guyc Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 Hello (Just going to swap winter tyres for summer tyres again.) I remember my old garagist telling me that it is important with AWD (for the differential) to wear the 4 tyres equally by changing from time to time the rear tyres with the front ones and vice versa. Is this still something to do with a 2002 Legacy? Other people write that for best grip it is better to have the best tyres on the rear axle. But on the front axle they wear much faster than on the rear, so this does not go together with my old garagist's story! So what to choose? - Choose for safety and always put the best tyres on the rear axle. When the front tyres are worn-out, I move the rear tyres to the front and buy 2 new tyres for the rear axle. In this scenario the differential will always need to correct the size difference between (worn-out) front and (new) rear tyres. - Or choose for a technical good solution and interchange the tyres from front to rear and vice versa, so that the differential can survive as long as possible. This means that I will drive some time with 4 almost worn-out tyres, just before I buy 4 new ones. I am not a rallye pilot, but sometimes I am in a hurry and then I need to fully rely on my car and the tyres. As I am not world's best driver, safety is something important to me. Who can give me relevant feedback on this issue? Thanks and greetz Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnceggleston Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 yes, you want all four tires to be the same size. (with in 1/4 inch circumfrence) so you need to rotate your tires regularly. as for running on bald tires just before you replace them, if there is not enough tread to trust all 4 tires, then i would not trust the 2 of them matched with 2 good tires. here in the US, probably there as well, there are ''wear bars'' on the tires to indicate time to replace. there is still some tread left when the wear bars are reached. but for sure you need to rotate them so they wear evenly. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GeneralDisorder Posted April 5, 2011 Share Posted April 5, 2011 You can cause internal damage to the transmission if the tires are different in overall size due to wear or improper inflation. It's not really an issue of saftely but rather that you will damage your transmission eventually if you don't pay close attention to tire wear. Tires should be rotated frequently enough that the wear remains consistent across all 4. Usually this means about every 10,000 miles or so they should be swapped front-to-rear. GD Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyc Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 OK, thanks for your advice. Though I thought it wasn't so important anymore for the transimission of the newer cars. Can't this be solved with a technical solution (which is not present in todays subarus)? Belgian greetings Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Fairtax4me Posted April 17, 2011 Share Posted April 17, 2011 If your tires are worn excessively they should be replaced sooner rather than later. We had a car towed to the shop yesterday that had been driving on the highway in heavy rain. Driver lost control and slid into the median, damaged the bumpers, bent two wheels and damaged some of the under carriage. All 4 tires were worn down to the wear bars. Wrecked a $100k car because they didn't replace the tires. Matching tire size is crucial in any AWD vehicle, whether it is a brand new 2011 model or an older car like your 02. If the tires on one axle are worn more than on the other, it causes the transfer unit in the transmission to wear. Eventually it will start to bind and cause problems when turning. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
guyc Posted April 17, 2011 Author Share Posted April 17, 2011 If your tires are worn excessively they should be replaced sooner rather than later. Don't get me wrong: safety always comes on the first place! Greetz Guy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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