So how much difference can you have with tread depth??

[EYE_WHY]

I am in the market for some snow tires, and I am trying to find a relatively cheap (as in not buying a $400 set from the store), mildly used or like new set. Anyone have any idea what tread difference I can have between the front and rear tires without putting too much strain on tranny, diff etc.?? I was thinking like 3 or 4/32nds or less. Anyone have a more accurate figure? Should I even bother trying to match treads or just bite the bullet and cough up the $$?

[75subie]

Sams club has beautiful "snowmasters", very aggressive knobby tread, and the ride is good. i just put a set on the brat for $179. i would highly reccomend them. what size pugs are you running? i have a nice set of 15 inch blizzaks for sale (i have no cars with 15's)

[wintersubaru]

Bite the bullit and buy new. I bought a set of tires from a fle market looked really good nice tread good side walls and all for 40 bucks thought i got a great deal. Then had to shell out 30 for mount and balance, Just to find out one had small hole in side wall and allso dry rot. Patched the hole but still have the dry rot but cant afford to replace them now. Then i found out the same tire at pep boys mounted and balenced was on sale for 100 $ plus tax! Man was i peod . So look around you can get realy good deals on cheap snow or all season tires and if you wan't to spend the extra doe get blizzaks. I have found out even with rain tires in 4 wheel drive i could go as good are better then all front or rear wheel drive cars. I still prefer snow tires thou.

[75subie]

the blizzaks i have were like 100 each new, they are in close to new shape with no dry rot. i`m looking to get $80 for the set.

[Syonyk]

You ideally want the same tread depth all around, but you know this. Realistically, as long as you only use 4WD when it's really nasty out, it won't matter a whole lot. I wouldn't put brand new tires on the front & totally bald tires on the back (well, for a variety of reasons), but as long as they're close the drivetrain should be OK. Just keep it in FWD on the dry/mostly dry pavement.

 

Also, snow/ice tires are a lot cheaper (well... usually, not always around USMB) than having to replace the car. I had cheap all season junk on the car, and it was still the best handling vehicle I've driven in the snow. After several cars zipped across my path on the highway (from the other side, totally out of control), I realized that it's not ME I'm worried about, it's being able to get out of the way of a random bozo sliding freely - I'd rather throw my car into a ditch than get slammed into (and I'm pretty confident I can get it out of the ditch anyway), but that requires traction.

 

Enter the set of Blizzaks. The only way I can describe them is grip-n-go - I can get significant lateral forces cornering in the ice and snow now.

 

-=Russ=-

[Phizinza]

my front mud terrains are about 1.5mm less tread then the rears. I'm gonna swap them around soon, but I don't feel anything different with that much difference.

[EYE_WHY]

I just looked at the tires that are on there now and the back has way more tread than the front so I imagine it can't be messing things up too much. I did find a guy selling a set of Nokian Hakkapaliitas w/ 7'000 miles for $250. I'm not sure if I am going to get them yet, but they are a possibility.

[heartless]

actually, matching front to rear isnt as critical as matching right to left on the same axle.

 

keep tread depth as close as possible on same axle: fronts the same right and left...rears the same...

 

yes, ideally you would like them all to be the same, but real world doesnt always allow it...needed tires a while back, but couldnt afford to go all around at once. bought a pair, had them mounted up front, about a month later had enough to buy another pair, had the first set rotated to back and new set up front...works just fine.