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I'm about to mount some tires on my 712M. 2 of the tires will be brand new, the others will have about 3000 mile on them. Any 712 experts tell me which tires wear the most so that I will mount the new tires there?

Thanks,
Michael

I don't know which wear fastest, but I've always been told...new tires on the front if you're getting two at a time.

On a four wheel vehicle, I completely agree. I'm not sure if that applies to a 6x6 though.

The outer edges on the rears wear the fastest on a empty truck, hence you need to rotate the tires on the rims more often. But install the best tires in front. Steering and braking is your primary factor.

will do. I had read somewhere that the middle tires wear the fastest, so I was thinking about putting the new tires there. With two votes for the front, I guess I'll put them there.

BTW, the other tires are still in great shape, I just wanted to even out the wear.

From my experience, the fronts wear fastest in a 712; the rears wear more on the edges, but more slowly overall than the fronts. 'Course mine has lots of weight on the front, had to upgrade the springs because of that too, this might bias my wear more than a 712M.

I try to rotate the tires once or twice a year; I keep them all on the same side, and move the rear to the front, the front to the middle, and middle to the rear to try to even out the wear. After 2-3 years I have the tires flipped on the rims to even out the wear inside to outside.

YMMV.

Jim M.
712W

Jimm391730 wrote:From my experience, the fronts wear fastest in a 712; the rears wear more on the edges, but more slowly overall than the fronts. 'Course mine has lots of weight on the front, had to upgrade the springs because of that too, this might bias my wear more than a 712M.

What kind of springs did you go to and what was the cost? I'm going to be adding a bumper and winch, and I think that the stock springs are already getting a little low.

Mike,

My tires on my 712 are 15 months old and I do a ton of driving, usually about 100 miles one way up to big bear and however many miles while there and back, its nothing for me to do 400 to 500 miles in a weekend, my super swamper TSL radials (265/80R16) so if you figure 500 miles @ 35 weeks roughly thats about 17500 miles of mostl highway driving, I usually run them at 65lbs per tire while on the highway to sort of force them to ride closer to the center, and I do about 20psi in the dirt and snow, never had a problem with loss of traction.

I did have Goodyear Wrangler MTR's the year before and they totally sucked, I have also had Pro Comp Mud Terrains and they also sucked, mostly in the off road enviroment both of those packed the lugs with mud or snow and slipped a lot, now the TSL's have been flipped once at about 8 months to wear more evenly and like I said in my opinion you cant get a better tire for the pinz than the TSL Radial, 265/80R16's fit the stock rim perfectly, but must be warmed up a lot inorder to fit over the rim, (super thick sidewall) I also rotate them about every 5 to 6 weeks too, all in all I am very satisfied with super swamper and at $165.95 ea they arent to pricey.

Tires are BFG MT in the 255/85-16 size. I already have the tires on the 710K. Since we're selling the K, I'm going to rob the tires from it (5 of them anyway) and put them on my 712. That way, I only have to buy 1 tire.

When I wear them out, I was planning on going the TSL route, but probably upgrade the rims at the same time to the new ones that Scott at EI is going to have. For the time being, it's hard to bash the BFG MT, since I only have to buy 1.

Mike,

Thats cool why spend the money when ya don't have to, just keep in mind if you drive any kind of miles most tires will only last a year to a year and a half, as for wheels yeah I think Im going to get the new wheels scott has also, look nice and a bit easier to balance, though I'll have to drive a bit more careful with those wheels as I have beat the crap out of my originals, I will take care of the outer edge wear by installing adjustable air bags at all si axels, you know lower the position a bit for on the road driving and raise it for off road, when you get the TSL's (Radial I hope) you'll love them, smooth on road agressive off, never slipped once on ice last winter and never had to chain up either.

My tires are wearing REALLY fast on the front. Of course I have put about 10,000 km on her since Feb.

Once I get off light duty I will get my cruiser back and will use it as a daily driver, so the miles will slow down.

I am still seriously thinking of trying the Hi-Tec retreads in a MTR design. I have read really good reviews about them and for about $70 a tire, I think it's worth a try.

I'm also going to order some Dyna-Beads. I think the out of balance issues are taking their toll on the fronts.

todds112 wrote: I am still seriously thinking of trying the Hi-Tec retreads in a MTR design. I have read really good reviews about them and for about $70 a tire, I think it's worth a try.

I'm also going to order some Dyna-Beads. I think the out of balance issues are taking their toll on the fronts.

I've always wondered about those Hi-Tec retreads. I'd be scared that I'd lose a couple of sidewalls off road. Heck, for about the same price, you can get the Pep Boys Dokota tires that aren't retreads. Of course in both cases, you might get what you paid for.

Luckily, flipping the tires on the rim and balancing them isn't an issue for me. The shop that does all of our work will do it for free.

I've read all the horror stories about re-treads and it gives me pause. I looked into Hi-tec and they only use good quality carcasses, Goodyear, BFG, etc. Still up in the air about it.

What kind of springs did you go to and what was the cost? I'm going to be adding a bumper and winch, and I think that the stock springs are already getting a little low.

Stefan at SoCal got them for me; I think they were "one size down from the RedBull" TD springs. Other than that I don't know what they are. Can't remember what I paid, either! Maybe I'm getting old... but the springs aren't! I used to bottom out all the time, now I hit the limit straps fairly regularly instead. Definately stiffer, but a change for the better.

Jim M.

It's easiest to start by determining which tires wear the SLOWEST on a 712. That, of course, would be the tire attached to the rear door.

Sorry, it's been a really long day here (dealing with a cat that just lost one leg! and other domestic issues) and I had to let off some 'smart ass'.

Seriously though, as was suggested earlier, put the best tires on the front.