Do the tires on a Limited have to be the exact same size?

tflux · Mar 14, 2020

1) Does toyota recommend/require all 4 tires (on the full-time 4wd, i.e., Limited models) to be within a certain tire diameter spec?

(I know subaru does with their AWD system. Meaning, if you have 30,000 miles on all 4 of your tires and 1 tire gets ruined, you are supposed to buy 4 new tires so the tire diameters are the same.)

I didn't see any mention of this in the 4runner manual, but I read somewhere on this forum that you should keep the tire diameters the same (like the subaru).

Thanks!

Cndnmax · Mar 14, 2020

The reason you change all the tires on an AWD car is due to the way their traction control systems work. The whole “send power to the wheel with traction” thing gets confused when different wheel spins faster/slower.
Although, If you’re using 3 bald tires and one new one you could see unwanted results on any car.

Here’s The manual recommendations:
● Do not mix tires of different makes, models or tread patterns. Also, do not mix tires of remarkably different treadwear.
●Do not use tire sizes other than those recommended by Toyota.
●Do not mix differently constructed tires (radial, bias-belted or bias-ply
tires).
●Do not mix summer, all season and snow tires.
●Do not use tires that have been used on another vehicle.

BobsTrail · Mar 14, 2020

:iagree:

Subaru is crazy to recommend buying all 4. There are tire shops that will shave a new tire to match the wear of the existing ones for cases like this.

Whippersnapper02 · Mar 14, 2020

The Limiteds have a Torsen limited slip center diff and because of it you most definitely need to have the same diameter size tires all around or you'll burn up the center diff. Any 4wd AWD vehicle should have the same diameter size all around.

Cndnmax · Mar 14, 2020

Whippersnapper02 said:
The Limiteds have a Torsen limited slip center diff and because of it you most definitely need to have the same diameter size tires all around or you'll burn up the center diff. Any 4wd AWD vehicle should have the same diameter size all around.

You can have one tire slightly different thread without the center diff noticing anything. The point is that 4wd (part time or full time) doesn’t care about minor differences (by minor i do not mean bald or different size tires). AWDs traction systems are much more sensitive to different wheel speed and is the reason why the tolerance is so small.

llDemonll · Mar 14, 2020

i don't know exact specs but subaru and mitsubishi say no more than ~1/8" diameter difference between tires.

i would expect toyota awd is about the same

03_4x4Runner · Mar 14, 2020

I would think there are a lot of limiteds out there that the owners do not check there tire pressure very often. I would think one tire being 4 psi lower than the others would cause more of a diameter difference than one tire with the tread worn more. My experience with the torsen diff on my old 4th gen and my 5th gen limited is not to worry about it. The torsen diff handles it just fine. If it could not we would only be able to drive on perfectly straight roads with no curves so the tires always went the same speed. Where I live it is hard to find straight road other than the interstate highways. Zero issues in 17 years with torsen diffs.

Do the tires on a Limited have to be the exact same size?

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