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Tire Match Question

791 views 8 replies 5 participants last post by  billiebob 
#1 ·
My Jeep pal is in need of (2) front tires - again after wearing them out. While he is in the process of fixing his tire balance and alignment issues, he wants to replace them with AT tires rather than the MT tires he currently runs.

It looks to me like the tread on the rear is around 90% on the MTs. The fronts have about 40% life left, maybe less.
He asked me if running AT on the front and MT in the back would be an issue. I told him that I didn't think so but wanted to pose this question here.
He cannot afford 4 new ones all at once.
Jeep is driven as a DD, 50/50 highway and around town. No wheeling...35x12.50x15 on a 4" lift with a 1"BL.

1) Any thoughts on why they're wearing out so fast? Tire pressure is at 26psi. Toe-in was set at the 4x4 Jeep shop to 1/8" total

2) How about driving issues with mismatched tire tread? He has ProComp MT Xtreme and will do the front in AT from ProComp
Your input is greatly appreciated~
 
#3 ·
Tried that and he got highway wobble pretty bad starting at ~40-42 mph. That was AFTER the toe in was adjusted.
We did a dry steer test and the track bar bolts, wheel bearings, and bushings all look tight. Front lower CAs we put new bushings in there. And the tie rod was adjusted and proper; the drag link looks good too. His shocks are BEYOND the end of their life, but that shouldn't cause the tire wobble he's having.
 
#4 ·
Speed sensitive vibrations and wobbles are generally a tire balancing issue, and is almost always a tire issue. If not caused by balancing, it can be caused by being out of round or a slight flaw in construction.

The larger and heavier a tire is the harder they can be to get properly balanced. If this were my vehicle I would take it to a tire shop that does a lot of work on heavy trucks. By nature of the trucks they deal with large heavy tires that the average consumer tire shop does not see.

It could also be a vibration in a tire that cannot be fixed. I fought a vibration in a tire. I had the Rubicon aligned, the tires balanced and rotated and my vibration worsened with what had been the front tires now on the rear. Sometimes this is caused by a slight feathering of the blocks on the tire by being out of balance. If so, with them being on the rear and reversed (assuming a X rotation) the feathering will eventually wear down (I had this on an 89 Cherokee although it had standard tires, not 35s).

If it is a tire construction issue, then the tires must be replaced, but you won't know that until after some more miles. I had this with the tires on the Rubi when I bought it. When the tires were rotated, the noise and vibration was worse and coming from the right rear. After about 1,000 miles, I gave up and put four new tires on it. Peace, quiet, smooth handling all came with the new tires. I think that one tire had a belt issue and since the spare had a rubber plug the $650 spent on new tires was worth it. No, they were 245/75R16, which is the stock size for a Rubicon, not large tires which are far more expensive.
 
#6 ·
For two wheel drive it is not important to keep the front and rear tires equal. It is very helpful for four wheel drive as the closer you can keep the front and rear the less the strain on the drive train. Remember that in four wheel drive (high or low) effectively locks the front and rear drive shafts together.

This is why it is recommended to never drive on hard pavement in four wheel drive. I do it from time to time in heavy rain with water on the road for there is still enough slippage to prevent damage to the drive system. The exception would be the QuadraTrac system which has a full time four high position There is a clutch in the system to allow the front and rear to turn at slightly different speeds.

I remember in the old day, we would adjust the air pressure in the front and rear tires so that the rolling radius was the same on all four tires. Measured from a hard pavement to the center of the wheels.
 
#8 ·
Remember that the distance only matters if you are going to use the four wheel drive. If on hard pavement going to work, etc, it doesn't matter.
 
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