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Running different tires front and rear

gird123

NAXJA Forum User
Location
minden, nv
I have had my jeep since august. My rear tires have about 80% tread while the fronts have a strip that has zero tread. Does anyone know where i can get two old style goodyear mtrs 33 12.5 r15s or is it ok to run different tires in the front?

Thank you,

Nate
 
When I bought my jeep it had to different sizes and three different tires. 30s in the rear and 29s in the front. It was fine.
 
Not a good idea if you get some icy roads.
 
You should be fine with a different tire front and rear. Just make sure they are the same size. I have 31" BFG A/T in front and 31" Dick cepek Crusher's in back. I haven't had any issues.
 
1st question is is your XJ full time 4x4. if you run 2 different tire sizes in a full time 4x4 or you put your XJ into 4x4 with 2 different tire sizes it can cause the transfer-case to bind up. and possibly break. if you never put it into 4x4 then you will be ok. all the tires should be matched and same size and brand. here is an example we had a liberty in our shop and the diff part of the transfer case was destroyed. the guy had new tires put on recently . they were the same brand and size. what we found was the speed rating letter on one tire different. one tire was larger by 1 inch larger in circumference. that cause the original transfer case to fail and the new transfer case to bind on the road test.
 
yeah what jeeptec said... running different sizes front and rear causes the driveshafts to spin at different rates, and that can make problems in the transfer case in part-time 4WD when the chain tries to lock the driveshafts together

not as much of a problem if you have the 242 in full-time, since the differential will just direct the power to the smaller pair of wheels
 
Jeeptec & ehall posted good info on this. To piggy back on this, here is a little "why" about the tire thing:

The different weight, and actual size, of each tire varries by manufacturer. As an example, my neighbors YJ is running 39.5 rears and 38 fronts because the two tires measure out to the same diameter when properly inflated.
 
My jeep is not full time 4 wheel, but the front and rear are about 1" diff right now. It is my DD with winter on the way I think I will try and buy new tires.
 
I had two different sets on my first Jeep when I bought it, It bound up a little in 4wd, not enough to hurt anything I don't think but enough to bug me. Just buy 4 new tires(or used as long as they are the same size) and call it good.
 
I have had my jeep since august. My rear tires have about 80% tread while the fronts have a strip that has zero tread. Does anyone know where i can get two old style goodyear mtrs 33 12.5 r15s or is it ok to run different tires in the front?

Thank you,

Nate

What do u mean by a strip that has zero tread?

Front and rear tires should be wearing evenly if you rotate properly and have a good alignment. Don't bother getting new tires unless you know the alignment is good cuz you'll just toss money in the garbage.
 
I will try to post pics tomorrow, but the tires have a little toe in at the bottom(i think) evident by fact that the most wear is about 2 inches from the outside edge of the tire. On the inside of the tire there is about 1/4 to 1/8 of an inch of tread at the thin spot there is less than an 1/8 inch of tread.

I will try to figure out if i have the ability to adjust that by reading on naxja or if i should have the shop that mounts the tires adjust it.
 
[FONT=verdana, arial, helvetica][SIZE=+1]Ok so I looked up the difference and I do have Positive camber. I don't think the tires are over inflated.[/SIZE][/FONT]
 
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