Lost a Dunlop SP Sport 01 yesterday, huge bolt through it. Apparently the tread on it is 7/32" left, so the tire shop would not mount a new tire on that wheel as the new tire is 10/32" Stated damage to my transfer case etc. due to AWD. Not a problem right now anyway as I had them put the snow wheels and tires on instead. At some point I have to solve this problem. These Dunlops really only have about 8k miles on them, because I ran the snows last winter too. Points to consider: 1. I feel it's a terrible waste of money to get 4 new ones, these dunlops are still in good shape. (3 of them anyway) 2. I did not pay for a separate road hazard warranty when I bought the car new. 3. Transfer case damage? Yes I agree that all 4 should spin at the same rate ideally, but they never do during cornering, loss of traction, or with a difference in inflation. 4. On that last point above, do you think if I had 3 tires at 34 psi and the new tire at 32 psi, would that make up for the 3/32" seriously! I think it might. Input is appreciated. I tried to search on "one bad tire and they told me I had to replace all four" and such things as "all four tires" and I didn't find what I was looking for. Thanks!
+1 or buy four new tires or try to sell the three you have. And 2 psi will not make up the difference of 3/32". 3/32" is way too large of a difference and will likely cause problems with the AWD system. ~Dan
replace all 4. it may not seem like much of a difference, but your center diff will not like you much after a few thousand miles.
Would replacing a center diff not feel like an even worse waste of money? Well, warranties are gambles. sometimes you win, sometimes you loose. Yup. your right. they don't turn at the same speed during your listed manuvers. but look at how much time spent driving is straight. easily the majority. this period basically unloads your center diff and lets it cool from the extra work it just had to put in during a turn or loss of traction event. Nope. The only thing i can suggest is Tire Rack. they carry the tire you have, and will shave most any tire. it's usually 25-30 bucks, and adds about a week to the lead time as there's only a few warehouses that do the shaving so it might get shipped out of AZ instead of Indiana. You'll have to call them though. they only list the shaving option online for slicks and a few of the "Extreme performance" street tires some auto crossers buy shaved.
Ah, I will check into shaving. I am glad I asked, this is very helpful. I also noticed that my fronts have visually less tread compared to the rears... Perhaps I should be rotating these like crazy. If the shaving doesn't work out, I guess I will be reading a million tire threads, lol. Thanks all!
measure the depth of all 4 tires. if the fronts are visually less than the rears (at 7/32s), replacing them all might not be a bad idea. Subaru says 2/32 maximum variance between them. so if you're fronts are both at 5 or 6/32s and a new rear one is at 10.....not good. if the fronts were at 7 or 8, you might get away with it fine. but I still wouldn't risk it. I did the math once, and found that one tire 4/32s off was the equivalent of driving around a cloverleaf, constantly. It's not a "transfer case" per se, but a Limited slip differential in the center transferring power between the front and rear. The clutch pack in that diff is activated by heat, so going around a corner, or driving through a slush patch, doesn't allow slip long enough to do any noticeable wear. Even if you're stuck in a snowbank and really hammering on it (which is extremely hard on the center diff, and a very bad idea), it's only a few minutes. But....if it's getting that kind of slip every minute that you're driving, it'll be shot pretty quickly. otherwise, I had them same thing happen to me a couple years ago (except the low tire cracked the wheel too....). I managed to find a duplicate tire on ebay, same brand, model, size, and wear, for only about $30 after shipping. Or if all else fails.....+1 on shaving a new one.
