mis matched tires in 4wd

[H8PVMT]

I have mis matched tires on the front of my xj, both 31 x 9 but one is a all terrain and one a long trail (BFG's) if I put it in 4wd am I screwed I know this is bad if they are different sizes....what about different tread. it's kinda snowing like hell and the commute this morning in 2wd SUCKED

TIA

doug

 

[Andy in Pa.]

No worries, as long as they are the same size your fine.

 

[XBoBJ]

What if it was the wrong size? I know its wrong and will f something up, what exactly gets f-ed up i know with a locker its NO NO, but open? I dont have a great knowlege of gears and such.

 

[MoparManiac]

I can just assume on a long trip it would heat up the spider gears quite a bit. Maybe causing them to melt together?

Other than that I don't see any adverse effect.

 

[H8PVMT]

thanks guys, made it home with front axle intact (hopefully) maybe this will be the kick in the pants to get a new tire.

doug

 

[mjma]

They're the same size, so you'll be fine in terms of not making the spiders work overtime!

Mismatched tires on the front isn't ideal, but it's not the end of the world either. The biggest problem that you may run into, IMO, is that the two tires have different coeffecients of friction...in other words, they act differently while braking and grabbing. If you had a straight up ghey street tire on one side and a TSL or something on the other, in the snow, it would probably want to spin around every time you hit the brakes!!! However, an AT and an long trail aren't all that much different, so you should be fine. Although, if you've gotta ride like this for a while, why not put the mis-matched in the rear (left rear if you're open)?

 

[mfascuba]

Biggest problem is with mismatched sizes in 4wd on dry pavement. There are differential spiders between each side of each axle, but front to back the speeds will be different and the drive axles will fight each other. The fight takes place in the transfer case - I see a broken chain in the near future. Now on snow, sand, slippery surfaces, you've got a chance as the slip can ease the pain on the transfer case.

My two cents, for the penny it's worth..

Mark