GEN 2 Tire Question - Replacing 2 tires not 4

[Basil S2K]

I know if I asked Tire Rack they would say replace 4 but for the rest of us please read on.

I purchased my gen 2 used with around 15K miles. Tires were never rotated and I guess on the way to the repo or the dealer to turn the raptor in someone had some fun with burnouts etc. as the backs were worn much more than the fronts.

I rotated the tires, these worn tires are up front now and are good for maybe around another 8K miles while the rears are at 80%.

I don't want to replace all 4, hate the thought of only replacing 2 and constantly having tires that are at different stages but also can't throw away perfectly good tires.

I don't off-road or 4 wheel much, will the 4WD system allow tires that are ultimately different circumferences due to wear? Since 4WD situations are slippery I'm thinking I am ok.

I have these tires matched so the worn tires are on different sides of the truck, not front and back, I know that would be trouble.

 

[goblues38]

I tried this once......here is where it will get you......

When you use AWD. The computer monitors wheel speed at all 4 wheels to determine if there is loss of traction. It will see lightly different wheel speed up front because of the less rubber = more rotation. The computer will try and compensate and the front clutch will get over worked, you will feel vibration.

I had this situation with a Chevy Trailblazer years ago. Took it in for warranty because the transfer case was doing as I describe above. The basically called me a cheap ass for not replacing all 4 tires.

 

[Jakenbake]

I was going to say take fuel and 2 outsides and get back out there.

I would tend to agree with @goblues38 but a counter argument to that would be guys running same air pressure in all 4 vs guys running lower pressure in the rears. The “weighted radius” (I made that term up but you get the idea) would be different between those two setups. Wonder if they have any trouble.

As in either the guys running same pressure front and rear would have a longer “weighted radius” compared to the guys running a lower pressure in the rears.

A quick test would be to check it as is. The rears were worn down a lot more. Does 4wd and 4A have any issues now?

 

[Basil S2K]

no issues in 4WD but honestly I only go into 4WD when it's really slick (mud / snow) for very short periods of time.

 

[smurfslayer]

it’s ok with a minor difference like normal wear with tire rotation distances (5k miles or less on KO2’s) but once you start getting visible differences in the tire, I’d argue it’s too late. While you can run the truck in 2wd, if you use 4a on pavement, rain or dry or whatever, there’s going to be rotational differences enough to be a problem. Will it be a problem right away? No. It will be eventually and I’m not certain how long that would be.

This is a Raptor, not an old beat up, 22r powered Toyota.
Don't
skimp
on
tires

 

[goblues38]

again...the only time this will be an issue is in AWD.

 

[isis]

Well the guy is already running worn tires with ones at 80%. IMO he’d be in better shape with a pair of 100% and a pair of 80% than where he is now.

 

[jimmyjamm]

The typical approach is comparison of the difference in depth of tread, if the depth of tread is different between a new tire and the 2 you want to keep is 1/4" or less you are good, if more than that you could have some risk.

When mine was still running the original KO2s (I hated the tires, but hard to give up like $1200+ in tires because they suck) I had a rock push through the center of the tread on the right rear tire at about 11,000 miles. I had it patched but went ahead and swapped the spare for the other tire permanently making the patched tire the spare. The tread was about 1/4", but it was also only one tire and I left it on the right rear where it was going to wear the fastest anyway. By 30,00 miles the other 3 tires were beat and the swapped tire still had about 3/16" of tread, so I kept it for a 2nd spare for my Jeep.

 

[New recaros]

I bet the spare is new. Use it and buy three new. Why risk mechanical failure.

 

[Zelrick]

I did this on a Gladiator due to inability to get tires during the pandemic, For the first few tire rotations you don't want to use 4wd Auto, as stated above. After 3-4 tire rotations everything was pretty even. The Rubicon is a different animal though, it's all manual for the 4wd so the wheel speed sensors don't have as much to do with things.

However, you really should purchase 5 new ones and do a five tire rotation, you will eliminate any wheel speed sensor issues, ensure that you always have a good spare and extend the time between purchasing new tires by a few thousand miles by doing the rotation that way. If you have 5(or more) of the same tires on the same wheels, always rotate them all. A spare left under the truck or in the bed is just wasted money. The good tires that you have can always be sold on Craigs list or FB market place to recoup some of the expense.