How do you rotate tires on tesla?

[SomeJoe7777]

So we could try estimate if they'd work with our existing jacks; Could you share the height that your floor jack is able to drop to, and how much too high is that?

OK I just measured everything:

Height of my floor jack from ground to top surface of the jacking plate: 3.5 inches
Height to the top surface of the Jackpoint jack pad (with rubber shim) when sitting on top of the floor jack: 6.0 inches
Clearance under the Model 3 from the ground to the jack points: 5.5 inches

So my floor jack + jack pad combination is 0.5 inch too tall.

The Jackpoint low profile pads provide about 0.75 inches additional clearance, so with these I should be able to have a total height of 5.25" which should just fit.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Skip Every Other Tire Rotation

I think you could skip every-other interval. Here's the math (percentages are theoretical but I believe still accurate if scaled differently) -->

<snip>

So rotate at first 6,250, then at 13,000 mile intervals after that. Does this make sense?

If all you are worried about are tread depths, and your tires wear evenly like that, then it's probably fine.

However, there are minor alignment differences at every wheel point. Each tire will have some imperceptible wear that may eventually cause pulling to one side, uneven braking, or other asymmetries. Also, as tires wear, the internal belts and filaments get used to flexing in one particular direction. Later in the tire's life, this will cause excess noise unless it's evened out with rotations.

I'm a fan of frequent rotations -- I rotate every 5000, with the first rotation for a new set of tires early at 2500. I also like rotation patterns that change sides of the car and rotate each tire to each position, like rearward cross.

Caveat: Note that you cannot switch sides of the car with directional tires without unmounting them from the rims and remounting them. Tesla does not use any directional tires as their OEM tires, but there are a few aftermarket tires that fit the Tesla that are directional, so watch out for that. In addition, if you have staggered tires (currently not provided on the Model 3, but come as the OEM setup on the performance model S & X), those cannot change which axle they're on. Front tires must stay on the front and rear tires must stay on the rear since they're different sizes.

 

[SlicedBr3ad]

Thank you all for replying! This helped tremendously. For model 3 aero with default tires, it is expected to A). rotate front to back on the same side, then back to front on the same side OR B). rotate front to back on the same side, then back to front on the Opposite sides?

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Thank you all for replying! This helped tremendously. For model 3 aero with default tires, it is expected to A). rotate front to back on the same side, then back to front on the same side OR B). rotate front to back on the same side, then back to front on the Opposite sides?

There's several different ways to rotate tires, all are valid. And, any perodic rotation, no matter what the pattern, is better than no rotation at all.

My personal preference is the rearward-cross pattern, which is recommended for rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles. This covers the entire Tesla lineup.

See here for an example of the rotation patterns graphically.

Rearward Cross: Used for rear-wheel drive and all-wheel drive vehicles.
X-Pattern: Can be used as an alternative for all-wheel drive vehicles.
Forward Cross: Used for front-wheel drive vehicles.
Front-To-Back, also known as Same-Side-Swap: Used for any vehicle with directional tires.
Side-to-Side, also known as Same-Axle-Swap: Used for any vehicle with staggered tires.

If your tires are both directional and staggered, you cannot rotate the tires at all in any pattern unless you unmount and remount the tires on the wheels.

There are a few additional rotation patterns if you want to rotate your full-size spare tire in, but that doesn't apply to any Tesla since the Tesla's don't come with a spare tire. It generally doesn't apply to almost any vehicle now, since even those that come with a spare are using a compact spare.

 

[SlicedBr3ad]

Can anyone confirm if tired on aero wheels are non directional?

 

[Chickenlittle]

Serious question.

Based on the fact there is little to no maintenance, I don't expect to be going to change oil and rotate tires at the dealer or a shop. So what now? How does a person ensure proper tire maintenance on tesla and specifically m3?

Step on accelerator and all 4 tires rotate at once if on the road

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Can anyone confirm if tired on aero wheels are non directional?

None of the OEM tires that are originally provided with any Tesla are directional. There are a few aftermarket tires that fit the Tesla's that are directional, but those would be ones that you would buy.

 

[ℬête Noire]

None of the OEM tires that are originally provided with any Tesla are directional. There are a few aftermarket tires that fit the Tesla's that are directional, but those would be ones that you would buy.

Yeah, it just boggles my mind that all the effort put into the Cd of the vehicle, and then of sculpting the aero covers but can't be bothered to mirror flip a mould (I expect they are injected?) for half the machines putting out the wheel covers.

I know the design sort of looks like they may pull airflow out going both ways, anyway, but do they really work as well in reverse rotation on the "wrong" side? *shrug*

 

[brkaus]

OK I just measured everything:

Height of my floor jack from ground to top surface of the jacking plate: 3.5 inches
Height to the top surface of the Jackpoint jack pad (with rubber shim) when sitting on top of the floor jack: 6.0 inches
Clearance under the Model 3 from the ground to the jack points: 5.5 inches

So my floor jack + jack pad combination is 0.5 inch too tall.

The Jackpoint low profile pads provide about 0.75 inches additional clearance, so with these I should be able to have a total height of 5.25" which should just fit.

Cheap solution. Get 4 2x4 blocks about 1 ft long each. Put one in front of each tire (or at the ends your going to jack up). Drive forward onto the blocks. Now the car is 1.5" higher and and no low profile jack is required.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Cheap solution. Get 4 2x4 blocks about 1 ft long each. Put one in front of each tire (or at the ends your going to jack up). Drive forward onto the blocks. Now the car is 1.5" higher and and no low profile jack is required.

Ya, I considered that. Still debating whether to use that nearly-zero-cost option, get the low profile pads, or perhaps get one of the QuickJacks (quickjack.com). I rotate tires enough that it would be very useful.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Yeah, it just boggles my mind that all the effort put into the Cd of the vehicle, and then of sculpting the aero covers but can't be bothered to mirror flip a mould (I expect they are injected?) for half the machines putting out the wheel covers.

I know the design sort of looks like they may pull airflow out going both ways, anyway, but do they really work as well in reverse rotation on the "wrong" side? *shrug*

Just to note, there's two separate items here. You're speaking of the directionality of the wheels (or in this case, wheel covers). For the rotation discussion, I was speaking of the directionality of the tires.

Directional tires have to rotate in a certain direction due to the tread pattern. They cannot be moved to the other side of the car because flipping the wheel around results in them rotating in the wrong direction. The only way you can move them to the other side of the car is to unmount them from the wheels and re-mount them on the other side but rotating in the correct direction.

Almost all wheels and wheel covers on the market are not made where there are different versions for each side of the car. The vanes or spokes of wheels actually have only a small influence on the airflow through the wheels -- the forward motion of the car and the air coming under the front bumper is the major contributor.

 

[DR61]

Interestingly, BMW/Mini and now Volvo don't recommend rotating tires at all. I have always rotated tires on all previously owned cars including my current Mini (which I drive rather briskly), but I'm going to try Volvo's recommendation on our 2017 XC60, which is mainly used for highway travel.

I generally do rotations myself, or if in a hurry the free rotations at Les Schwab. I prefer keeping tires always on the same side so their direction of rotation stays the same throughout their life. I will probably do the same when the TM3 arrives.

 

[ℬête Noire]

Almost all wheels and wheel covers on the market are not made where there are different versions for each side of the car. The vanes or spokes of wheels actually have only a small influence on the airflow through the wheels -- the forward motion of the car and the air coming under the front bumper is the major contributor.

1) Ah, that's what they were referring to. Yeah, it's uncommon for stock tires' tread to be directional like that.
2) The aero caps alone are worth roughly 4% range (the narrowness of front facing cross-section compared to the 19" are probably worth about that much, too, for the reason you mention). That's actually a fair amount of difference in drag. What isn't clear is if one direction of rotation is better than the other, yet why make them shaped so specific if it didn't matter? Worse yet, for aesthetics it just looks goofy if you pay attention to it. Not as bad as the those jet turbine blade looking wheels but still.

 

[bhzmark]

Each tire will have some imperceptible wear that may eventually cause pulling to one side, uneven braking, or other asymmetries. Also, as tires wear, the internal belts and filaments get used to flexing in one particular direction. Later in the tire's life, this will cause excess noise unless it's evened out with rotations.

Interesting theory. But any evidence? And specifically, any eve9dence that rotating has any real benefit that outweighs the risks and costs? Especially when you have a good alignment?

BMW/Mini and now Volvo don't recommend rotating tires at all.

Probably to the annoyance of their dealers who like a reason for people to bring their car in.

Tire rotation always seemed like a Band-Aid for a bad alignment or unnecessary and just a strategy to generate more service work or an excuse to get a customer in and sell them something.

I'll bet there is a dealer or tire co trade publication article with the headline "How free tire rotations can be converted to more service revenue "

 

[SlicedBr3ad]

Interesting theory. But any evidence? And specifically, any eve9dence that rotating has any real benefit that outweighs the risks and costs? Especially when you have a good alignment?



Probably to the annoyance of their dealers who like a reason for people to bring their car in.

Tire rotation always seemed like a Band-Aid for a bad alignment or unnecessary and just a strategy to generate more service work or an excuse to get a customer in and sell them something.

I'll bet their is a dealer or tire co trade publication article with the headline "How free tire rotations can be converted to more service revenue "

Any one of these numbers can be different and cause uneven wear.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

Interesting theory. But any evidence? And specifically, any eve9dence that rotating has any real benefit that outweighs the risks and costs? Especially when you have a good alignment?

Nope, I have no evidence that will convince you. If you don't want to rotate your tires, then by all means don't.

 

[Daniel in SD]

Nope, I have no evidence that will convince you. If you don't want to rotate your tires, then by all means don't.

Rotating tires is a contentious subject! haha.
Seriously though the worst thing that will happen is that your tires will wear unevenly and you'll have to replace them sooner. Weigh that against the time to have them rotated and the chance that you or someone else will screw up your car while doing it (not as improbable as one would hope!).

 

[nvx1977]

at least we don't have to debate how frequently you need to do engine oil changes.

 

[ℬête Noire]

at least we don't have to debate how frequently you need to do engine oil changes.

....weelllll there is the transaxle lube......

 

[buttershrimp]

Does anyone know if you can safely use a bottle jack on a tesla? I have a 5 ton version, but haven't used it yet and is only if I had to change a tire on a road trip. Assuming you loosen the nuts on the wheel before jacking?