Tire Warning with AWD

AngelOfDarkness

AngelOfDarkness

Forum Member
Joined
Sep 24, 2009
Messages
61
Location
Colorado
So I was driving and was going to merge and when I went to slamed into the curb I managed to pop my tire, i have never hit the curb doing it except this curb twice. What sucks is that had to replace all 4 tires, that is the only problem I have. Out $320
 
hang on a second. lets back it up a bit. how did you hit the same curb twice? and why did you have to relace all 4 tyres?
 
Last edited:
Eden, I think they mean that they hit the same curb on two different occasions. (eg once today & again at another time, say last week or when ever)
So if you only popped one tyre, I'm with eden & wondering why you have to replace them all. :confused:
Just replace the one that popped with the same type & get a wheel alignment. :cool:
Whoever told you that you have to change them all is just trying to take you for a ride & trying to rip you off. :furious:

Regards
Mr Turbo
 
mr turbo said:
Eden, I think they mean that they hit the same curb on two different occasions. (eg once today & again at another time, say last week or when ever)
Click to expand...

yeah thats what i'm on about? unless the tyres are compleatly bold or close to it you shouldn't have to replace them all. with symetrical AWD you really should have 2 spares and do a 6 wheel rotation to avoid gearbox issues when you need to put on the spare
 
Last edited:
Yeah mr turbo you got it right with hitting, and as for all 4 it was the guys we bought it from (they don't bull **** us) and the reason being that all 4 tires need to be identical or else you risk destroying the AWD. Go look in your manual, when you put the donut on you have to put a fuse in this little box to disable the AWD
 
Why couldnt you just buy a fresh second hand tyre of around the same wear level. Prob would have cost you $15.
 
I wish except that the tires have to be really close in size, so I would have had to buy used, and then to find a tire that could be the same type, model and size would be hard as hell. Sounds like I am making excuses, but not. And for the record the mechanis I bought the car from (there business is fixing up subarus and selling them) was not where I got the tires
 
There is some give in the system, as tyre rotation would have to be pretty spot on otherwise. I wear my fronts more than the rears, and what are now the rears have more wear in them. The centre diff is fine as I have power oversteer on demand
 
They dont have to be that close, its not like you have locked diffs or anything.
 
Hmm, you guys do make good points, I think I am going to do some more research on this as well as talk to the mechanics alittle more.
 
Angel,
For what it is worth, this link had been posted in the 04-09 MY Outback thread in the Tyres / Tires forum - in the Technical Forums (Fora) section of the site.
https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tire...26SR6FWF&vehicleSearch=false&fromCompare1=yes
The reference to shaving tyres seems to be what you are referring to. (Note: It is a general reference for 4WD vehicles, not targetted at Subies.)
I have only had my OB for 10 months, but have had close friends with Subies for 25 years, and have never heard of anyone 'winding up' a Subie trans due to marginal differences in tyre radius.
Having said that, I am certainly aware of this problem with traditional 4WD vehicles using 4WD on bitumen.
As I understand it, that is why many such vehicles need to manually engage front hubs, so they can run rear drive on the bitumen and change to 4WD off road.
I am confident we would've heard about it if there was a problem with modern AWD Subies.
 
Rally said:
There is some give in the system, as tyre rotation would have to be pretty spot on otherwise. I wear my fronts more than the rears, and what are now the rears have more wear in them. The centre diff is fine as I have power oversteer on demand
Click to expand...


That's what the centre diff is there for - as Barry also points out with "true" 4wd -> there's no give in the system for the difference in front and rear diff rotations so it "binds up".

The small difference in your tyre size would not be anything out of the ordinary. The centre diff is there to compensate for the difference in rotation/drive to the front and rear. The front will always want to travel faster than the rear around a corner.

Doesn't matter who the mechanic is - sometimes they seem to like to get the better of you by taking the piss... I'd only be worried about different tyres if one or more were of a different size, this will eventually end in whining from one of the three diffs - more than likely the centre diff.

I'd only replace what needs to be replaced in the future (from what your logic tells you).

Cheers

Bennie
 
Originally Posted by Rally
There is some give in the system, as tyre rotation would have to be pretty spot on otherwise. I wear my fronts more than the rears, and what are now the rears have more wear in them. The centre diff is fine as I have power oversteer on demand

Mine too, but I think this is more related to the fact that the front tyres do all the steering and most of the braking.
 
That, and the fact I run a bit more neg camber for the spirited driving I sometimes indulge in.
 
yeah okay u all make good points but these were used tires that I popped the one on and I needed to get a new one, that was a huge difference in tread (sry if I read It wrong I just did 18 hours of work 5 hrs of sleep and then 7 more)
 
I think some simple maths might help. eg the OD of the new tyre and the OD of the worn tyre will give you a percentage difference and from there you could see if it really is a problem.
I wrecked one of my tyres at 1/2 full tread and replaced it with a new one and i have had no problems at all.
As far as i am aware there is a light that will come on if there is a problem.
not sure if all models have it but i think it is the 'awd' light.
Plenty of Subie owners here and i have never read of anyone having problems but in the end it's what makes you happy.:):):)
 
Thxs guys, and yes they have a light that states AWD, this means the car is only FWD. Cause you have to install a fuse to disable it when you put on the donut
 
My manual states " This light flashes if the vehicle is driven with tyres of different diameters fitted on its wheels or with the air pressure excessively low in any of its tyres"
Flashes is the word here as it will STAY on if AWD is disengaged for any reason which we can't do.
 
what year and model is ur subby. So you mean to say that i can when the tires don't match and will disengage the AWD on its on?
 
I would not think so. It's just a warning light to tell you something is wrong and has 2 modes,flashing or staying on.
I forgot to add this is on autos only.
If it flashes it means what i put in the previous post and if it stays on it means awd is not engaged and so is a warning that something is wrong.
That's it.:)
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top