Tire Size Differences

[AlcyoneDaze]

My front tires are getting to the point of nearly no tread left on them, while my rear tires are still in good shape. Im assuming this is normal since we have a 90/10 split and the front wheels do the turning and burning - but am I damaging anything by running what are essentially different (albeit small) tire diameters between the front and rear?

I'm going to replace the fronts before the first snow of the fall, I'm just not in a financial situation to do them right now

[Hondasucks]

There is a spec for maximum variation in tread depth, and I THINK it's 2/32" but I'm not 100% positive. You can get a tread depth gauge for about $5 at most auto parts stores. Also, it's best to have your best tread on the front so you might want to rotate your tires. (When you get new tires, and you really should replace all four unless you get two that are the SAME BRAND, SIZE, and TREAD PATTERN as the "good" ones on your car that are within 2/32" of tread depth of the existing tires) if you rotate them every 10,000 miles, they'll wear more evenly.

To avoid damaging the transfer clutch, you might want to rotate your tires and put your FWD fuse in.

[AlcyoneDaze]

yea, its definitly a big difference between the front and rears, I'm planning on replacing the fronts with the same brand and size as the rears, Kumho Ecstas ASX's, which I was very happy with. The rears have almost no wear on them, so I'm sure they will be withing 2/32 of the fronts when i replace them.


is is safe to drive with the FWD fuse in? i heard that was not so good
am I definitly doing damage right now, or just risking it?

[SVX_MY_BABY]

Originally Posted by Hondasucks

There is a spec for maximum variation in tread depth, and I THINK it's 2/32" but I'm not 100% positive. You can get a tread depth gauge for about $5 at most auto parts stores. Also, it's best to have your best tread on the front so you might want to rotate your tires. (When you get new tires, and you really should replace all four unless you get two that are the SAME BRAND, SIZE, and TREAD PATTERN as the "good" ones on your car that are within 2/32" of tread depth of the existing tires) if you rotate them every 10,000 miles, they'll wear more evenly.

To avoid damaging the transfer clutch, you might want to rotate your tires and put your FWD fuse in.

Actually that's incorrect. I always thought this was the case untill 2 years ago. It is actually better to have the best tread on the rear, even if you have front wheel drive. Reason being that if you need to do a panic stop or avoidance technique you will lose control of the rear due to the poor traction, which is much worse than possible amount of error caused by the traction lost if the poor tread is up front.

[immortal_suby]

The spec is no more than 1/4" difference in rolling circumference to avoid damage to the AWD system.