Tire wear question on a 3.8 AWD

[tahirwajeeh]

Hi Everyone

I just recently picked up a 2015 3.8 AWD in Canada. I checked my tires and found that both rear tires have been replaced recently and look fairly new but the ones at the front don't have much tread on them. The tires did pass the safety test which means they are above the minimum tread.

As it is an AWD, should I expect more wear on the front or rear tires? The tread at the front may also impact braking distance more than the rear I believe. Should I rotate the tires or keep it unchanged for the time being till I replace those two tires.

I am sorry if this question has been asked before. If so please point me to the right thread.

Thanks

 

[EdP]

Hi Everyone

I just recently picked up a 2015 3.8 AWD in Canada. I checked my tires and found that both rear tires have been replaced recently and look fairly new but the ones at the front don't have much tread on them. The tires did pass the safety test which means they are above the minimum tread.

As it is an AWD, should I expect more wear on the front or rear tires? The tread at the front may also impact braking distance more than the rear I believe. Should I rotate the tires or keep it unchanged for the time being till I replace those two tires.

I am sorry if this question has been asked before. If so please point me to the right thread.

Thanks

If you replace them and rotate the wear will be very even. Evidently the previous owner did not do that. I'd bite it off now and put the same one on front as now on the back.

 

[tahirwajeeh]

If you replace them and rotate the wear will be very even. Evidently the previous owner did not do that. I'd bite it off now and put the same one on front as now on the back.

Thanks for the reply. Actually the dealer replaced two rear tires only as the front ones were in acceptable condition. Can you or someone tell me about the treadwear on front vs rear? Thanks

 

[kocyk123]

They cheaped out. Best way is to always replace all 4. Rotate them every 5-6k miles (or every oil change if you do 5k oil changes). Do the alignment with new tires and all four will wear out evenly until they are ready to be replaced again. Also, keep the psi same in all four. I like to keep mine at 36psi(when already warmed) in the summer and 34 in the winter(which isn't much different). I had few cars before and ran through many sets of tires. My $0.02

 

[TinsleyC]

I think the OP is asking if the tires were not rotated (and they should be), where would he expect to see more wear - fronts or rears. I think the AWD only engages when needed, so I would expect the rears to wear faster. At least it has on my other RWD cars.

 

[tahirwajeeh]

I think the OP is asking if the tires were not rotated (and they should be), where would he expect to see more wear - fronts or rears. I think the AWD only engages when needed, so I would expect the rears to wear faster. At least it has on my other RWD cars.

Hi. Yes that is exactly what I would like to know. So from your answer it seems the HTRAC system is not full time AWD. In that case I guess it would make sense for rear tires to wear out more. So I should keep my setup unchanged as the newer set is mounted at the rear.

 

[bigpapainscotia]

Yes the rear does wear faster. You best option would be to replace them all and have the old front ones as a backup spare.

 

[TinsleyC]

So I should keep my setup unchanged as the newer set is mounted at the rear.

It's always best to have the better tires on the rear, this helps prevent the rear end from slipping out when cornering in the rain. You want your front tires to slip before the rears do.

Problem is, one day your fronts will wear out and you'll need two new tires. Be sure to put them in the rear. The cycle continues.

You're much better off with four tires that are the same, with the same tread, and rotate them every 6,000 miles so they stay even.

This article can help explain the situation.

https://m.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=52