Tire wear question

[Pathy415]

I have a 2wd pathfinder and was wondering which tires wear out faster. Ive owned front wheel drive cars in the past and the fronts usually wear out first. Since the truck is rwd do the rears wear first?

[donald]

That would be my guess...

Think of it this way... when you're at a complete stop, and you GUN it hard, which tires would most likely screech or smoke up?

The drive-wheels (in all our case, when in 2WD mode), the rear wheels is where the power is transferred into the pavement, inducing the frictional forces to propel the rig forward.
Note: there's friction on the tires at the front too, but this friction is for directional purposes (ie. go straight, left, right, etc), not to propel.\

Same concept can be applied to FWD cars, but now the "propelling" and "directional" frictional forces are both in the front. And the friction-forces on the rear tires are mainly for stability (ie. keeping the car's body in line with the direction of the vehicle).

Sorry for my attempt to use "phsyics" terminology. But just wanted it to make a bit of sense. =)
I'm not trying to be a "know-it-all". I just loved physics in school. It's fun to think and make use of that class in ormal life.

Now, that was my attempt to answer your 2nd question.
As far as your 1st question goes ("which tires wear out faster?"), I assume you mean which tires (ie. manufacturer, model, spec) has longest longevity?
For that - I leave it up to the tire-pros.
I forget what I have on my Qx4 today - but they're supposed to be good for commuting. They're not knobby at all .

[Pathofinder]

But where most of your vehicles weight while cornering and taking turns??

Down on the FRONT tires

My tires seem to wear evenly with my style of driving, but I still plan on rotating

[Densetsu]

There's typically much more weight above the front axle with the engine being there. And when you hit the brakes, the weight shifts forward and the front tires bear much of the load (negating the "extra wear" that the rear tires experience when you accelerate). Plus the added load on the front tires when you're turning, as Pathofinder mentioned.

Compare this to the forces that the drive wheels in the back experience, I'd expect the wear to be fairly even, if not a bit more wear in the front. Personally, I've never noticed any large difference in wear with the Pathy. I have winters and all-seasons, and rotate them once a year (that is, when I put them on for the appropriate season). I can't properly rotate my winters, since they have directional treads, but I figure swapping the front driver and rear driver (and front and rear passenger) is good enough.

Of course, if you're doing stuff like excessive acceleration or braking, taking corners at high speeds, spending a significant amount of time in 4HI, doing lots of towing, carrying lots of cargo in the back, etc. then all bets are off.

[WPGQX4]

The drive tires will wear the fastest on 99% of vehicles. Rotating every 10,000-12,000km will extend the life of your tires.

[Pathy415]

Thanks for all the input! Much Appreciated. I guess I'll also invest in a tread depth gauge.

[donald]

Hmm... why are you considering a tread gauge?
I don't know how much those cost, but i'd figure you can do the same if you had a generic caliper of some type?
or perhaps just a simple 6" plastic ruler? or something just to make sure your treadwear is even across the face of the tire (sidewall-to-sidewall)

[Chuck Tribolet]

My Pathfinders have typically worn the tires the same front and rear. I don't rotate tires.

My Corvette wore out the rears at about 34,000. It's at 38,000 now and the fronts look like they have another 20,000 in them.


Chuck

[tbsbiker2]

I rotate my tires every second oil change typically before 10K miles...Just front to back. I'v'e done this on all three of my nissans (two that went well beyond 120K before being sold (94 SE pick up and twins not good combo and in the case of the latter 97 XE new CV joints two weeks prior to getting t-boned at 45 MPH by someone runnning a redlight...I digress and ended up with the 01 which I like much better in terms of power) that I've owned and feel it gave me not only long life out of my tires but less chance for any cupping or pulling based on the braking and cornering forces which have to play into uneven wear. More exciting for me though is I ordered the Warn Hub conversion. I think it makes plan good sense...sorry off topic and just plain babbling.

[ARKQX33V6]

Wear and tear front to rear are dependent on many things and your right foot rules. My 97 at 14 years has gone through very few tires, the originals at 70% at 70,000 km and this 2nd set at 130000 is still far from the wear bars.

I rotate the tires at less than 5K km and all tires are within the same wear, but Nissan claims tires should be at 26 PSIG and I am at 36 PSIG. Through trial and error and the feel that the tires perform at all speeds.