:iagree: - flipping tires not worth the safety risk.

There is no "warning" label on the Michelin Diamaris tires concerning inside out mounting (max tire pressure; max bead inflation pressure, mixed sizes, mixed bias/radials , yes); there is only the word "Outside" on the cosmetic side of the tire. Also, the tires are NOT directional. I've had no problem with handling (been to the "twisties"). This is not to say that some tires would be problematic if "flipped", but the Micheliln Diamaris are not, and I've got the miles & handling experience to confirm it.

i flip tires.. did it on my e39m5 also... as long a the direction of travel i in the same direction then you are good.

the inside/outside thing is for sidewall lettering only.. not structural or anything of any safety concern...

if you wanna discuss further, i can get my buddies at yokohoma, michelin, and kumho to put in their 2 cents on this, but i have discussed this at lenght with them already...

there is no issue with dismounting and remounting the tires from side to side to get even wear as long as the direction of travel is the same on directional tires.

so I certainly have to disagree and right off the bat, here's what you notice on the diamaris design:

1) correct way has the rim protector bead on the outside but not the inside of the tire

2) tread block design is different on the outside vs the inside on the diamaris and after talking to a couple folks both at tirerack and also Roger Kraus racing here locally, they recommend against it and also stated that there are handling differences with such a design if mounted the other way. Of course this would be different if you're running slicks or a tire with a consistent tread across the entire surface

3) we had the continental sport contacts on the S4. Had a flat and replaced the tire. The design is similar to that of the diamaris where outer tread block design is different from the inner Drove it home. The car felt squirmy and got a slight bit of hydroplaning in the rain. Went back, swapped it back the other way and the feeling went away.

4) Increased road noise with the tires flipped.

take it for what it's worth but again I have to vehemently disagree with flipping tires but to each their own. My tires last me 8-10K and $250 a pop is still chump change on a 60-70K car..

:withstupi After some considerations, I have to agree with SANguru on this one. Getting an extra 5K-6K miles from flipping the tires are not worth the safety risks involved.

There are two considerations here, direction and symetry. If you have directional tires and the tread is symmetrical then remounting and switching sides might be ok as long as the construction is symmetrical as well. If the tire is directional and the tread is asymetrical then you shouldn't flip sides.



From Tirerack site:

"On the outside, Turanza LS tires mold a Super Long Link Carbon Black, Dual Layer Tread II compound that resists aging into a symmetric tread design that provides for the ability to rotate tires to maximize tread life."

So it would appear that flipping the Turanzas should be ok from a safety point of view. I'd be hesitant to do it myself.

However, flipping tires doesn't address the cause of your tire wear problem. Do you have self leveling rear? Could your X5 be sitting too low because of a malfunction and causing excessive negative camber?

if you have 19" michelin diamarias they should last more than 8-10k miles. we got almost 50k on these rear tires. the inside edge does wear a bit faster due to the negative camber. check the alignment. BMW build in understeer even thought the cars have a 50/50 weight distribution. this is done by staggered sizes and neg camber in rear.