I have a 2018 FTR which is AWD of course, just turned 16k miles. The back tires are down to about 4 mm but the fronts are still pretty meaty at about 9mm. Is the old advice of "replace all 4 tires at the same time when you have AWD" just an old wive's tale at this point?

Also, I've never had rears wear out so much faster, seems weird. Can that be addressed somehow with an alignment?

Thanks

 

I''m a little confused by your post. You state the rears are down to 4mm in one sentance and and the fronts are at 9mm; then you offer that you've never had the fronts wear out so quickly. if your numbers are as stated then replace the rears and be done with it. It's probably a 2-1 ratio of front to rear replacement as a standard if you're aggressive on your take-offs.

 

Yes, I meant rears. I fixed it, thanks.

 

Blanket rules like "change all four on an AWD" are always old wives tales.. sure it's definitely true for some AWD cars but it's also untrue for many AWD cars. Replace your tyres when they need replacing... that might be all four next time, or just fronts and rears as pairs.

I change all four or in pairs just to save trips to the shop... if all four tyres are the same size but wear unevenly I rotate them monthly so they're all done at the same time, and in a staggered setup I rotate side to side if the wear is uneven so I can replace in pairs.

 

And do not even consider for a nano-second fitting Pirelli P-Zeros, they are rubbish and it is well documented that the rears wear out really fast. I am guessing you have the original factory fitted P-Zeros on the car. They are also known to wear very unevenly if the wheel alignment is even a smidge out, especially the inner edges of the rears.
Instead look at fitting a pair of Michelin Pilot Sport 4S or Continental SportContact 7 on the rear, you will be amazed at the improvement in grip and wear.

 

My experience:

- changing just the rears and keeping the same tire should be fine

- changing just the fronts or rears, even keeping the same brand, may change the handling characteristics of your car for at least a little while. New tires sometimes can be a bit greasy at first vs broken in tires, but should resolve after a bit of driving if it does happen.

- I personally avoid mixing brands of tires. Maybe it will work out, but in many cases there's a significant difference in tread compound and sidewall stiffness. If so this will change the bias for handling and braking, likely for the worse. When changing brand I always get new set of matching tires.

 

You just need to be careful when you need to replace just one tire because of damage.
If there is significant wear on the undamaged same axle tire, you should probably change both tires for that axle.
FWIW - not sure they are called "axles" any longer!!

 

YES
To the question of wear - lots of variables. My OEM PZeros were slide city after my first 20 minutes on a track. At 13K miles the rears had a little more meat left than the front, but I replaced all with P4S Michelins since the Pirellies were so sloppy. Flash forward to 27K miles - I just had to replace the fronts since cord was peeking through on the inside edges. We suspect the disintegrated bushings and shock tower spacers to cause the bad wear. Those parts were all just replaced. I'll have it on the rack Thursday. I left the rears alone because there is plenty of tread left.

 

With my '12 AMG SLK55I had to replace rears twice and never did fronts before getting F Type!

 

In my experience with high-end performance sports cars that have staggered wheel/tire setups, the rears tend to wear out faster than the fronts; especially if one likes aggressive acceleration. As mentioned in earlier replies, sticking with the same brand is recommended if you're only doing either rear or front only. Mixing thread patterns and compounds (front v. rear) could lead to some handling anomalies.

 

I had the same issue. Fronts were great, backs were shot. I found the same set of rears that were on the car before, to make for a matched set. I have had no issues at all. I have driven the car on rally's and other long distance, spirited runs quite a bit since then. I am not one to mix and match brand of tires, so they are all the same, but replacing two rears when the fronts are fine, is very reasonable.

 

Did this with my 993 and 996 P cars and am about to do it with my F-type S awd....lasted like you about 20k miles....which is amazing actually given the HP.


Best,

jb