[iamnid]

What is the torque spec on the lugnuts?

129 lb feet.

I also do it myself. I got a new set of tires a few months back. Had to go back the next day because they didn't fasten the stem properly so I lost 10lbs over night in one tire. THEN, they damaged the rim when they were fixing the stem. It took a week to get the rim repaired. Upon washing the car for the first time since the change I noticed slight damage to other rims as well as that the stems no longer matched the color of the rims and some other damage where they removed (scratched off) the weights from the previous balancing.

I've always rotated the tires on this car and we continue to do so despite it being free from America's Tire.

 

[Ghia]

Cause that's where the shock/strut and spring that hold up the weight of the vehicle is?

See how the wheel is rotated with the top tipped into the wheel well, and the bottom out?
Guess I prefer attachment to some authorized lift point.
Might be fine, just rather not risk it.
I did the rotation last night, using front to back swap.
I used two jacks with Tesla rubber hockey pucks.
Raised the first jack half way, then the other halfway, then back to the other till the rear wheel came off ground, then back to the other till the front wheel came off the ground.
Used a pneumatic impact wrench to remove the lug nuts.
Installed lug nuts by starting with fingers, followed by spinning them down on a very light setting with the impact wrench, followed by tightening about half way (just a guess here) with a torque wrench, followed by tightening to the torque spec. on the final torque. Used the star pattern on all tightening.
The 129 ft lb torque is a little more than I have become used to on other vehicles, but surely is needed on this EV.
This was my first close look at the Model Y components located behind the wheels.
Performed an inspection when I had the wheels off, and took the opportunity to partially clean the wheels.
Was impressed with the size and apparent strength of some of the components.
All went well.

 

[Eto Demerzel]

placing jackstands at suspension mounting area is acceptable. They are holding up the entire vehicle. It's better from the mount side and not the arm side, but wherever you get good purchase is best. The red car is just fine for a cross-rotation pattern.

lifting the entire side of the vehicle with a scissor and floor jack, and no jackstands isn't.
If the jack slips, that's at least two rotors and some body damage you have to fix. If your legs happen to be under there, then well, that's a really bad day.
Your car and legs worth another $300 for another floor jack and some stands?

Thanks @iamnid for the torque spec.

 

[Goobers]

View attachment 951323
See how the wheel is rotated with top tipped into the wheel well, and the bottom out?
Guess I prefer attachment to some authorized lift point.
Might be fine, just rather not risk it.
I did the rotation last night, using front to back swap.
I used two jacks with Tesla rubber hockey pucks.
Raised the first jack half way, then the other halfway, the back to the other up till rear wheel came off ground, then back to the other till the front one came off the ground.
Used a pneumatic impact wrench to remove the lug nuts.
The 129 ft lb torque is a little more than I have become used to on other vehicles, but surely is needed on this EV.
Performed an inspection when I had the wheels off, and took the opportunity to clean the wheel a little.
All went well.

Not really sure what you're trying to get at.

The wheel being tilted has little to nothing to do with the jack being there. It's just because it's been unbolted and left there.

While 129 ftlb is a "lot" by some standards... WHEN you tighten to 129 is very important. I don't know about you, but I usually don't tighten to torque while on jack stand or floor jacks no matter WHERE you put it. And that because without a parking brake (many rear wheel) or park paw when only up on one side (ICE drive wheel), it'll just spin the moment I overcome the inertia. My 2010 Honda Fit is a manual transmission that didn't have a parking paw, so whether the front was up on both wheels or only just one side, there's nothing to stop it from spinning until I lower it back down.

So, I usually just do a bit of hand tightening, then get what little torque I can with a wrench before lowering the vehicle enough for the wheels to grip the ground. Then I do one round of tightening to torque spec and then lower all the way before doing another. Finally, I drive it around the block a bit before doing one last round of torque checks.

If you want to talk risk.. well, I'd say being on jack stands and trying to torque it down (assuming the wheels don't freely spin) has positive and negative between stands at the wheel versus stands at the jack point. Assuming you're pushing down, it's "safer" when you're doing the front left and rear right corners because you're closer to the jack point as you're pushing down. Because of the pivot point being the wheel, the stand is counteracting your push. But conversely, it's "less safe" on the other two wheels, because now you're pushing away from the stand around the wrench's pivot point. This actually means the pivot is no longer the wheel, but at the stand itself.

With some theory stretching, you could even say the front left/rear right is actually a little similar. You are applying a force on a lever (the wrench), which travels down to apply some of the force on the pivot point (the wheel)... and since that wheel is sticking OUT away from the two/four support points, you are creating a different pivot point that you can ACTUALLY move around. So, if you really want to be super duper safe, you'd want jack points that are further out than the wheels. So that no matter where you push, you're between two stands.

Well, in reality, it's a 5k+ lb object vs you at 100(?)/200(?)/300(?)/400(?) lbs?... so it's not as big a deal either way.

 

[SSonnentag]

I thought this a good post. However, how do you know the place you put the jack stands is a good one for holding the weight of the vehicle?

Those are the points the car is supported by by design when the tires are on the ground.

 

[SSonnentag]

...park paw... parking paw...

Just an FYI: It's a parking pawl.

pawl [pôl]

NOUN

1. a pivoted curved bar or lever whose free end engages with the teeth of a cogwheel or ratchet so that the wheel or ratchet can only turn or move one way.

 

[Eto Demerzel]

Not really sure what you're trying to get at.

The wheel being tilted has little to nothing to do with the jack being there. It's just because it's been unbolted and left there.

While 129 ftlb is a "lot" by some standards... WHEN you tighten to 129 is very important. I don't know about you, but I usually don't tighten to torque while on jack stand or floor jacks no matter WHERE you put it. And that because without a parking brake (many rear wheel) or park paw when only up on one side (ICE drive wheel), it'll just spin the moment I overcome the inertia. My 2010 Honda Fit is a manual transmission that didn't have a parking paw, so whether the front was up on both wheels or only just one side, there's nothing to stop it from spinning until I lower it back down.

So, I usually just do a bit of hand tightening, then get what little torque I can with a wrench before lowering the vehicle enough for the wheels to grip the ground. Then I do one round of tightening to torque spec and then lower all the way before doing another. Finally, I drive it around the block a bit before doing one last round of torque checks.

If you want to talk risk.. well, I'd say being on jack stands and trying to torque it down (assuming the wheels don't freely spin) has positive and negative between stands at the wheel versus stands at the jack point. Assuming you're pushing down, it's "safer" when you're doing the front left and rear right corners because you're closer to the jack point as you're pushing down. Because of the pivot point being the wheel, the stand is counteracting your push. But conversely, it's "less safe" on the other two wheels, because now you're pushing away from the stand around the wrench's pivot point. This actually means the pivot is no longer the wheel, but at the stand itself.

With some theory stretching, you could even say the front left/rear right is actually a little similar. You are applying a force on a lever (the wrench), which travels down to apply some of the force on the pivot point (the wheel)... and since that wheel is sticking OUT away from the two/four support points, you are creating a different pivot point that you can ACTUALLY move around. So, if you really want to be super duper safe, you'd want jack points that are further out than the wheels. So that no matter where you push, you're between two stands.

Well, in reality, it's a 5k+ lb object vs you at 100(?)/200(?)/300(?)/400(?) lbs?... so it's not as big a deal either way.

No, you are correct. Should be torqued to spec on the ground.

 

[YW555]

Do you guys use a socket extension when torquing the nuts with a torque wrench? I find that with a longer impact socket, the wrench handle is still really close to the wheel that I have trouble wrapping my hand around the wrench handle.

 

[Kairide]

You guys are making a 20 minute tire rotation too confusing and expensive. All you need is a floor jack, an impact wrench and a torque wrench. Lift one side of the Y so both wheels are off the ground. Remove the lug nuts with the impact wrench on both wheels. Swap front to back, tighten the lug nuts with the impact wrench <129 ft lbs.
Lower the Y, tighten the lug nuts to 129 ft lbs with a torque wrench, repeat on the other side.
Instead of spending $200+ for each Rennstand that you’ll use twice a year for 10 mins, buy an impact wrench. Much better use of the money and will make rotating your tires a breeze.

 

[Tha_Ape]

You guys are making a 20 minute tire rotation too confusing and expensive. All you need is a floor jack, an impact wrench and a torque wrench. Lift one side of the Y so both wheels are off the ground. Remove the lug nuts with the impact wrench on both wheels. Swap front to back, tighten the lug nuts with the impact wrench <129 ft lbs.
Lower the Y, tighten the lug nuts to 129 ft lbs with a torque wrench, repeat on the other side.
Instead of spending $200+ for each Rennstand that you’ll use twice a year for 10 mins, buy an impact wrench. Much better use of the money and will make rotating your tires a breeze.

My impact can't break loose 129ftlb can't justify buying a new one so I turned it into a 3 tool (plus jack) operation... I use a breaker bar to loosen, then the impact to take off the lugs and put them back on. Finally a torque wrench to tighten.

Until I need to do suspension work, I'm not going to worry about jack stands. I can do the brakes with the jack. I generally put the wheel I removed under the side of the car in the unlikely event the jack fails while I'm changing pads or rotors. I don't even plan on doing that often... maybe when my local track allows EVs again.

If I need to get under the car for something else, I have ramps

 

[Daekwan]

You guys are making a 20 minute tire rotation too confusing and expensive. All you need is a floor jack, an impact wrench and a torque wrench. Lift one side of the Y so both wheels are off the ground. Remove the lug nuts with the impact wrench on both wheels. Swap front to back, tighten the lug nuts with the impact wrench <129 ft lbs.
Lower the Y, tighten the lug nuts to 129 ft lbs with a torque wrench, repeat on the other side.
Instead of spending $200+ for each Rennstand that you’ll use twice a year for 10 mins, buy an impact wrench. Much better use of the money and will make rotating your tires a breeze.

It really is this simple. Granted it takes me about 15mins per side.. as Im usually super careful and double-check everything twice (plus either the lug nuts and/or tire always seem to roll away lol). But its amazing to me that people would actually pay Tesla $60 to come and do this in their driveway. I totally understand everybody is NOT mechanically inclined.. and that others flat out don't want to do this type of maintenance. But considering how much I drive it would be throwing away money to pay somebody to do this 3-4 times a year.

As for the free rotations at the local Discount TIre, Costco, Walmart, etc. That kinda sucks too because I have to wait. My time is probably even more valuable than my money. And I cant imagine sitting in Costco for 2 hours waiting for them to get to my car because of a free rotation.

 

[Kairide]

My impact can't break loose 129ftlb can't justify buying a new one so I turned it into a 3 tool (plus jack) operation... I use a breaker bar to loosen, then the impact to take off the lugs and put them back on. Finally a torque wrench to tighten.

Really? I bought the cheapest 1/2” Ryobi impact wrench I could find. Cost me $75 and easily breaks the 129ft lbs.
I could never go back to breaker bars and manually wrenching all the lug nuts.

 

[Ghia]

Not really sure what you're trying to get at.

See how the wheel is tilted, top side inward, bottom side outward? Are you saying this wheel is hanging loosely on the lug studs and is partially on?
Either way, this doesn't look too bad on the Tesla, but I have seen a few things trying to lift from this area in my limited experience with other vehicles that I really didn't like. With my Chevy Volt I would put it on 4 jack stands and do a rotation, but they have the unibody lift points, and some additional authorized jack points in the front, and then I was okay with where I put the stands in the back, that one was totally my call. Like your lift, I had 4 lift points and 4 different jack stand points.

Forgot to mention, I did chalk the wheels on the opposite side where the wheels are on the ground. And I do final torque down on nuts when the wheels are back on the ground. We lost a family member from a vehicle falling on him. So I am a little wiggy about getting under vehicles. I have been under vehicles occasionally, but only if they are on their wheels, solid ramps or on jack stands with redundancy. I am okay with two car jacks holding my Tesla up just for a tire rotation. I can promise you, I am not under anything during that work. BTW, jack stands bought in pairs have a rating, that rating is for the pair. Half it for the rating on each stand.

 

[fholbert]

I've found it to be far cheaper and faster to change my own oil and rotate my own tires (and for that matter, to do most fixes/changes to stuff in the house). So I have all the equipment now and should be able to do the Tesla's tires in less time than it would take to just drive somewhere.

What’s the cost and time involved to change oil on your Tesla?

 

[fholbert]

As for the free rotations at the local Discount TIre, Costco, Walmart, etc. That kinda sucks too because I have to wait. My time is probably even more valuable than my money. And I cant imagine sitting in Costco for 2 hours waiting for them to get to my car because of a free rotation.

Seem like a good time to catch up on company email. I make an appointment and stop on the way home from work.

 

[bfayer62]

What’s the cost and time involved to change oil on your Tesla?

For an MY. between $25 and $60 for each filter (depending on where you buy), and about $35 a quart for the oil. I think about 1.5 quarts for the front and 2.25 for the rear. How long it takes depends on your skill level, should be less than an hour for each end.

You already know he was talking about his ICE vehicles, but you asked and this is the answer.