Staggered wheels on an AWD car... a no-no?

[mikeedler]

That's why you are just supposed to swap front and rear. Don't rotate from side to side. Problem solved, the tires won't be backards. Duh.

hey there smart guy!! when you rotate front to rear or vise versa, you still have the same typical wear on the inside from camber, and the outside from the AWD pulling so much. so, rotating isnt going to do anything. and if you have ever had any kind of REAL performance car you would understand that when the tire wears uneven, and you change it to another axle, the car will float really bad.
but thats right you know everything

[erik325i]

That's why you are just supposed to swap front and rear. Don't rotate from side to side. Problem solved, the tires won't be backards. Duh.

hey there smart guy!! when you rotate front to rear or vise versa, you still have the same typical wear on the inside from camber, and the outside from the AWD pulling so much. so, rotating isnt going to do anything. and if you have ever had any kind of REAL performance car you would understand that when the tire wears uneven, and you change it to another axle, the car will float really bad.
but thats right you know everything

I may not be a professional racer, but if you know so much about racing, why are you telling someone with an "ix" to get staggered wheels to look cool. There would be no benefit of putting staggered wheels on his car. It would only induce more understeer. Genious.

[e30evolution]

ok.... for rotating... directional tires or non-directional tires you can flip the tire on the wheel and put on the other side of the car... but with asymetrical tires you shouldn't flip them

as far as AWD goes.... its a bad idea... i had an audi 90 quattro that i was selling, so i got some factory wheels for it from a FWD 90 the wheels had 2 different brands of tires... same size though... anyway after about 2 months (4k miles) i had to replace the gears in my center differential... the gears were free, but that is 3 hours labor i wont get back....

differentials are designed to make up for differences in speed while turning or a tire spinning... with the different rolling diameter the center differential will be constantly spinning and will fail prematurely

[mikeedler]

but if you know so much about racing, why are you telling someone with an "ix" to get staggered wheels to look cool. There would be no benefit of putting staggered wheels on his car. It would only induce more understeer. Genious.

first of all, what I am talking about has nothing to do with racing. It has to do with performance tires and not the K-mart wide ovals you are used to running. All I am saying is staggered wheels look really good, why else would ******M GMBH****** put staggered wheels factory on thier newer M cars???????????not so much performance as the look of it.
Why am I trying to explain anything to you anyway.
from the get go all I am saying is that todays real performance tires will not run well if they are rotated anyway, I know because i have experienced it .

[BS87]

All I am saying is staggered wheels look really good, why else would ******M GMBH****** put staggered wheels factory on thier newer M cars???????????not so much performance as the look of it.

Because M car's aren't AWD?

[boom-monkey]

BMW has put staggard set-up on the M cars since 1996 to try and counter-act it's tail happy nature.

Rotating tires front to back will not hurt the performance, and will entend the treadlife.

mikeelder, you are spouting mis-information left and right, something all the members of this board do not appreciate.

[Digitalwave]

but if you know so much about racing, why are you telling someone with an "ix" to get staggered wheels to look cool. There would be no benefit of putting staggered wheels on his car. It would only induce more understeer. Genious.

first of all, what I am talking about has nothing to do with racing. It has to do with performance tires and not the K-mart wide ovals you are used to running. All I am saying is staggered wheels look really good, why else would ******M GMBH****** put staggered wheels factory on thier newer M cars???????????not so much performance as the look of it.
Why am I trying to explain anything to you anyway.
from the get go all I am saying is that todays real performance tires will not run well if they are rotated anyway, I know because i have experienced it .

That's bull. All the sports cars that are on the market with factory staggered setups aren't running them for looks. It's because rear wheel drive cars with a lot of power (like a 333hp M3) need more traction in the rear.

[Koony]

If staggered fitments were just for looks..... all the ricers would be running 'em! ;)

[Mystikal]

If staggered fitments were just for looks..... all the ricers would be running 'em! ;) [/b]

They do! That fad of having aftermarket wheels on the rear of a FWD car with steelies in the front IS staggering!

Plus all the BMW "tuners" do it. They're the king ricers of the world.

[mikeedler]

mikeelder, you are spouting mis-information left and right, something all the members of this board do not appreciate.

I am not putting out missinformation.
Its the other way around. Talk to any "real" tire shop. Any car that wears tires unevenly--which most AWD cars do they do not want to rotate tires. Im sure its a little bit different in the states where speeds are slower, but if you ever get a chance to drive the autobahn you do not want oddly worn tires from a different axle on another.
and as far as staggered wheels on BMWs its not only the M cars I was meaning to refer to, while Im sure that my wifes 136hp 320d touring doesnt need staggered tires, but it came with them from BMW---FOR LOOKS----

Rotating tires front to back will not hurt the performance, and will entend the treadlife.

It wont hurt in a perfect worl on a nissan sentra--- but a performance car that tends to wear tires uneven it will! I know this first hand.
so you should go F**K yourself because you all are the ones with the misinfo.
do what you all want, but as I have said many times before here, you all don't even get a chance to drive your BMWs at the speeds they were made for, and talk to me when you can drive your car at 120 MPH everyday on your way to work.
and as far as rotating saving your tires, does it really? it just means that you ussually have to buy 4 tires at one time vs. 2 at a time.

[Mystikal]

talk to me when you can drive your car at 120 MPH everyday on your way to work.

I seriously do. ;)

[boom-monkey]

mikeelder, you are spouting mis-information left and right, something all the members of this board do not appreciate.

I am not putting out missinformation.
Its the other way around. Talk to any "real" tire shop. Any car that wears tires unevenly--which most AWD cars do they do not want to rotate tires. Im sure its a little bit different in the states where speeds are slower, but if you ever get a chance to drive the autobahn you do not want oddly worn tires from a different axle on another.
and as far as staggered wheels on BMWs its not only the M cars I was meaning to refer to, while Im sure that my wifes 136hp 320d touring doesnt need staggered tires, but it came with them from BMW---FOR LOOKS----

Rotating tires front to back will not hurt the performance, and will entend the treadlife.

It wont hurt in a perfect worl on a nissan sentra--- but a performance car that tends to wear tires uneven it will! I know this first hand.
so you should go F**K yourself because you all are the ones with the misinfo.
do what you all want, but as I have said many times before here, you all don't even get a chance to drive your BMWs at the speeds they were made for, and talk to me when you can drive your car at 120 MPH everyday on your way to work.
and as far as rotating saving your tires, does it really? it just means that you ussually have to buy 4 tires at one time vs. 2 at a time.

It wears out the tires unevenly because you are not rotating your tires.
I have driven my car at several track days for an extended period of time at speeds reaching 120 mph, and while I don't claim to be an "expert" such as yourself, I know that rotating the tires does not hinder the performance of them.

And yes, rotating your tires does save the tread. Also to get the most performance out of your car you should be buying tired 4 at a time, and not 2 at a time as you seem to be insinuating.

[Z3Jonathan]

but if you know so much about racing, why are you telling someone with an "ix" to get staggered wheels to look cool. There would be no benefit of putting staggered wheels on his car. It would only induce more understeer. Genious.

first of all, what I am talking about has nothing to do with racing. It has to do with performance tires and not the K-mart wide ovals you are used to running. All I am saying is staggered wheels look really good, why else would ******M GMBH****** put staggered wheels factory on thier newer M cars???????????not so much performance as the look of it.
Why am I trying to explain anything to you anyway.
from the get go all I am saying is that todays real performance tires will not run well if they are rotated anyway, I know because i have experienced it .

First issue: I would not personally put staggered wheels on an AWD car. Bad idea from a handling standpoint (already more understeer than RWD, no need to add more), and a mechanical standpoint (different tire sizes means your center diff won't be happy).

Second issue: Why does BMW put staggered wheels on the M3?? 1. Looks. People think staggered wheels look cool. M GmBH is about performance, but they also have to market the cars as well. 2. Handling. Staggered tires are an easy way to add some understeer into the suspension without touching roll bars, springs, or shocks.