Just rotated mine at 5200 miles. Did it myself. Took the opportunity to thoroughly clean the wheels and treat the inside sidewalls with 303. I figure that the tires are only going to last about 20k-25k miles so this way I'll keep the wear even as possible.

For those that went off on the snow tangent. The reason that the tires are no good in the snow or just the cold for that matter is the rubber compound. The oem tires are summer performance tires. When the temperature goes down, the rubber hardens substantially and looses its stickiness. The tires themselves are slippery at low temps, you don't need to hit water, snow of ice to slide.

 

The opportunity to sell tires when the tread is low, the rotation is the freebee to get you in the door.

 

I have 9,500 miles and have been reluctant to rotate the tires because the balance and handling are so perfect. I think I'll do it myself to make sure the lugs are torqued properly and in the correct sequence. I've had problems in the past (on other cars) where improper tightening warped the discs and screwed up what was a great driving car. I've been watching them closely but the wear seem quite even although the fronts are beginning to develop a slight feather on the outer edges. Overall I'm quite pleased with the OEM Bridgestones but will probably switch to S-03's when these wear out.

 

What do you guys recomend as the proper torque in regards to tightening the lugs? Is there a way to gauge this? I was planning on rotating mine at 5k miles just to be safe, but I dont want to end up messing anything up in the process....

btw, great info in this thread.. have learned a lot thus far

 

I'm not sure what Mazda recommends, but it's probably in the 75-90 lb. ft. range. I'll try to find ot and report. You need a torque wrench, preferably with a 1/2" drive to gauge this. Proper tightening sequence is important and the lugs should be tightened gradually in several steps. Here is my sequence fo a 5 lug wheel:

1
4
3
5 2

Hope this diagram comes out ok!

 

108 ft-lb per the TSB