Rotation - tires that is. :)

Discussion in 'MINI' started by old81, Sep 8, 2010.

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  1. old81

    old81 Club Coordinator
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    Was not sure where to put this topic, but I hope this is a good place, if not move it. :arf:

    I have been rotating my Nitto NeoGens front to rear. (pretty much standard procedure).

    Can I rotate the Gens LF to RR and RF to LR on the MINI.

    Is this a bad idea for this tire type. I suspect the tire structure prevents cross rotation, but I had to ask.

    Thoughts, after you all stop :lol: :lol: :lol: :incazzato:

    Don
     
  2. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    Nitto NeoGens look to be a directional tire meaning that to swap side to side you would need to dismount them from the wheels and remount after flipping them around for the other side. I base this solely from the picture of the tread design on the Nitto site. Best to look at the sidewall and see if there is a rotation direction arrow. If so, it's a PITA, if not, go for it.
     
  3. lotsie

    lotsie Club Coordinator

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    I was wondering the same thing about my NeoGens. I don't see a rotation arrow, the tires just say "Outside" on them.

    Mark
     
  4. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Neo Gens are asymmetric (they have an inner and an outter sidewall) - not directional (even though they look like they should be). With that tread pattern, it always looks like one side is "backwards". Cross rotation is fine and recommended (by me)... otherwise the tread blocks tend to wear funny.
     
  5. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    The manual says not to rotate (I wonder why it does?) but I also rotate mine about every 5K. My last set of Kumhos - which are not known for their long life - lasted over 30K this way. However, I mark them and only move them front to back on the same side, I found that when I cross rotated them they were very noisey, moving them back to the correct side quieted them down again considerably - just FYI.

    I didn't have my '03 with the NeoGens on it long enough to learn whether they can be cross rotated, but based on the tread design, I would think you wouldn't want to do that.
     
  6. lotsie

    lotsie Club Coordinator

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    I'm with Blimey on this. One side looks backwards, thread wise, so cross rotating them seems the way to go.

    Mark
     
  7. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Minidave makes a good point. You either need to cross rotate the Neo Gens frequently (maybe even more like 3K, certainly no more than 5k) or not cross rotate them. The tread blocks will wear unevenly and, once they do, they will be noisy and maybe even squirrelly when put on the other side.
     
  8. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    As long as you maintain the "outside" orientation of the tire you should be good.
     
  9. lotsie

    lotsie Club Coordinator

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    I plan on 3K rotations. First one is soon.

    Mark
     
  10. Nathan

    Nathan Founder

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    Wow, thats quite a bit.

    Assuming it takes 15 min to perform the rotation from start to finish it will you 750 hours to rotate the tires 3,000 times.

    Hope you have a good jack!
     
  11. Minidave

    Minidave Well-Known Member
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    And if he does it at 3,ooo mile intervals, he'll have 9 million miles on those tires - well rotated indeed! :D
     
  12. BlimeyCabrio

    BlimeyCabrio Oscar Goldman of MINIs
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    Mr Miyagi say:

    "Jack on, Jack off"
     
  13. lotsie

    lotsie Club Coordinator

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    Since I do major clean/wax every time they are rotated, it's more like 1/2 an hour per wheel.

    Mark
     
  14. old81

    old81 Club Coordinator
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    Good advice, Thanks.

    Better entertainment. Glad I could offer up a topic. :D

    I will try the cross rotation then every 3K myself. If the noise is excessive, then I will probably need a set of new 215/45s. :Thumbsup:

    Don
     
  15. ScottinBend

    ScottinBend Space Cowboy
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    LMAO ! ! !
     

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