H3 Tire tread differences

[chaos254]

I just bought a 2008 h3 and noticed my front tires have 9/32 and my rears have 5/32. I called the local GM dealer and they said that this is only an issue if I'm in 4 hi locked or 4 low locked but otherwise its fine. Just wanted to make sure this is accurate before I keep driving and ruin my transfer case.

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[alrock]

I don't think that difference is enough to worry about, though I would at least begin rotating now.

That said, I believe the dealer's statement is incorrect. The tires must be closely matched to avoid abuse of the drivetrain, including in 4 high unlock. According to your dealers statement it would be okay to have 32s on the front and 33s on the rear and I can tell you from experience it doesn't work. We had to do an emergency rescue of an H3 once and put on mismatched tires. It was one loud and uncomfortable trip for the five miles to the tire shop..

 

[f5moab]

32-33 is one inch. 9/32 to 5/32 is only 4/32 or 1/8" difference between front/rear, so I would agree with the dealer.

 

[alrock]

Doug, do you think that the 1/8" will matter even in 4 low? I would think it would not. The point I was trying to make it that mismatched can matter regardless of transfer case setting but that 1/8 wouldn't matter. Let me know if you disagree

 

[f5moab]

No. 1/8 is nothing. My biggest concern, from my experience with two H3s, is there is 1/8 inch difference. I bet if I go out and check mine with a gauge there is less than 1/32 between front and rear. And I rotate only ever other oil change (or should I say, have someone rotate them).
Another way to look at it air pressure will add or subtract for a tires circumference. I'm really not sure how much a few pounds will make, but take a pickup truck such as my Silverado. It has the AWD setting, which is very similar to the H3, and yet, I can run normal 30 lbs in the front, but if I load up the rear and slap on the trailer, I will blow the rear tires to around 40 for the additional weight (and that is within spec). I'm guessing that is way more than 1/8 of an inch difference. But it varies from tire to tire depending on sidewall.
Heck I think at times some people might burn more than an eighth off on the trails when spinning their front wheels on slick rock.:giggle:

 

[alrock]

It was the REAR tire!

 

[08H3]

That may be the only picture in existence of an H3 smokin' the tires! Nice!

 

[f5moab]

Might be the only picture, but I can remember a few H3s burning rubber on Hell's Revenge's Top of the World fin; with their front tires. They will remain nameless, but one was from CO, the other from TX.:shame:

 

[Chook]

That may be the only picture in existence of an H3 smokin' the tires! Nice!

Check out this picture of a Walkinshaw Performance H3 lifting a leg under power from their supercharger kit............

 

[DJinCO]

That's because the driver is on the low side.

 

[Steve #1]

I wouldn't worry about it. I would guess that the tires were recently rotated from the front to the rear as the fronts tend to wear more. In 4hi unlock any problems you would have from miss matched tires would come from the stabelitrac trying to compensate for the miss matched wheel speeds. If you have the T case locked you should be on a surface that will allow them to slip enough to make up the small difference. I probably have 1/8" or more difrence in my rear tires now after doing a 5 tire rotation after fixing a botched alignment. I haven't had any problems and I'm not worried about any.