Yet another Tire thread- Something finished on both sides?
 

I need tires for my 4.8IS and all I want is something that is finished both inside and out (Not talking about the inside of the tire I mean the sidewall that faces out vs the sidewall that faces in so i can rotate my rears left to right (swap rims) to spread out the wear pattern a bit.

I have Diamaris now and they look like crap on the inside wall. Proxes look good in pics but I cannot find one of the inside sidewall.

Open to brand suggestions but am only interested in a tire that meets my criteria of being properly finished on both the inner-facing and outer-facing sidewalls. Any thoughts?

Thanks.

My previous proxes looked identical on either side so they could be flipped. My new Nankang SP-5's are also identical on both sidewalls. I did see a set of Diamaris and also noticed that the inside sidewall of the tire looks almost like it is unfinished. You would think you have paid them enough for two finished sidewalls. Haven't had/seen any others.

Bad idea to rotate at all, much less left to right.

Can't see it.

I wouldn't rotate the tires at all if I were you.

The reason the Diamaris are not finished is because they are directional and side-side specific.

Asymmetrical tread patterns preclude side-to-side rotation. This applies to many of the tires offered for X5 applications.

I agree.

The only rotation I recommend (If you absolutely HAVE to rotate, because you're lying awake with the mantra.."Must rotate tires...Must rotate tires....), is front to rear on the same side, and only then if all four tires are identical, not staggered....

Another thing I'd stay away from is unmounting/remounting tires, just for positional reasons. Most tires will not seat well to the bead of the wheel the second time around, and will develop small air leaks between the bead of the tire and the wheel. Not saying you ABSOLUTELY WILL LEAK, but I AM saying that youd better invest in a small home air compressor to use every three days to put 5 pounds of air back in the tire(s).

... Ask me how I know this.....

To the OP, you have been given extreme examples of why not to switch the tires from left to right. On the other hand, it has been done by lots and lots of X owners (myself included) trying to get a few more rotations out of these expensive tires. I have had many many many other issues with my X and but tire issues after remounting has not been one of them. Make your own decision but the reason you are contemplating this in the first place has lots and lots of merit.

If he is going to unmount and remount to maintain the correct directional position, I don't see why it is a bad idea.

The natural wear of the tires with the camber as it is creates a nice flat contact patch with the road.

Flip that tire to the other side and that flat contact patch is now at an angle to the road surface.

It really isn't a good idea. BMW does not recommend it.