Awright gang-

Please be patient with me as I'm going to ask a question that has probably been asked dozens of times and I'd find the answer if I kept looking. (But, I have ADD and a short attention span, I need to know now!!!!):razz:

Anyway, blessing in disguise, scraped the sidewall of a one crappy Good "for a" Year Wrangler HP and it went flat. So I replaced the 2 on the rear axle with Dunlop Radial Rover A/T, which I've heard good things about. Now I'm concerned as I've been hearing" Dude, you have to replace all 4 or you'll burn out your transfer case." The tires are the same size, diameter is the same, thought the revolutions per minute is significantly different (according to tire rack).

Not wanting to spend another 3 C notes, anyone have any first hand advice w/ this? I luv my E and don't want to damage it after only having it a year.

Tire rack says the new Dunlops have a revolutions per mile of 786 whereas the HP's have a RPM of 750 which according to some will put great strain of the AWD system. Both tires have the same diameter so they should revolve at the same rate, the old ones a tad faster due to wear.

Anyone have first hand experience using 2 different brands of the same size on different axles? Or should I just take some Paxil and Valium and chill out?

Help me Obi Wan Kenobi, you're my only hope (except when it comes to Darth Vader)

If the new tires are also 215/70-16s, you're fine.

if the revolutions per mile are different and the diameters are the same, something is wrong. more than likely, the diameters are not exactly the same.
since you mention transfer case, we'll assume you have AWD.
if you don't have AWD, then no problem if tires on the same "axle" are the same.
w/ AWD you want the revolutions per mile to be w/i 3%, because at 6% difference the clutches for the rear kick in, and they're not intended for full time use. w/ your 4.8% difference (786/750), your E's AWD system won't engage the AWD as early as it would w/ equal size tires, since the fronts will have to spin about 10% faster to have it engage, rather than 6% faster.
in any event, it's the clutch packs in the rear "pumpkin" that wear out, not the transfer case.
(the 3% and 6% numbers are approximate. YMMV.)

I have to agree with the above poster's. You should be fine with them.

However, It is never recommended to run 2 different brands of radials. The tread design alone can cause erratic handling characteristics. They will normaly only show themselves in an emergency handling situation.

The unpredictable behavior of your vehicle in that type of a situation, may be dangerous. I would consider replacing them with the same kind ( brand and model) on all 4 wheels.


Dom

2nd agreement - should be fine - particulary since the AWD only kicks in when needed, which is not often unless your off-road. If you do feel any odd handling/ride, though, I'd do the other two with the same for safety - if not, no worries. Know several track racers who raced for months with 4 different make/brand tires on their cars, as a manufacturers test - with zero issues.

I have a 2005 AWD Element--57k on it
I admittedly let the rotation/alignment frequency get out of bounds and now the front tires need badly to be replaced. RF is bald on outer and LF isn't far behind
The rears look great still with plenty of tread remaining.

The tires are Continential Cross Tract 100 M/S 215x70rx16s'
they have just over 26k on them and are just over 3 years old. (we have towed this vehicle behind our MH for about 10k of the 26k distance.

I was told that these tires are no longer made in the same load/speed rating and I would need to replace "all 4" so as not to RUIN THE TRANSFER/awd CASE??

Is this true or is it sales BS??

Thanks

think this way.

if your front tires are bald. (lets say .1 is worn off tire diameter.)

if a diff that small was super detrimental. the damage would be done already.

most people see AWD and assume its like a subaru. or evo and is in constant use and adjusting on the fly at all times.

which the element does not do. pretty much. the company tolerances. for a 215-70-16 or about 27.8 to 28" diameter is within working specs.

if you have the extra cash replacing 4 tires is best for all cars. or keeping all 4 of like tread.

but when it comes down to real life. your tires should be the exact match per axle (front or rear pairs)

its all a sale tactic. as you will see in most stores...buy 3 get 4th free...most people who buy that only need 2 but figure they save some bucks or got talked into it.

Follow up from previous post: finally convinced the America's tire guys to sell me (2) of the newer model replacement tire called "cross contact" in the identical size, they would not install them on the front as I requested saying that in an emergency I could experience loss of traction in the rear (like that has never happened in my last 40+ years of driving!!! I just let them mount them and went out the door shaking my head:060: next day I took the element to an alignment guy I know and he set it up on the rack and it was off both front and rear camber and toe-in (likely contributing to tire wear in the front in addition to my failure to rotate tires, he agreed with me to move the new tires to the front as then they would wear closer to those on the rear "improving the similarity in traction over time and likely giving me more time between now and next tire replacement became necessary. One interesting fact came up the cam was bottomed out on the left rear in getting the camber to align to the factory specification? (never been in an accident)?

Now the element drives once again like it should and I havave a few shekels left to support the economy in other areas!