Doing own wheel rotation in Aus- my learnings

[doggy1]

Today, for the first time, I rotated the wheels on my 3LR. Approx 17,000kms. Total time 1hr25m which included getting the car out of the garage, emptying the boot, assembling materials, doing the work, retrieving a lug nut which roiled down a drain which was under the car, returning car to garage and refilling boot, doing tyre reset in the car.

I used two pucks, one 10T chassis stand, 200NM torque wrench set to 175NM. 21mm socket with short extension. Wheel Brace (good quality). two wheel choks.

Tyre wear looks good and same as far as I can tell front and rear.

I did passenger side first, jacking the front. I first loosened all nuts and discovered to my surprise that every nut was about half the specified torque! Glad I did this work now before the wheels fell off......

The front wheel was very high (250mm or more) before I got the rear off the ground and with the chassis stand under there, the rear had about 80mm clearance. The jack managed but it would not have gone much further (spec says max 380mm).

I used a Vevor 2.5tonne single cylinder trolley jack. This worked fine. However a 3 tonne twin cylinder would be better.

I minimised the wheel-off time for the jacked wheel as the jack is less trustworthy than the chassis stand.

For the driver's side, I tried jacking the rear and this was slightly easier so I'll do it that way next time.

Overall, a simple and relatively quick job. I'll be faster next time. The wear probably did not need rotation, but it won't do any harm and it is good to have the wheel nuts all at the correct torque. I cannot imagine they have all loosened themselves so the conclusion is that they were probably not torqued right at the factory.

 

[ZeeDoktor]

I thought tyre rotation should be done across: front left to rear right, front right to rear left?

I'm not a car guy, and definitely not implying your front/rear same side swap is wrong. Just wondering?

 

[doggy1]

There are several ways of doing it and possibly diagonal swaps are better than front-back with a model 3 which is rear wheel drive. Certainly, directional tyres cannot be done diagonally- they have to be done as I did. However, in my case, given the minimal wear differences there is likely to be no difference for me. Doing diagonal in a home scenario is somewhat more difficult as you really need all wheels off the ground or do diagonal corners by jacking passenger rear then a stand under front left then jack up front right enough for stand under rear right. Then the reverse. Also excellent chocking. Perhaps I'll have a shot at the diagonals sometime. Tyre places I have asked (for ICE cars without special directional tyres) have usually recommended straight front/rear swap.

In summary, I suspect doing a cross rotation might be a tiny bit better for an AWD car but is more effort and in my case I doubt it is worthwhile.

 

[paulp]

I thought tyre rotation should be done across: front left to rear right, front right to rear left?

I'm not a car guy, and definitely not implying your front/rear same side swap is wrong. Just wondering?

My model s tyres are directional and cannot swap sides. Also different sizes so cannot swap front to back either

 

[Vostok]

In summary, I suspect doing a cross rotation might be a tiny bit better for an AWD car but is more effort

Yeah, I just pay someone else to do it for that reason. Too much time and effort, even if I had the right equipment.

 

[Skurfer]

Not worth paying someone for the very minimal difference a cross rotation makes.
I do my own rotation and 30 minutes absolute max. Very easy if you have the tools.

 

[Quickst]

To do a cross rotations I would need 2 jacks?

And just to confirm jacking up one end -say the rear end will also cause the front end to be jacked up as well?

Is there a way to jack up the front or rear of the car by putting the jack on some part of the suspension?

 

[doggy1]

To do a cross rotations I would need 2 jacks?

No. Jacking at any one of the four specified points, using protective pucks, will raise both wheels on that side. However, you have to get the wheel closer to the jack at least 250mm up (at least, on a 3LR) to get the other one off the ground. You can then slide a chassis stand under the other puck on the same side. Then when you drop the jack, the car will be suspended on the chassis jack with the wheel closer to it off the ground.

And just to confirm jacking up one end -say the rear end will also cause the front end to be jacked up as well?

Confirmed. That is what I did. I did the passenger side by jacking the front then as a trial I jacked the other side by jacking the rear.

I do my own rotation and 30 minutes absolute max. Very easy if you have the tools.

Yes, I agree on the timing. Probably could do the basic stuff in 30mins. My timing was somewhat longer (but still acceptable to me) because I included quite a few other things (including fishing the lug out of a drain which was under the car and required removing the drain grill). I also took things very carefully as I have done lots of ICEs but first time with the Tesla and I wanted to avoid damaging anything.

 

[jamesgo]

My model s tyres are directional and cannot swap sides. Also different sizes so cannot swap front to back either

Same as Model Y Performance

 

[Quickst]

No. Jacking at any one of the four specified points, using protective pucks, will raise both wheels on that side

So to jack up both the front wheels using only one jack:

1) jack up one of the rear jackpoint
2) put a chassis stand under the front jack point which is also raised (though not by much)
3) release the jack from rear jack point
4) jack up the other front jack point

Question will the front be raised enough to for a chassis stand if the rear is jacked up?

 

[paulp]

So to jack up both the front wheels using only one jack:

1) jack up one of the rear jackpoint
2) put a chassis stand under the front jack point which is also raised (though not by much)
3) release the jack from rear jack point
4) jack up the other front jack point

Question will the front be raised enough to for a chassis stand if the rear is jacked up?

If you join (free) supercheapauto you can buy a reasonably decent compact 1600kg hydraulic jack (with wheels) for $78. I use 2 jacks when getting the wife’s wheels re-painted, which is often . I prefer this method as everything can move as the car elevates, and I have a block of wood to go under each jack whilst the wheels are off. I also hide the car keys to prevent her driving off with two wheels. Model S also doesn’t get 2 wheels off the ground with one jack.

 

[Quickst]

reasonably decent compact 1600kg hydraulic jack

I've got a 2T trolley jack. Cheap enough to get another one

But, just checking there is no jackable point under the car - like how we can usually jack up an ICE car by jacking at one of the suspension points or diff?

 

[doggy1]

Question will the front be raised enough to for a chassis stand if the rear is jacked up?

I've answered this several times now! With my 3LR, I can jack any one of the four points and raise the two wheels on that side off the ground. Also far enough to get a strong chassis stand under the (other) puck. I cannot answer for a RWD model 3 (though I anticipate it will be fine) but a 3P will be the same as the 3LR.

 

[doggy1]

But, just checking there is no jackable point under the car

There may well be other jackable points. However, Tesla provides four (which require pucks) for safe jacking that avoids any risk to the battery. I have no intention of using other than the defined jacking points and also have no need for anything else. I'd be extremely cautious jacking in a non-recommended location.

 

[Onshore]

Same as Model Y Performance

MYP tyres are staggered but not directional.

So you can swap left to right, but not front to back. In Australia it's normally front left that wears fastest (due to roundabouts) so you can switch that one to front right after 15,000 or so.

 

[ZeeDoktor]

You can avoiding those front swaps by taking every other roundabout in LHD fashion!

Incidentally, uneven wear caused by the coriolis force in the southern hemisphere (more wear on the right side tyres) in conjunction with roundabouts causing more wear on the left side tyres is the only scientifically defensible reason for driving on the other side than the majority of the world. And yes, the effect is orders (plural) of magnitude lower than that caused by turning the car... But it is real. Just talk to any railway operator and see which side of the tracks and wheels sees more wear.

 

[doggy1]

You can avoiding those front swaps by taking every other roundabout in LHD fashion!

Excellent advice! I'm kicking myself that I didn't think about that previously and shall take immediate implementation steps. For a number of years, we spent 6 months per annum, mainly in France, plus 104 trips to the US in my working days, so quite experienced in roundabouts the other direction. Doing it in a high powered car should mean that the other motorists will hardly notice...........

 

[jr_gn]

So to jack up both the front wheels using only one jack:

1) jack up one of the rear jackpoint
2) put a chassis stand under the front jack point which is also raised (though not by much)
3) release the jack from rear jack point
4) jack up the other front jack point

Question will the front be raised enough to for a chassis stand if the rear is jacked up?

Just a quick question.

Most jack stands have a kind of "hand-like" shape at the top, because normally they go kind around an axle. Do you use the Tesla pucks with it and just lest the two points sink into it, or do the jacks need another kind of adapter? Thx

 

[Quickst]

Most jack stands

Mine is a roller Jack. It has a round dish. I would just use a block of wood for example

 

[doggy1]

Most jack stands have a kind of "hand-like" shape at the top, because normally they go kind around an axle. Do you use the Tesla pucks with it and just lest the two points sink into it, or do the jacks need another kind of adapter? Thx

Yes, my jack stands are like this and I just use them directly with the Tesla pucks. The pucks do not end up damaged. The jack is a trolley jack which fits the pucks okay.