Drivetrain Encompasses driveline components such as the torque converter, clutch, transmission, shifter, front and center differentials, driveshaft, rear differential, and axles.

can different tires ruin your drivetrain?

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Old 09-21-2007, 09:49 AM
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can different tires ruin your drivetrain?

I hear that if your front tires are different from your rear tires it well mess up your drivetrain..is this true?
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Old 09-21-2007, 09:56 AM
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Originally Posted by 06scooby
I hear that if your front tires are different from your rear tires it well mess up your drivetrain..is this true?
Of course. The drivetrain is all wheel drive. If you have different size tires front to rear or even different manufacturers (since not every maker's 225/45/17 is exactly the same dimensionally), you'll be spinning the tires at different rates when the tranny and diffs are set up for the same revolutions. Depending on the severity, something could go *snap*.
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Old 09-21-2007, 10:03 AM
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o wow...i really need new tires then..
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Old 09-26-2007, 11:33 AM
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this is also a myth too btw. i've been hearing different comment from various dealers, but for facts, most of the time, they will be ok with different sets.

the reason why it messes up the drivetrain is because since the awd drivetrain is connected, 4 wheels must spin at a simlar pace.

new tires have more threads, meaning slightly bigger than worn out tires. so bigger wheel will rotate less than smaller wheel, making the tranny to be messed up.

but this is more of a case when you see those tires with ALOT of treadwear (i.e. offroad dirt tires). If you have low profile or regular passenger tire the wear of tread will not make enough difference to mess up the tranny.
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Old 10-18-2007, 12:10 AM
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It depends on what kind of diffs you have. Open, LSD, Lock, ect.. it wont make a difference on open diff cars and, you can run the risk of damaging LSDs. it all comes down to percentage difference of the rolling diameter between the given tires. if its within a few percent, your fine.

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Old 10-18-2007, 09:06 AM
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No, the myth is you have to buy four new tires if you have more then 20% wear on the remaining three!

The fact is you can have no more then 1/8" difference in circumference (measured with a sewing tape around the tire) between any two tires. So, if you blow a tire and say have 50% left on the remaining three, what do you do?

Purchase your SINGLE tire from The Tire Rack ~ measure your tread depth in 1/32 increments and they will 'shave' your new tire to match the remaining tires on your car. The cost? $25!

If there is a large tire store in your area who shaves tires for production racing, even better ~ you can get it done locally.
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