4 matching tires on 4wd

[fordman]

i was told that the tiers have to match all the way around on a 4wd just liek the gear ratios have to match on both differentials. because it will over run the differentials also. is that true? i already have a good set of tires on this truck now. i dont want to change them now.

[70shortwide]

as long as the height is the same on all four you are good to go!

[averagef250]

The tire diamter needs to be pretty close, say within 1/2", but no, the tires themselves do not all have to be the same tread width or brand.

If you only use 4x4 in the snow or in slippery places the tire diameter isn't as important, but if you run in 4wd on pavement you may break front end parts on a lighter 4x4 or have tires slip and chirp on a heavier, 1 ton sized 4x4.

[fordman]

i have snow tread tires on the back and street tread tires on the frotn. i think they are all 235 75 15

[1971ford]

If they are all 235 75 15 then it doesn't matter. Just make sure they are all indeed the same size (diameter). Like other said.

[Dirty Offio]

Just 1 thought on this. As long as all the tires are LT or P tires. There is enough of a difference between the 2 that it could be a problem. (if I ever catch the moron responsible for making the same model of tires with the same tread in both car (P) and truck (LT) tires I am going to wring his pencil neck!) I only run LT's on my pickups, with the exception of my lowered '67 F100 swb. But then again, every truck I have left, other than that one, are 3/4 or 1 tons, so I guess it is a moot point!

Where I ran into this is on my wife's Jeep Cherokee, I put a set of LT 235 75R 15's Mud Terrains on the back, and was going to keep the same front tires on it. Tire guy said no, we argued, he pulled out a tape and I'll be damned but the Passenger tires were over an inch smaller in diameter. I know people that have been talked into buying more, or more expensive tires with that particular bit of BS, so I was rarin for a fight when he brought it up, but this guy hung his argument on th Passenger versus Light Truck (LT) designation. He was right too. (I hate eatin humble pie!)

Just my 2 cents worth.

Offio

[fordman]

i have no idea. they are probably all (p) tires on there. i havent looked real hard. i thought lt tires were all marked 31 32 33x whatever on them instead of 235/75/15.

[1971ford]

i have no idea. they are probably all (p) tires on there. i havent looked real hard. i thought lt tires were all marked 31 32 33x whatever on them instead of 235/75/15.

Yeah they try really hard at confusing you. It works on me
I use this a lot ... tire height calculater
http://www.wallaceracing.com/tire-aspect-calc.php

[Dirty Offio]

i have no idea. they are probably all (p) tires on there. i havent looked real hard. i thought lt tires were all marked 31 32 33x whatever on them instead of 235/75/15.

Nah, just have to look at the size on the side of the tires. It will either start with LT or P. As far as I know (here goes into gator country!) you are right, all on the 31x10.50-15 type designations are LT's. At least, I have never seen any that were not.

[ToughOldFord]

Irregardless of the passenger or light truck designation there can be a very large difference in tire height between tires of the same 'size' but different brands. Bottom line is to pull a tape and check 'em.

[badboyzkustumz]

There is a HUGE difference between passenger tires, lite truck tires and heavy duty truck tires. each tire is designed specifically for that use. 3 things to consider with tires is vehicle use (car, truck, SUV), speed rating, and tread. For trucks they run a regular radial design, HT or highway tread, AT or all terrain, or MT for mud. There are numerous variations as well depending on the special application stuff but those are the basics. the ratings are there for safety. they tell you how much weight the tire can handle, how fast you can go and where you can get the best performance....USE THEM! I can not tell you how often we get people in the shop with completely the wrong tires for their cars and cant figure out what happened when it blew out or lost traction yada yada.

get the right tires, keep them lubed up (they are rubber, it dries out and cracks, avoid that) and keep them rotated often (every time you get an oil change) and you will MAYBE replace them 3 times in a whole vehicles lifetime. rant over.