Re: Q: Tire wear on 4kq

["Andrew Buc" <abuc@ibm.net>]

On Wed, 18 Aug 1999 11:33:58 -0800, BMD wrote:

>Spare was shorter by about 3/4" than the others. The owner
>runs in the winter with the center diff locked (snow or not, can't cure this
>fetish). I saw the car because of a severe thumping in the middle of the car
>on decel (clear road with traction).

Someone posted a while back that all 4 tires need to be equally worn on
a q, or you damage the center diff. This reminds me of a situation I
had some years ago with a RWD car, and I wonder how I would have fared
w/a q.

I bought a set of 4 new (Kleber CM800S) tires for the car, and after a
couple of years, one fell victim to a road hazard. I assumed that I'd
simply buy a replacement, and I learned from the tire shop that that
tire was no longer available. I bought 2 new matched tires, different
brand, and made one of the Klebers the spare. Over the next few years I
lost at least one more Kleber, maybe two, so I would have run into this
issue even if I'd bought 5 in the first place. On a non-q, any
front/rear difference in rolling radius was no big deal.

What if I'd had a q? Even if I'd bought 5 tires at the outset, the
spare would have been less worn than the others. Please tell me that
with a q I wouldn't have to buy 4 new tires every time something like
this happened!