tire differences

[9780]

hey all,

I have about a 1/4" difference in tread depth on my rear tires compared to my front. The truck came with new mich ltx ms and the rears are pretty old mich ltx ms , like I said with about 1/4 inch less tread. Do you think that little amount of difference is causing a problem for the drive line?
Thanks mark

 

[landtank]

Absolutely get rid of those old tires. Recently several people had an issue when they had a pair of 265/70R16 with a pair of 275/70R16 on their truck. The tire diameter difference between those two is 1/2", the same as you have.

 

[MoJ]

In order to help you out, I would be happy to give you 4 bald Michelin's in exchange for your two newer ones. That way you'd have 4 tires all the same diameter.

 

[9780]

all 4 of my tires are 275/70/r16. The fronts have 5/32 more tread than the backs. Do you think will cause problems?

 

[9780]

Landtank, What kind of problems were those folks having?
Mark

 

[Hltoppr]

Mark,

Different diameters leads to premature transfer case failure...

Not a good thing.

-H-

 

[cruiserman]

IMO it's nothing to worry about.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Mark,

For reference, a 1/4" radius difference (what you described) is over 6 times the allowable size difference on a Subaru AWD system. In no way is it related to the 80 system, but I wanted to give you some perspective.

Will it cause problems? Only time will tell, but you're heating up the VC and center differential needlessly as well as losing MPGs, increasing tire wear, and the ABS system will kick in needlessly early and not kick out until later. Fatal problems, no - but it's putting stress on the systems (wait for it......)....needlessly! Whew, most times I've ever used that word in one paragraph.

DougM

 

[landtank]

Mark,
Basically what Spuddly said . These guys had bought a Cruiser with mismatched tires that were out of size by the amount you have. They chased their tails for some time before realizing the mistake. Your playing with fire my friend and make no mistake you could get burned! If you have to drive the truck with the tires you have I would put one of the front tires on the rear. This will help balance the rotation speeds front and rear of the t-case and place all the stress on the diffs. Not the best situation either. As Doug has stated you need to be concious of you tires size as a group of four and not as pairs, this is because of the AWD aspect of the vehicle you are driving.

 

[IdahoDoug]

Spuddly Ya Bastidge - I reread the whole thread trying to figure out who Spuddly was....

DougM