Tire Rotation

[SomeJoe7777]

I do my own tire rotations, and do it pretty frequently. I use:

• 2 sets of Jackpoint jack stands (I put all 4 jack stands on the car so I can remove all 4 wheels at once)
• 2 ton aluminum hydraulic floor jack
• Wheel chocks
• Ryobi P261 cordless 18V impact driver (use on aftermarket lug nuts only, not on the Tesla OEM lug nuts). Note that the link to this driver is for the impact wrench only, you also need a battery and charger if you don't already have the compatible ONE+ items from Ryobi.
• 1/2" drive deep lug nut socket - 21mm (for Tesla lug nuts)
• 1/2" drive deep lug nut socket - 22mm (for some aftermarket lug nuts and wheel locks)
• 1/2" drive deep lug nut socket - 13/16" (for some aftermarket lug nuts and wheel locks)
• 1/2" ratcheting 18" breaker bar
• 1/2" click-type torque wrench
• 1/2" drive 5" extension bar
• Anti-seize lubricant with brush
• Yellow tire mark crayon
• McGard 64073 (chrome) or McGard 64074 (black) aftermarket lug nuts, uses 22mm socket
• Gorilla 61641 (Gorilla Guard), or Gorilla 71641X (Gorilla X2) wheel locks, uses 13/16" socket
• DIgital tire tread depth gauge

My procedure:

1. Park car on level ground.
2. If you have air suspension, raise it to high, then put it in jack mode (need to raise to high to allow Jackpoint jacks stands to fit underneath the car).
3. Wheel chock the diagonally opposite tire that you're jacking up.
4. Loosening the lug nuts can be done two different ways. If you have aftermarket lug nuts like the McGard or Gorilla lug nuts, you can loosen them with the impact wrench after the tire has been jacked up off the ground. If you have the Tesla lug nuts or any wheel locks, you need to loosen them with the breaker bar, and they need to be loosened before jacking that tire up. Don't use the impact wrench on the Tesla lug nuts (it can deform the steel shell) or on wheel locks (it can strip the key or break it).
5. If you're loosening lug nuts/wheel locks with the breaker bar, only loosen them about 1/4 turn at this point.
6. Carefully look underneath the car for the rubber point where you're going to jack up the car. Arrange the floor jack and the Jackpoint pieces to contact only that rubber point, do not let anything contact the edge of the battery pack. Jack up one tire using the floor jack, put the Jackpoint jack stand underneath it on that corner, lower the car down on the jack stand. See the Jackpoint instructions for proper use of the stands.
7. If you're loosening lug nuts with the impact wrench, do that now for the tire you just jacked up.
8. Repeat steps 4-7 for the other 3 tires to leave the car on 4 jack stands.
9. Remove all 4 wheels once the lug nuts are off. Mark each tire with the yellow marking crayon to note which position it came from. This will help you rotate them to the proper spot.
10. Rotate the tires in an appropriate pattern. I use the rearward cross pattern for my 85D with square setup, non-directional tires.
    1. RWD cars with square setup and non-directional tires: Rearward cross: LF -> RR -> RF -> LR -> LF.
    2. AWD cars with square setup and non-directional tires: Rearward cross: LF -> RR -> RF -> LR -> LF.
    3. AWD cars with square setup and non-directional tires (alternate): X-Pattern: LF -> RR -> LF. RF -> LR -> RF.
    4. RWD or AWD cars with square setup and directional tires: Same-Side Swap: LF -> LR -> LF. RF -> RR -> RF.
    5. RWD or AWD cars with staggered setup and non-directional tires: Same-Axle Swap: LF -> RF -> LF. LR -> RR -> LR.
    6. RWD or AWD cars with staggered setup and directional tires: No rotation possible without unmounting and remounting tires on wheels.
11. Measure tire tread depths and record.
12. Measure tire pressures and adjust if necessary.
13. Clean wheel hubs on the car with a small wire brush. Lightly coat the cleaned wheel hub with anti-seize compound. Do not use lubricant or anti-seize compound on the lug nut threads, this will alter the torque values.
14. Reinstall all 4 wheels, make sure the wheel is centered on the hub ring. You can install the lug nuts using the impact wrench on the low setting just to spin them on, but don't tighten them with the impact wrench.
15. Tighten the lug nuts with the breaker bar so that they're seated, but don't put a lot of torque on them yet.
16. Jack up the car one corner at a time, remove the Jackpoint jack stands, lower the car to the ground on all wheels.
17. Tighten lug nuts with the torque wrench in a star pattern to the 129 ft-lbs torque spec. Go over the star pattern twice, make sure the torque wrench clicks.
18. Take air suspension out of jack mode, lower back to standard.
19. Drive car about 10 miles, re-torque lug nuts to 129 ft-lbs.

I rotate to not only extend tire life, but it reduces tire noise as well, especially later in the tire's life. Do your first rotation after the set of tires has about 2500 miles on them, then every 5000 afterwards.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

^^ That's $2k worth of equipment to change tires. I didn't add up, but a lot of that equipment is for the car only. For all that hassle, I'd be happy to just pay someone to take care of it.

 

[SomeJoe7777]

It's not quite that bad, the Jackpoint jack stands are the major item. You can eliminate those and use two floor jacks instead, or one floor jack and one extra wheel/tire. If you already have summer/winter sets of tires/wheels, then just use one of those with one floor jack.

Assuming you have one extra tire/wheel, then all of the rest of the equipment without the Jackpoint jack stands totals about $525. It comes down to $425 if you forgo the aftermarket lug nuts and wheel locks.

I actually do this myself because it's quicker than going down to Discount Tire, it's great exercise (which I need desperately, LOL), and I can do it while taking detailed care of the operation rather than relying on someone else or having to supervise them.

It's not for everyone, and many will prefer to have a reputable shop or the Tesla service center do it. But if you want to do it yourself, I find this equipment and procedure works really well.

 

[Sir Guacamolaf]

^^ I see your point, and self-reliance is best.

 

[PA70D]

How do you put it on the jack stands since the jack points are only big enough for a jack? Do you jack the rear so high that you can place a stand on the front? If so, how can you then put a stand on the rear since there is no longer a point to jack from?

Jack point stands are designed for a single point on a vehicle. They are expensive but work great ...

 

[tliving]

Local tire shop, every 5-6K miles. They charge $20 and never drive the car and I watch them the whole time. They do a great job and I dont have to mess with it. I've got 66K miles on the car.

 

[PA70D]

Local tire shop, every 5-6K miles. They charge $20 and never drive the car and I watch them the whole time. They do a great job and I dont have to mess with it. I've got 66K miles on the car.

That's cool ..

For me its the time. Whole operation is 20 minutes. If I clean the wheels which I have started to do takes double. In the end that is the total round trip time to drive to the tire center and back. Started doing this before the Tesla just another approach

 

[Xenoilphobe]

Looks like a great solution ...

View attachment 187071

This is my exact setup.

 

[sorka]

From an email I received asking about tire rotation last year at the Fromont location:

"Our technicians will inspect your tires and rotate the tires automatically if the rear tires have less tread than the front. It is part of our courtesy service."

@caltrader, what about my post do you "disagree" with? The fact that I asked Fremont Service about it or their response?????

 

[jerry33]

Local tire shop, every 5-6K miles. They charge $20 and never drive the car and I watch them the whole time. They do a great job and I dont have to mess with it. I've got 66K miles on the car.

I tried that. Cost $120 for new wheel nuts. I do them myself now.

 

[rhumbliner]

Not sure which option to check. The Ranger always comes to my home to rotate tires. He uses one hydraulic jack to lift the entire side and rotates tires front-to-rear. Takes 15 minutes.

 

[tliving]

I tried that. Cost $120 for new wheel nuts. I do them myself now.

Must not be a good local shop. My local one does a great job, no issues and at 84K miles. They ask for the exact torque and tire pressure each time to confirm.

 

[HankLloydRight]

I tried that. Cost $120 for new wheel nuts. I do them myself now.

Must not be a good local shop. My local one does a great job, no issues and at 84K miles. They ask for the exact torque and tire pressure each time to confirm.

It happened to me, but it only cost me $60 for new Tesla lug nuts (which they paid me back for). I just wasn't watching close enough when one of their air-wrench monkeys went to town remounting each wheel while I was supervising wheel balancing. Before I could stop him, he destroyed 18 of the 20 lug nuts. This is a very good shop which I've taken my T to several times, and they usually know to hand tighten and hand torque the nuts... just the one time a new guy was just doing his job as trained.

 

[FlatSix911]

It happened to me, but it only cost me $60 for new Tesla lug nuts (which they paid me back for). I just wasn't watching close enough when one of their air-wrench monkeys went to town remounting each wheel while I was supervising wheel balancing. Before I could stop him, he destroyed 18 of the 20 lug nuts. This is a very good shop which I've taken my T to several times, and they usually know to hand tighten and hand torque the nuts... just the one time a new guy was just doing his job as trained.

Tesla now has steel lug nuts that have a removable plastic cover ... much better than the old style lugs with stainless jacket

 

[jerry33]

It happened to me, but it only cost me $60 for new Tesla lug nuts (which they paid me back for). I just wasn't watching close enough when one of their air-wrench monkeys went to town remounting each wheel while I was supervising wheel balancing. Before I could stop him, he destroyed 18 of the 20 lug nuts. This is a very good shop which I've taken my T to several times, and they usually know to hand tighten and hand torque the nuts... just the one time a new guy was just doing his job as trained.

Mine was a while ago. I think they've lowered the price since then.