Tire rotation 535i (18" run-flats)
 

Cross posted from the BMW tech forum:

What's the board's consensus on switching the rears to the front and vice-versa. My 535i (rear drive only) has 21,000 miles and the outside shoulders of the fronts look a lot worse than the rears.
I'm asking because the owners manual says it's a no-no. ??
Thanks
Bill K

If the fronts are the same size as the rears no issue. Those run flats are bloody horrible. The first thing I did was ditch those in favor of Michelin Pilot Sports. What a difference they make to ride and handling.

Thanks for the response. I would love to get rid of the run-flats, but there is no provision for an on-board spare (2013)!
Bill K

I always rotated them when I had a BMW. Sure your lap times won't be optimum but getting more mileage out of a set of street tires is a bit higher on my priority list.

On the old 328i, I went from 17" runflats to 17" go-flats with OZ wheels and dropped 70 lbs. I added a space saver spare and jack in the trunk but 70 lbs of unsprung weight is huge.

Compressor. A can of Fix-a-flat and a tire pug kit. Cell phone.

The probability of calling for a tow as a result of a flat tire is very slim.

I would have no concerns driving without a spare if I had the three items listed above.

I checked around and here's what I came up with.
......Manual says it's a no-no. Reason being I think is that if you do rotate, you have to adjust the pressures to match the door post, then reset the TPM controls in the computer.
.....Trip back to the dealer to ask the service manager - as long as it's not side to side, and only front to rear - it's okay.
.....My tire person (Janet) says as long as they are the same size - go for it. Also asked Janet about the feasibility of switching to conventional - big downside is the huge weight savings and the resulting reduction at each corner, the on-board computers will probably freak out. The run-flats are over 80 lbs. per corner, conventional tires will probably come in at 45-55 lbs. each. They could seriously effect traction control, ABS, weight transfer, etc., etc.
Anyway, I rotated the tires myself and found a nail in the left rear in the process - win-win.
Bill K