:iagree: ...and, don't quite understand the goal of reversing the tire,
"inside out".

The interior sidewall is going to be pretty dull from oxidation, even if
it was cleaned up and had the sidewall markings/look the OP was after.

Contact patch will be same due to distortion of tread under vehicle weight. Otherwise what would contact patch be when tire is new . . . minimal?

Goal is to get more life out of expensive tire.

I didn't have had dull sidewall/oxidation issue when I flipped. Of course I used soap and water and tire shine as always.

Regarding BMW recommendations, I have an issue taking recommendations from a company that can't build a vehicle with less problems than my X has. That is similar to taking checkbook balancing advice from the federal government . . . no thank you.

damn, this gets easier each time. first we have people running no season tires in the cold, now they are going to intentionally put them on the rim wrong.

if you are ever in an accident, the first thing i recommend is checking the tires of the other vehicle. if it is less than 45F/7C, they better have the snowflake/mountain on them. check tread depth as well. and now you have to check to make sure they are mounted correctly.

not all the above and call your lawyer. the liability payments alone would have paid to have proper tires for each season for lifetimes to come!!

tires aren't really that expensive, especially if you buy the Michelins. mine consistently last over 60,000 miles/100,000kms. ask yourself why yours don't...

Because we are talking about staggered 19" or 20" with performance tires that can't be rotated, not 17" same size rotate friendly. Let me know if you get 60K out of the 19" or 20" rears and I will follow you to the ends of the earth and beyond.:thumbup: And yes the 19" or 20" rears go for a little higher of a premium than a 17" tire. Especially when you figure getting 25K out of them is excellent.

one other option is to get a camber kit to set the camber at 0 deg. been thinking about doing this myself

the 17's are my winter set, i have the 18's for summer, if cost was the issue i would just ditch the 19's or 20's.

but of course, I ain't rich enough to buy the cheap stuff...

Cost is a factor for sure but more so is not being wasteful. Why burn through a set in 15K miles when you could flip them and maybe get another 10K out of them? I'm not a big fan of buying the most expensive tires on the market but if I do spend some money I want to get my moneys worth. Looks and performance are also factors. Look at an X with 17's on it and then look at one with 20's. Almost looks like a different vehicle not to mention handling characteristics almost make it a different vehicle. Cost is a factor but not the only factor.

It is not that simple...

... yet you think you know more than BMW's engineers when it comes to things like this?

You can get away with this sort of maintenance program on an economy car or people mover, but when it comes to performance vehicles you should put a lot more thought into what you're up to.

It just seems odd to spend a considerable premium to buy one of these things but then so easily dismiss the performance and safety you pay for just to save a couple hundred bucks every other year.

Though I never claimed to know more than BMW engineers, I have studied several of their prematurely failed parts that I have replaced and saw plain as day changes to them that would make them last much longer.

I don't have any problem following a strict maintenance schedule, it's the surprise parts fails on non-maintenance items that rear their head quite often that I have a problem with.

I agree that the vehicle performs well . . great handling for an SUV and excellent braking. The problem is that it is down so often that it kinda takes all the focus from those aspects and the fun out of ownership. I also agree that the vehicle was built with safety in mind with its multiple airbags, handling and braking characteristics and body construction. I just think that the frequency of parts failures negates some of the safety intentions. It has stranded my wife and kid on Houston streets because of a parts failures twice. Once is understandable, more than once is completely unacceptable and a serious safety issue. I now drive the X for this reason alone.

I understand you are a big BMW fan as are most people on the forum and I think that's great! It's just been difficult for me to get that feeling. Maybe I got the only X that is a complete POS and everyone else has the good ones.

Wow some interesting responses my little post has generated. I also see alot of mis-information that I might as well address:


Diamaris are not directional. I have bought 2 sets and there are no directional markings on any of them. Regardless, the whole point of my post is that i do not intend to change the direction at all as that would be contra my goal of extending life.

Other interesting comments addressed the preference to do a front/rear rotation; obviously not an option on my car.

A couple others mentioned the degree of oxidation on that inside face. Not much of an issue given the tires last like 20,000kms at most anyway or if I flip I guess I do that around 10,000 or so and hope to get 30-35,000 out of them.

One poster actually answered my question by saying his Older set of Proxes are finished inside and out so i guess I will order a set hopefully the 2nd generation is the same. I had hoped to get more replies that actually addressed my question but I see that is unlikely.