Tires at 50% at 12000 miles?

[Eyates]

Ok so you have a Bronco Sport. If you need a new tire, odds are you will need to replace all 4. AWD and automatic 4WD systems want the tires to be within a certain percentage of the same tire circumference. If they're not it can cause problems. I'm not up to speed on the Sports, but I assume their AWD system falls under this.
Best case, the computer gets snippy with you. Worst case, you damage the drivetrain and are looking at thousands in repair bills when the tires are too unequal in size.

Also, it sounds like you don't monitor your tire pressure or do any tire maintenance. This can play a role in how fast your tires are wearing out. Use a dedicated tire pressure gauge to watch your pressures, and have a way to air up at home. Ryobi makes a 18 volt 1 gallon air compressor if you have ryobi batteries. 120volt pancake compressors are very affordable. Even the cheap little 12 volt cigarette plug compressors will get the job done. Regardless, TPMS tends to be more vague, it might say you're at 30psi but the margin of error is several psi in either direction. Turning good enough, into low. Don't rely on what the computer says your tire pressure is.

Make a point of getting tires rotated. Discount tire is the place to go for tire stuff as far as national chains go. They use torque wrenches to put lugs on, set tire pressures correctly, and the best part is they will rotate tires for free even if you didn't buy from them. Costco and the like offer packages for unlimited rotations and balances if you want, but typically a tire only needs balanced when it's installed.

Lastly, if you're towing or hauling a lot of weight, expect your tire life to die.

Thank you for all of the info. I am learning so much!

Sponsored

 

[Discount Tire]

@colintrax Thank you for the recognition and your continued support!

 

[Laminar]

Jest a leetle observation here; if the difference in circumference between a 100% and 50% tire will crater the drivetrain.........THEN YA'LL BETTER NOT AIR DOWN YOUR TIRES TO GO OFF-ROADING!!!

Tires offroad can slip, so a slight circumference difference doesn't really matter. A circumference difference onroad where the only slip is through the AWD clutches of an active AWD system is not the same thing.

The Sport Badlands came with either 235/65R17 AT3W tires which should have a 55,000 mile warranty or 225/65R17 Scorpions (50,000 mile warranty) or CrossContacts (no warranty).

As someone else mentioned, the tires that ship on a car from the factory are not the same tires you buy from a dealer or tire shop even if the brand and model are the same. OEM tires are generally made to a higher balance standard as the OEMs are pickier than retail customers, but oftentimes the OEM tires don't have a mileage warranty or the same wear rate as their retail cousins. OEMs care about ride quality, noise, efficiency, and grip, they do not care about mileage as it's not covered by the vehicle's warranty. A new car should have a separate tire life warranty, details should be packaged with the owner's manual.

You can estimate tire life by measuring the tread depth and comparing to the original spec. Generally 3/32" is considered to be 0% life, though that may be different for edge case tires like snow tires.

The AT3W and Scorpion started with 13/32" of tread, so 8/32" would be 50% gone. The CrossContact was 10/32" so 6/32" would be just over 50% gone. I bought a combo digital tire pressure gauge and tread depth tool that reads out in fractional 32nds of an inch for easy comparison.

 

[Eyates]

Thank you so much. I am buying the gauge now.

 

[DD214]

Have you had your tires rotated yet? Seems not all dealers are rostering the spares. A decent reference if you have not rotated them is what does the spare look like I. Depth with a cling vs the other tires. If you have had them rotated, still the same question But rather, how do the 5 tires compare to each other.

Until you get that tire depth measurement tool... you can use a penny. Place a penny head first into your tire tread. If you can't see the top of lincoln's head, you're ok.

I just looked at my tires at 10000 miles and I have had 5 tires rotations starting at 1000 mile, then 5k then 10 k. All 5 about the same and from the BOTTOM of the penny, the tread is about up to somewhere betweeen the middle of the nose to the eyes measured from the middle of the tire tread.

hope this helps.

 

[Eyates]

Have you had your tires rotated yet? Seems not all dealers are rostering the spares. A decent reference if you have not rotated them is what does the spare look like I. Depth with a cling vs the other tires. If you have had them rotated, still the same question But rather, how do the 5 tires compare to each other.



I just looked at my tires at 10000 miles and I have had 5 tires rotations starting at 1000 mile, then 5k then 10 k. All 5 about the same and from the BOTTOM of the penny, the tread is about up to somewhere betweeen the middle of the nose to the eyes measured from the middle of the tire tread.

hope this helps.

Thank you. I have not had my tires rotated since I bought the Bronco Sport. It has been in service and has had paid lol changed twice at the dealer (I paid for this as part of financing with the car). I would assume that they would have recommended and offered to rotate the tires? It is a Bronco Sport Badlands.

 

[lapazleo]

Jest a leetle observation here; if the difference in circumference between a 100% and 50% tire will crater the drivetrain.........THEN YA'LL BETTER NOT AIR DOWN YOUR TIRES TO GO OFF-ROADING!!!
It's simple physics on our side and jest plain old greed and marketing on the dealer's side.
No reason to buy 4 new tires instead of just one!!!
The tire with the nail can probably be patched!!!
Take it someplace that does not try to sell you four new tires and see if they think it can be patched.

I believe the correct term for sidewall repair is booted. We do it all the time in the trucking business. If done correctly by a professional tire shop it's as good as the original sidewall.

 

[Sparkherd]

Tires offroad can slip, so a slight circumference difference doesn't really matter. A circumference difference onroad where the only slip is through the AWD clutches of an active AWD system is not the same thing.

Meh.
Unless someone has a limited slip clutch type differential, or is driving around on dry pavement with their diff(s) locked, it really won't make much difference.
The point I was trying to make is that the dealer is trying to BONE the original poster into buying FOUR new tires, which ain't necessary.
Except to keep the dealer happy.

 

[Laminar]

Meh.
Unless someone has a limited slip clutch type differential, or is driving around on dry pavement with their diff(s) locked, it really won't make much difference.
The point I was trying to make is that the dealer is trying to BONE the original poster into buying FOUR new tires, which ain't necessary.
Except to keep the dealer happy.

Guess what kind of AWD system the Sport Badlands has?

 

[Tricky Dick]

Generally 3/32" is considered to be 0% life

Unless they're for sale on FB, then they "have at least two seasons left, no low balls, I know what I got".

Kudos for pulling up the specs and doing the math.

 

[Sparkherd]

Guess what kind of AWD system the Sport Badlands has?

I dunno.
Bronco Sport? My bad! Thought this was Bronco 6th Gen site?
3/8th difference in diameter will not make any more difference than normal tire pressure deviation, but your engineering degree is obviously better than mine.

Sponsored