I still have the stock SRA’s on my Jeep with around 37,000 miles on them and I know they suck but I’m trying to make it to the summer time before I need to replace them just b/c money is tight. This weekend I was up in VT and it was the first time I was truly able to test everything in the snow. 4-full time and 4-part time worked great and 2wd sucked, I mean really sucked. Once the wheels unhooked they spun out of control even with only slight gas. This was not the case on my old Cherokee with good tires that had enough bite to handle 2wd. It wasn’t until after the trip that I noticed how much more worn out my rear tires were compared to my front. So I’ll need to rotate them but now I’m wondering if it’s even safe to drive in the rain.

The tire is not worn down to the wear bars in the center (those are the only ones I can find and I still have about 2mm to go.) On the outside edge lugs my rear tires are basically solid blocks now and don’t have the two little horizontal groves (not sips) in them any more – the lugs alternate having 1 full grove and a ½ grove and then 2 groves and a ½ grove – the rears are done to none. My front tires still have them but only about 1-2mm deep. I’m worried that once I put those tires in the front I’ll be much more prone to hydroplaning. Does that make sense? I’m just thinking that the front wheels are the ones that will break up the water path for the rear wheels a bit.

So I guess the real question is at what “wear” point will I need to replace the stock tires. Do you go by the wear bars in the center of the tire? Can you run them down to the wear bars or should you replace them before that?

And please give me just fact answers, not just get rid of them they suck anyway. If I could swing the $400+ it’ll cost to replace them I would have done it before the winter. So I need to figure out if I have another 5,000 miles in them or am I already pushing it?

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'04 Liberty Limited - 245/70/16 Firestone Destination AT's, Mopar tow hooks, Draw-Tite Class IV hitch, Skid Row Engine & Transmission Skids, Mopar T-Case & Gas Tank Skids, Extended Breather Tubes, Red Top Optima, Sylvania Silver Star head lights, Hella 500FF bumper mounted driving lights

Sounds like your tires are underinflated if they are wearing faster on the edges then the centers,the whole traed surface should wear evenly.The general rule is 3/32" left in tread is the time to replace,or when down to the wear bars.Sounds like you need new tires,spring is still a ways off and running on unevenly worn bald tires can be deadly if you still have snow/ice to contend with.Plus if the tire pressure is to low(as it seems to be in your case) you can have a tire blowout at highway speeds,remember the Ford Exploder thing and Firestone tires? All those tires were bald and way underinflated and failed at highway speeds causing a rollover,just Ford got blamed when it should have been the owners for not properly caring for there tires.

I keep a watchful eye on my tires b/c it’s the easiest way to increase mpg and religiously keep them between 33 and 35 cold. If anything they would be slightly over inflated (33 is the specs in manual.) Just so I’m not confusing anyone, the outside lugs are still there and still have about 2-5mm to go before I am at the center of the tire (as in bald.) It’s those little groves within the main lugs that are worn out. At the same time, the center portion of the tire between the two main water channels also only have about 2mm between them. The water channels and the outside lugs both have about 2-5mm of depth. If I do a nickel test and put it within the water channel or outside lugs I can’t see the hair on his head. It’s the groves within the lugs that are all worn out.

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'04 Liberty Limited - 245/70/16 Firestone Destination AT's, Mopar tow hooks, Draw-Tite Class IV hitch, Skid Row Engine & Transmission Skids, Mopar T-Case & Gas Tank Skids, Extended Breather Tubes, Red Top Optima, Sylvania Silver Star head lights, Hella 500FF bumper mounted driving lights

Okay, so the original explanation sounded like you had uneven wear. As long as you're still getting even wear and you have not reached the minimum tread depth (typically wear bars), then you're probably okay. granted, the SR-As were probably never that good in the first place, so your gut feeling is probably the best guide. If you feel like you can stretch it a couple months, drive carefully, avoid sudden breaking/hard turns, etc. and do what you can. If you don't feel safe, then replace them. being nervous driving makes people do silly things. If you're comfortable, you'll probably drive a little more consistently and hopefully safer. If it's a money thing, get the best deal you can and try to scrimp/save elsewhere. You'll never regret spending a little money on good tires but you might regret having too many tacos or too much beer

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2005 Silver CRD Limited
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