My first Model 3 tire rotation experience at 28,000 Miles

[Nghia_3M]

I am new to TMC. This is my very first post. I have a 2018 Model 3 Long Range with 18in Aero Wheels

Overall I spent about $250 on equipment. $120 low profile jack with coupon, 1x Jack stand $50, Pucks $25 on Amazon, Torque wrench $20, Breaker Bar $20, 21mm deep socket $5, Wheel chucks $10.

There is an exact 4-inch gap from the ground to the puck on my Model 3. So it is best to have a 3-ton low profile jack to lift the M3. You could save money and buy a less sturdy 2.5 ton (5000 lbs) jack. But the cheaper jacks normally have a minimum lift height of about 4.5 inches. I saw a HUSKY Brand 2.5 Ton Low Profile Floor Jack (Model # HD7024A) at Home Depot for $57 bucks with a minimum life height of 3.375 inches. So this Husky jack will get the job done if you are on a budget. The M3 Long range’s curb weight is 4250 lbs, so a 2.5 ton will do. But you are risking your life and car to save a few bucks. Buy a 3-ton low profile ($120-150) so you can also lift a Model X at 5741 lbs! Some YouTube post says to remove the rubber pad on the jack so the puck can sit inside the mount, basically giving it a perimeter so it won’t slide. I do not recommend doing this! When you remove the rubber pad, you are making a metal on metal contact and will introduce more slip plus scratch the puck and jack. Keep the rubber pad on so there is a metal (the puck) to rubber pad contact making it much more stable. With some common sense and watching a few different youtube videos, it wasn’t very hard to rotate your tires. Torque the wheels at 129lbs and torque again after 25-50 miles.

I wish I would have performed the tire rotation sooner. Unfortunately, I discovered greater uneven wear on the inner tread (side closest to motor) on the two front tires. Nothing strange about the wear on the rear tires, which wear out much faster than the front. Now that I completed my tire rotation, I definitely need a wheel alignment. If anyone knows of an affordable, competent, and trustworthy tire shop in San Jose, CA that knows Tesla vehicles please let me know!

Thanks for reading.

 

[Zoomit]

Unfortunately, I discovered greater uneven wear on the inner tread (side closest to motor) on the two front tires. Nothing strange about the wear on the rear tires, which wear out much faster than the front. Now that I completed my tire rotation, I definitely need a wheel alignment.

Welcome to TMC.

I just replaced the tires on my 41k mi AWD and had noted what I thought was unusual wear on the inner tread of the front tires like you describe. I had the shop check the alignment, specifically the front toe, expecting it to be out of spec. It was well within spec, as it turns out. The tech did zero out the toe per my request but I don't think wheel alignment was the cause of the inner front tire wear.

You might find the same.

 

[UncertainTimes]

Mobile service charges $40 just sayin

 

[patrick40363]

Americas Tire rotation is free.

 

[Pied]

I'm amazed that your tires are still good with 28k miles. I needed to replace mine at 23k miles. Might be better to get new tires + alignment at this point.

Not really in SJ, but the owner of AutoRnd in Fremont has a Model 3 and can do alignments.

 

[timk225]

28K miles? My OEM rear tires were SMOOTH at 16K miles! Fronts made it to 25K. Never rotated.

 

[Fadiawesome]

you dont need the hockey pucks tbh, I just used a 2 ton low profile jack and put it in the right jack spots and that's it.

 

[fuddy]

I'm amazed that your tires are still good with 28k miles. I needed to replace mine at 23k miles. Might be better to get new tires + alignment at this point.

Not really in SJ, but the owner of AutoRnd in Fremont has a Model 3 and can do alignments.

Lol mine were toast at 19k miles. Rotated at 7k and 14k

 

[solar3]

I too didn't rotate my tires until well past 20k miles, and my car also had inner edge wear but on just 2 tires on opposite corners (front driver and rear passenger IIRC). Did it myself with some $3 Dick's Sporting Goods hockey pucks for lifting pads, too cheap to spend $25 on those lol. At 37k miles the rears were down to the wear bars and was quite scary to drive in the rain.

 

[ArcticStation]

I rotated and checked alignment (within spec) at 7K and 14K. All four tires were toast at 20K. I'm a 71 year old guy driving a LR RWD. The tires on my ten year old hybrid "beater" last well over 40K. And I don't morph into Jackie Stewart when I drive my Tesla. My guess is that the OEM tires are optimized for range and little else.

 

[XLR82XS]

I rotated and checked alignment (within spec) at 7K and 14K. All four tires were toast at 20K. I'm a 71 year old guy driving a LR RWD. The tires on my ten year old hybrid "beater" last well over 40K. And I don't morph into Jackie Stewart when I drive my Tesla. My guess is that the OEM tires are optimized for range and little else.

I'm at 20K miles in my 2020 and original tires have PLENTY of tread remaining. I don't drive Miss Daisy with plenty of 50%+ throttle inputs on a daily basis. 1 rotation at ~9K miles.

 

[DopeGhoti]

Reading all these "my tires were bald when I rotated them at 20 kilomiles!" posts make me thing I may be just about the only one on the forum who rotates as proscribed in the manual

Admiteddly I was a touch late, but rotation at 6.5 kilomiles showed even wear across the board. The only issue was unrelated to tire placement rotation- a few TPMS alerts before I got the rotation done due to somewhat cooler weather leading the tires to get under 40 PSI. A trip to a nearby Discout Tire for a free air top-off fixed that.

 

[Sam1]

You’re not “risking your life” by using a 2.5 ton jack, unless you have somehow jacked all 4 wheels off the ground with a single jack.

If you have managed to do this, please post a video, I’m intrigued.

 

[Skione65]

Why does one wait until 30k to do a rotation? I rotate every time I change from summer to winter shoes.

Ski

 

[subieworx]

You’re not “risking your life” by using a 2.5 ton jack, unless you have somehow jacked all 4 wheels off the ground with a single jack.

If you have managed to do this, please post a video, I’m intrigued.

I agree. They are only lifting half the weight of the car at a time when jacking from the sides.

As someone who has been working on cars for 25 years now the biggest thing I can say to this is just don't be under the car and you'll be fine. Doesn't mean the car will, but you will.

 

[KenC]

I am new to TMC. This is my very first post. I have a 2018 Model 3 Long Range with 18in Aero Wheels

Overall I spent about $250 on equipment. $120 low profile jack with coupon, 1x Jack stand $50, Pucks $25 on Amazon, Torque wrench $20, Breaker Bar $20, 21mm deep socket $5, Wheel chucks $10.

There is an exact 4-inch gap from the ground to the puck on my Model 3. So it is best to have a 3-ton low profile jack to lift the M3. You could save money and buy a less sturdy 2.5 ton (5000 lbs) jack. But the cheaper jacks normally have a minimum lift height of about 4.5 inches. I saw a HUSKY Brand 2.5 Ton Low Profile Floor Jack (Model # HD7024A) at Home Depot for $57 bucks with a minimum life height of 3.375 inches. So this Husky jack will get the job done if you are on a budget. The M3 Long range’s curb weight is 4250 lbs, so a 2.5 ton will do. But you are risking your life and car to save a few bucks. Buy a 3-ton low profile ($120-150) so you can also lift a Model X at 5741 lbs! Some YouTube post says to remove the rubber pad on the jack so the puck can sit inside the mount, basically giving it a perimeter so it won’t slide. I do not recommend doing this! When you remove the rubber pad, you are making a metal on metal contact and will introduce more slip plus scratch the puck and jack. Keep the rubber pad on so there is a metal (the puck) to rubber pad contact making it much more stable. With some common sense and watching a few different youtube videos, it wasn’t very hard to rotate your tires. Torque the wheels at 129lbs and torque again after 25-50 miles.

I wish I would have performed the tire rotation sooner. Unfortunately, I discovered greater uneven wear on the inner tread (side closest to motor) on the two front tires. Nothing strange about the wear on the rear tires, which wear out much faster than the front. Now that I completed my tire rotation, I definitely need a wheel alignment. If anyone knows of an affordable, competent, and trustworthy tire shop in San Jose, CA that knows Tesla vehicles please let me know!

Thanks for reading.

You might want to consider having the alignment toe checked if the insides of your tires are worn. Any cupping? The model 3 toes in, normally, but the alignment from the factory has been known to be off. I rotated my tires in the Fall, 7500 miles, found the worn insides, had it checked, way out of spec. Replaced the set.

As far as the pucks are concerned, not all of them are metal. Some are regular rubber hockey pucks repurposed. I drilled ¾” holes, glued in some ¾” PEX, I had leftover. Wrapped hockey tape around the PEX to get the right friction fit, so the pucks hang tight. Now, if I have to take it in to a shop, I just stick the pucks in, and don’t worry about whether the shop has any.

 

[DopeGhoti]

the alignment from the factory has been known to be off.

My alignment was bad "out of the box" too, to the point where the steering wheel was canted clockwise a few degrees. The service center did an alignment for me and it's been fine since.

 

[lUtriaNt]

I may be just about the only one on the forum who rotates as proscribed in the manual

at one point the manual stated 10K miles.

Rotate tires during this time?

model 3 is heavy so makes sense the tires will wear out a bit quicker in my mind. ive an awd performance and keep my foot in the tank.

ive read up on tire rotation on this forum and decided im going to side with the information in the above post. ive got the performance tires and when they all wear out im just going to replace and do an alignment all at once (if needed).

 

[Nghia_3M]

Welcome to TMC.

I just replaced the tires on my 41k mi AWD and had noted what I thought was unusual wear on the inner tread of the front tires like you describe. I had the shop check the alignment, specifically the front toe, expecting it to be out of spec. It was well within spec, as it turns out. The tech did zero out the toe per my request but I don't think wheel alignment was the cause of the inner front tire wear.

You might find the same.

Hello, thanks for reading my post and the information. I was also wondering if this unusual wear on the inner tread of the front tires was a normal thing for Model 3. Once I find a shop and take it in for an evaluation, I will let you know what I find out. Reading some of the lower posts, it seems that the M3 could "pinch inwards" on acceleration? (just hypothesizing here) If that is the case, wouldn't the outer tread wear out? The wheels are pinching inwards towards the motor like "----> <-----". I admit I am no car expert.

 

[Nghia_3M]

Mobile service charges $40 just sayin

The Tech that came out to upgrade my Vision Computer (the new Chip), said it would cost about $80 for a tire rotation. After spending the money and effort, it may have been better to let the tech do it. But then I wouldn't find out about the premature wear unless the tech pointed it out. Sometimes it's good to do it yourself so you learn about your car. If it truly was $40, that's a deal considering all the equipment needed.