OK I am on a budget and can only get the two front tires replaced at this time. The guy at the tire shop is telling me that if I dont replace all the tires that it will tear up my transfer case sence I have realtime 4 wheel drive. I could understand if it was all time 4x4 because that would be on all the time but I don't see how its going to effect it because it is only engaged when there is slippage and then only enough to keep you in control. I don't see a problem with replacing the 2 tires on the front and then the rear at a later time.

Well the pumps in the hydraulic clutch are already different sized to make up for the difference in wear between front and rear. The biggest danger you run I believe is in having the RT4WD engage a lot due to a difference in tire rotation speed. I'm assuming you're replacing tires with the same size?

Also check Tire Rack, you might be surprised by the good prices you can get there, even including shipping!

Using the same size (diameter) on all 4 wheels is very important w/ the RT4WD.

There can be some size differences between brands (and sometime within a given brand) for a given size....but it is usually not any worse than worn/new tire differences are anyway.

Like you're trying to do...try to at least replace the front or rear "pair" if you're switching brands.

If you wanted to do a simple same size replacement consider a new tire place....seems like they may $$$$ and not good customer relationships on their minds.

Good luck.

Will

no problem with the RT4WD, i'm certain, from doing 2 at a time, so long as you don't go extreme.

we figured out a while ago that the donut spare is ~5% smaller than 215/70/16, so you have that much wiggle room on tire sizing before any engagement of the 4WD.

Did the tire guy actually say "transfer case"?

:rolleyes:

The guy's full of baloney and only looking for $$$.
Anytime someone (in a shop) tells me something that I don't think is right, I just say 'thank you", and walk out, and go somewhere else.
But in this case, he's full of crap.

Thanks everyone for reaffirming my thoughts. It just didn't make any sense that it would make that much difference as long as they were the same size tire and replacing at least 2 at a time (front then rear). I had a Jeep Wrangler before the Element and had big mudders and replaced them in the same way I am doing here. Those big tires are not cheap....

this guys is some what right. the realtime system in the cr-v and element are very sensitive. the system will turn on if tire size is more then 1/2 an inch from front to back. the system will think the tires are spinning because they are moving at different speeds. with the system running all the time the fluid burns up and the rear end with start moaning on turns.

i know this because i am a tech at a honda dealer and see this all the time.

I wonder just how sensitive the RT4WD system is to tire size differences. One CRV owner reported problems with changing just one tire. On the other hand, the Element comes with a compact spare, which is 6% smaller than stock. Assuming that a differential averages the rotation speed of the two tires, that still leaves a 3% difference between front and back axles. Does that activate the 4wd? If so, it isn't enough to matter for the 50 mile life of the spare.

Some of us have reasoned that if the spare is put on the rear, it shouldn't activate 4wd, since that happens only if the front wheels turn faster than the rear. By the same reasoning, it seems that 2 new tires should be ok on the front axle - assuming that new ones are larger only because they are new.

Anyways, if I had to replace just 2 tires, I would try to match overall diameters. That means at least matching nominal size. Unfortunately, there is some difference in actual diameter among different models with the same nominal size. You can see this by looking at the spec tables.

But there may also be differences in different production runs of the same model. For example there hints that OEM Wranglers are different, to some degree or other, from after market ones.

paulj

im just saying what we see at the dealer. i dont think running the spare 50 miles is going to have a effect on the rear. but running diff size tires over 3-5k you may hear the moaning. to see the size diff just mark the tires and measure the roll out.

this is why its important to rotate the tires. im not sure how much it is to rotate tires, but a rear fluid change is around $75

a lot of people are unhappy when they have to replace all four tire just because they didnt rotate there tires.

sorry i disagree this is a ploy for a dealship to get you too buy 4 tires you dont need. i do agree to rotate your tires for even wear though.:cool:

Welcome, bez732, it's great to have another Honda tech around! Try to find Lizzurd sometime, he's an asst. parts manager at a Honda dealer (in Canuckada). Welcome to the asylum! :D

ya ive been a lurker for a long time but never posted.

trust me when i say this, no tech at a dealer wants to do tires. we get payed nothing for a lot of hard work, so i dont think the tech would try and sell tire if the customer didnt need it.everyone is quick to say the dealer is trying to scam them, but maybe the dealer is just relaying what HONDA tells them to do.

if you dont trust your dealer then why would you take your car there. im sure everyone has atleast 3 dealers in the area they can go to and get a second opinion.

and the only department that makes out on tire is PARTS they can jack the price up whatever they want on tires.

Actually we've only got 1 Honda dealer here without driving a hell of a long ways (45 minutes or more).

Anyway, glad to have you as an active member finally! :D

Even though the spare tire size is 5-6% smaller than the regular tire, remember that you shouldn't be using the spare for anything more than to get to a place to get your full size tire fixed. So long story short, I don't think that going a few miles with a different tire size is going to destroy your transfer case or the RT4WD.