2 tires or Replace all four

[Cheesesteak]

The corner repair shop inspected my AWD Vue and say the front tires won't pass. I am not happy as I'd replaced all four on 6/15/18 with Falken brand ones that claimed to be good for 65k miles! There have been 3-4 tire rotations performed at various times from then until now - assuming Pep Boys and such were being honest on the bills. I looked up Falken warrantee info and it seems I would have needed to document every rotation (and maybe more) for the warrantee to be valid. I may still contact them but I don't expect much satisfaction. Did I mention the car has only covered 22.8k miles since the installation? So I went on this site reading posts from others who were debating the "replace 2 tires or all 4" question and now my head hurts a little. I was leaning towards the idea that this is PART TIME system and - not living in bad snow country - I don't know if power has EVER been diverted to the real wheels in the last 22.8k miles. I looking for advice on my current idea: Buy 2 new Falkens place them on the front and keep the old ones in case my tires get slashed. And as far a future rotations go, always swap front to back. I don't really want to give Falken more business but, if there is anything to the arguments people make about there being differences in circumference of 235x60x17 tires from one mfr to another I'm not sure I have a choice. Thanks

[Cheesesteak]

Since I'm not getting any comments, I'll update a little. Based on much web surfing I am now leaning towards getting 2 new tires (the same Falkens I guess) and placing them on the rear. Many people feel that the 'You must buy 4 tires" argument is flawed. They point out that drivetrains have some built-in compensation for circumference variances and that no harm will result. I'd always favored putting the best tires on the front but everyone seems to say the rear will be better. I make sure the front is aligned first. And I'll measure the tread depth on the 2 better tires to see what's what. According to Falken's stats, the new tires will start with 10.5/32" depth. I Think the shop said my better ones are 8/32" but I'll check.

[jbuenavides]

It will still be your choice at the end of the day, usually, I buy 4 tires at the same time.

[Cheesesteak]

If all of my tires were 'bald', I'd buy 4 new ones too. I have since read other Saturn forums about how the 2004 awd system works and confirmed that the rear wheels are just along for the ride until the fronts lose traction. There is a clutch that then kicks in to engage the rear wheels. It is at that point where tires with different circumferences can cause problems. I believe Audi and Subaru systems (and probably others) work differently by sending some power to all four wheels all the time. Different story. I feel it is safe to just add 2 new ones as long as I place them both on the front or both on the rear.

[atikovi]

2 tires are fine. It's FWD most of the time.

[Cheesesteak]

Originally Posted by atikovi

2 tires are fine. It's FWD most of the time.

Thanks! My only remaining issue is deciding where to put the new ones. Some posts I read preferred to place them on the rear as they would 'help prevent slipping & sliding' (or whatever). But maybe they were referring to full-time awd systems found in other makes. I've always felt that, when the fronts provide the power, steering and most of the braking - you'd want the best tires to be there. Worst case - a blowout - better to have that happen in the rear than on the front. Front End Align is sched'd for Monday. Will replace tires then too probably.

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by Cheesesteak

Worst case - a blowout - better to have that happen in the rear than on the front.

NO NO NO. With a blowout at the rear you have no control and can easily spin out. With a blowout on the front, you can at least steer to safety.

[Cheesesteak]

I guess - that in 50 years of driving - I've never really had a "blowout". Maybe I should not have used that term. I've just had a whole lot of tires that slowly went flat after being punctured by something. I even found one tire flat when I returned to my parked car, changed it, and ran over something very near my driveway and watched a different tire go flat after I'd parked! Two flats in one day! For now, I will keep the better tires on the front. I feel that this makes sense. I think it would be easier to steer and brake with two inflated front tires and one flat rear rather than the other way around.

[ernesto rex]

I think the reasoning behind putting the new tires in the rear comes from the idea that average driver is better at dealing with the front end of the car loosing traction than the rear.

Your choice in the end. Once the car leaves the shop they can stop anyone from doing a swap when they get home.

[patfood]

Originally Posted by Cheesesteak

Thanks! My only remaining issue is deciding where to put the new ones. Some posts I read preferred to place them on the rear as they would 'help prevent slipping & sliding' (or whatever). But maybe they were referring to full-time awd systems found in other makes. I've always felt that, when the fronts provide the power, steering and most of the braking - you'd want the best tires to be there. Worst case - a blowout - better to have that happen in the rear than on the front. Front End Align is sched'd for Monday. Will replace tires then too probably.

I have read that it is ALWAYS advisable to put new tires on the rear on any car if only replacing two tires. This is the safest bet to not slip out around turns during wet or other low traction conditions.

[Bismarck318]

A few years back, they (my oil change & sometimes tire dealer) refused to put the bad ones on the back per their independent study, I would think you want the traction in the front.

[atikovi]

Originally Posted by bottomlipstick

I made a note about it on the uk essays reviews. I'd appreciate it if you could read it and accept it.

We got a new spammer here.

[SL2 Ride]

Originally Posted by patfood

I have read that it is ALWAYS advisable to put new tires on the rear on any car if only replacing two tires. This is the safest bet to not slip out around turns during wet or other low traction conditions.

Same.