Tire Tread Wear-Where to Mount Tires (1 Viewer)

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Forgive me if this is common knowledge or there's another thread on the subject, but I searched and didn't find exactly what I need related to an 80/LX.

I bought a set of used 33's from a fellow mudder, and am pleased with my purchase. They're all in good shape, but kinda with variable wear. Two are moderately to heavily worn; one has less wear, and one is almost new.

From reading on the subject, it appears that conventional wisdom is to put your best tires on the back for safety. I also read that for a front wheel drive, the fronts wear more heavily. For every subject I've found, though, I've yet to find info on all wheel drive setups, specifically the 80.

So my goal is to make these last as long as possible. Therefore I want the best tire on the side/end that wears the most, the next best in the next heaviest wear location, etc. Can someone tell me the best way to mount these to get longest wear life?
 
You would have to know the history of the 33's you bought to really get a picture of why those tires are as described. The almost new may have been that cause the PO had a blow-out and decided to install a new tire. If you think you have plenty of tread left on the heavily worn set, should not be a problem to run them behind and rotate as recommended / when winter comes around. On my 80 the front wears a snail faster than the rear.
 
I believe that the history is as you postulate-bought a new one and it's the odd tire out versus tread wear on the others. I'm tentatively planning to go with the two more worn tires on the rear, best tire on the LF, and the 'tweener on the RF. I use it as a daily driver, and I understand that the fronts wear more due to braking frequently (?).

Anyone else got experience?
 
I would think the fronts wear more due to steering, unless you're in the habit of locking up the front brakes, or near it. Either way, the worn tires would go on the back on my rig. Air pressure is a big factor in wear too.
 
From reading on the subject, it appears that conventional wisdom is to put your best tires on the back for safety.

This is because if all things are equal (tire model, size, etc), tires that have deeper tread will have more grip while cornering. Less grip up front makes for understeer when you exceed the limits of adhesion. Less grip in the rear makes for oversteer. But that still means you can avoid hitting something in a panic manoeuver. In a sweeping turn, in wet or snowy conditions, if the tail begins to step out, all you have to do is countersteer to regain vehicle control.

A vehicle that understeers into an accident is considered 'driver error' because the driver is going too fast for the conditions. Or so a lawyer will argue.

A vehicle that spins out is easier for lawyers to argue that the vehicle is unsafe. That is the biggest reason why vehicles are set up to understeer.

If tire tread depth is close, say within 20% of each other, I would personally put the best tires up front for steering response. And I would rotate their locations every 5,000 miles or so, depending on tire wear.

If you're putting tires that are 90% tread depth on one axle, and tires that are 20% on the other axle, I'd call you a fool. Replace the worn out tires, put the brand new ones in front, and the 90% new (10% worn!) tires in the back.

If you've got tires that are
LF 80%
RF 100%
LR 50%
RR 60%
spare (something that doesn't match)

that would be acceptable for temporary use. At first opportunity, I'd put the 60% tire as the spare, and buy two new tires to put on the front. Like so:
LF, RF, RR 100%
LR 80%
spare 60%

Of course, the lawyers will say thus:
LF 50%
RF 60%
LR 80%
RR 100%

And officially, I must agree with them.
 
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With proper alignment on US roads, the tires will tend to wear faster on the front (LF even more due to road crown)...

That's why the factory guide rotates the LF tire directly to the spare :meh:

97FZJ80RotationDiagram.JPG



RHD rigs have a mirrored image and rotate their RF tire to the spare for the same reason :cool:

I follow the guide every 3,000 miles because I'm anal like that :doh:

On my last set of BFG Mud Terrains, I got over 120,000 miles of use (unheard of for MT's) and still had enough tread to sell them for $100 bucks each :thumbup:


BFGCREGGZ2.JPG

BFGCREGGZ3.JPG

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BFGCREGGZ5.JPG



If you only have 4 and not including the spare in your rotation, I'd start with the best tires up front and keep an eye on the wear :meh:

If the LF tire shows wear over time, but both fronts still have more tread than the rears, then I'd cross rotate the LF and RF only (providing they're not unidirectional) until the tread is consistent with the rears, then I'd start throwing the rears into the mix :cool:
 

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