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Folks-
I bought my 98 XC recently with 2 new directional tires on it. To make matters worse, I accidentally ordered 2 more directional tires. (They look symmetric on the TireRack website.) That is, I am stuck with 4 directionals unintentionally.
So, now I will have 4 directional tires on an AWD vehicle. When I was talking with the shop that will mount these for me, the guys says "Well, you can actually rotate directional tires from side to side (e.g. rear L to front R swap), but it requires remounting and rebalancing each time."
Yeah, okay. makes sense, but I wonder if it is worth it. Probably takes an extra $30-50 each time you rotate. What do you guys think? Is it worth it? I'm thinking probably not since these are $82 tires, warranteed for 45K miles.
Tell me your thoughts please!
By the way, the tires are Dunlop SP Sport A2's. From the reader rankings on the TireRack website, it looks like they are perform almost as well as the frequently lauded Bridgestone Potenza RE950, but with a slightly longer warrantee.
Dan
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I've been told by many people and tire shops that once you've driven on a steel-belted tire, even a non-directional tread tire, for a while, you should never mount it the other way and drive on it, as the belts have all "settled" a bit into their given direction. (That is, ANY tire should be re-mounted if you're going to cross-rotate... they say direct cross-rotation when out with the old bias-ply tires of the 60's...)
When I've had snow tires unmounted, tire shops have always marked them with chalk to show the orignal direction of rotation, and I asumed this was for this reason...
Anyone?
-Paul Demeo
1990 780T
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Hi,
If there is an arrow on the sidewall of the tire showing tire rotation direction then you are correct. You can not rotate the tire in the opposite direction of the arrow.
However, if there is no arrow on the side wall showing tire rotation direction then you can do a cross rotation with no harm done to the tire. That is you can change the tire rotation direction with no harm done to the tire.
Steven---
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Well-
for what it is worth, I decided to play it safe and am going with 4 new tires rather than just 2. Am getting Michelin XGT H4's. $108 per tire or so.
Is this problem of maintaining the same tire diameter common to ALL awd cars? I used to have an awd eagle talon and do not remember this issue. and yes it did have a viscous coupling between front and rear axles.
Has anyone actually had problems surrounding this issue? that is anyone had to replace/repair a viscous coupling due to mismatched tires?
Dan
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posted by
someone claiming to be Ray N.
on
Wed Apr 24 05:02 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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Yes, failures have been reported here. You might go to google.com and
search on:
volvo awd bevel gear
on the Web and in Groups to get a better idea.
I think the tire issue is a limitation of viscous coupled AWD systems.
The Haldex system (used in the Volvo S60 AWD) does not have this
limitation. You can also search on Haldex that and get a lot of info on
the basic AWD technologies in use.
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My tire dealer that I have done business with for 40 years tells me that a five tire rotation involves crossing sides, but four tire rotation is just front to back.
--
2 8s & 2 7s 600,000 miles total
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posted by
someone claiming to be Ray N.
on
Tue Apr 23 08:16 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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You should ask the dealer to print out technical service bulletin
446005 for you. It covers issues with tires on AWD models. I think you
will want to figure out how to rotate the tires such that the tire
size, between all of them, stays very constant since a variation in size
can cause problems. I think the owners manual actuially list the
maximum size variation allowed.
Here is a bit of the TSB from alldatadiy.com (I have a subscription):
Note! To prevent deterioration in the function of the power transmission system on All-wheel drive (AWD) cars, it is important to follow the instructions below.
1
All Wheel Drive vehicles have special requirements for tires and wheels. It is very important that the tire replacement guidelines below are followed. Failure to do so can result in damage to the AWD components (angle gear, viscous coupling/freewheel unit).
Always drive on tires of identical brand, size, construction (radial), tread pattern, load-, speed-, traction-, temperature-, and treadwear rating.
Never drive on mixed tires, except for brief periods when the temporary spare tire is in use.
Always use properly inflated tires of correct dimensions. Tire size and inflation pressures are shown on the tire pressure label located inside the fuel filler door.
Caution! Failure to always drive on properly inflated, identical tires of correct dimensions may result in a circumference difference between tires on the front and rear axles. This will cause excessive tire wear and may damage the transmission and all wheel drive system.
2
Replacing the tires
When tire replacement is necessary, Volvo strongly recommends replacing all four tires at the same time with identical tires as explained above. Failure to do so can result in circumference differences that may damage the transmission and all wheel drive system.
If only one or two tires are replaced, the new tire(s) must be identical to the tires with which the car was built, and must be mounted on the FRONT AXLE ONLY! Failure to do this may damage the transmission and all wheel drive system.
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Boy!
This TSB sucks big time!!
Is this something that I should be worried about? the people that sold the car to me put two directional Falkens on the front, with two of the original OEM Continentals on the back (now showing wear bars). I am planning to replace the two OEM tires.
Should I really be worried about having 2 different makes/models of tires on this car? Should I replace all 4 tires rather than just the two tires?
Pls let me know what you guys think.
Dan
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Hi Dan,
There is an easy test that the Dealer can do to verify if your AWD drive train is in good working order. I would recommend that you take the car to a good Dealer and have them do a through inspection/test of the AWD system to make sure you are not on the edge of a major failure.
I own a 99 XC and what I did to help solve some of the issues with the AWD system is to carry a full size spare. Last fall I bought a matching full size rim and purchased 5 BF Goodrich tires of the same type that are non-directional and can be cross rotated. Every 5k miles I do a 5-tire rotation. That is rotate the spare tire with the 4 tires on the car. This way if I ever have a major failure of a tire I will still have a full size spare that I can safely run on with out worrying about damaging the AWD system.
Good Luck,
Steven---
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posted by
someone claiming to be bob
on
Wed Apr 24 02:47 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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Unless you got about 2 grand laying around with nothing better to spend it on, get 4 matching tires. Running with mismatched tires, especially with larger diameter on the REAR, burns up the bevel gear. (AKA transfer case).
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posted by
someone claiming to be Ray N.
on
Tue Apr 23 18:26 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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I would be concerned. It is important with many AWD Setups that the
4 tires are nearly identical in diameter (this means replace all 4 if you
get a flat at 20K miles on the set and the failed tire can not be repaired).
Mismatched tire size cause the viscous coupling to run/engage all the time and
wear out parts (or somthing like that, don't have an AWD and have mostly
just quickly read the AWD threads -- but the part replacement is expensive).
The TSB also says to not drive more then 50 miles on the spare.
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posted by
someone claiming to be KC
on
Tue Apr 23 09:52 CST 2002 [ RELATED]
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Here's my take: Yes, you should be worried about it, UNLESS you know FOR A FACT that your dealership would warranty the drivetrain failure using your current setup. If you are out of warranty you should only worry if you know FOR A FACT that the tires are of matching size, weight, construction, etc.
Since you said you are only going to use $85 tires, then I think $340 for a set of 4 is decent for the peace of mind.
This isnt a Volvo specific thing, most other AWD vehicles have the same restrictions. BMW no longer recommends rotation on those vehicles, I have heard.
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