Re grinding a square tire

I ride a Ural with live 2wd, have ridden several 2 wheelers, owned old school 4X4 Suburban, Wagoneer, Bronco, Blazer, and several Williys equipped with various lockers and limited slips, in the military I drove tanks, APC's, 6X6 and 8X8 trucks, I'm a CDL driver for a company that operates 28', 53', and doubles, all in snow.
Also had a Yugo which was great in snow
Some were better than others, some were virtually unstoppable, none were as easy to drive within their limitations as my wife's Subaru Outback.

Judgement, skill, and equipment are all important, one will not make up for a lack of another, but using the best tool for the job goes a long way.
Today's AWD systems can work very well, big wide tires suck, nothing beats a good set of chains

How does this thread keep getting swamped with talk about all wheel drive?

A tire for a CBR250 is probably less than $75.

New tires transform the way your bike rides and handles, and unless you really like riding on less than optimal tires (whicg I won't do), I don't understand the point.

I won't even get to the car tire/motorcycle thing, it's just wrong.

The subject is skewed and not accurate.

Was the Suburban 1/2 ton? Or 3/4 ton? Rear locker? Or open diff?


These debates can go on all day but what it really boils down to is; is vehicle A equipped with lockers or limited slips?

And is vehicle B equipped THE SAME.


Every Toyota 4wd I've seen or heard about comes factory (pre-TRD or 80 series) with open diffs (NO locker or ltd slip).


It is certainly no comparison to one that does come equipped.

But a Toyota (79-95 Mini, Fj40-55-60/2-70-80) is the best over-engineered, compact 4wd I've ever seen.


/ off topic.

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeep_four-wheel-drive_systems#Quadra-Trac


Sorry, but you're the one that's gotten suckered in by this. Quadra trac is ONLY in the transfer case. Nothing to do with the diffs that come after it. A transfer case has NO authority to magically change the carriers located inside each differential from open to magically a spool by shifting a lever or turning a dial. It can't nor will ever happen. A drive shaft alone can not do that.

"Quadratrack", again, is a MARKETING TERM that gives one the idea it means "all four" but it DOES NOT.



And another thing, "which locks all 4 wheels together in rotation"...

Well, duh. Don't look now, but that happens on my (non-Quadratrac equipped) 4WD when I pull the short shifter FROM 2-high to 4-high. It "locks" all four wheels together in rotation.

But my momentum can be stopped if I can spin one on the front and one on the back due to my open f/r diffs.

But then why does my truck say it's "4WD"???


Lockers, posi's or spools located inside the differentials are THE ONLY way one can illegitimately be 4-wheel-drive.

It's just a matter of conservation. Why throw away a tire that can still perform adequately?

Hell, why change your oil, why replace your chain? Recycle everything, run your oil through a few coffee filters, keep grinding your tire down or use a car tire, save about $50 a year! That is much better than your safety. Why ride a bike, just walk everywhere it is even cheaper! Heck, why buy clothes or even use electricity! Just run around naked in the forest eating dirt and sleeping under rocks then you are really saving money!

Ha Ha! Not the same thing at all. Throw things away when they are worn out. Not before.

Ok, the other ideas are pretty good, but I draw the line at running oil through my coffee filters. No way would I do that................... well unless it's really dirty.

What about using ear wax for lip balm? Winter's coming!

I feel your pain,

Riding a sidecar rig, the tires can be down to the cords in the center yet still have the little mold nubs and be like new on the rest of the tire. It seems like such a waste, but it is what it is, if shaving your tires works for you and fits your budget there's nothing wrong with doing it..

Not really a matter of budget. I have plenty of money. And a brand new set of OEM take offs sitting downstairs waiting to go on and I can buy another slightly used rear tire for $50 when I mount the one I have. It's a matter of why throw another tire into the land fill that isn't down to the wear bars yet? My front tire is barely worn. Maybe get 25,000 miles out of it.

cause I get around on snow & ice so well with a "square" car tire on the back of my V-strom

I have to say that I've never thought about it but the TCK on the back of my GS is squared off something awful, it's got plent of life left in it but I was thinking about trashing it because of the way it turns in (or doesn't!) because the profile is shot. I'd certainly give it a try, not saying I'd take all the tread down equally but just use a "cheese grater" file to round off the square edge so it rolls into turns more like a tire should.

That is what I have done. I am still not on the wear bars anywhere yet and now the transition into turns is back to normal.

Maybe you could do a track day to round off your tires? At least then you wouldn't be throwing away perfectly good rubber. Seems kind of wasteful.

I don't see the point


why did the tires get square the first place? riding in straight roads all the time, there only gonna get square again unless you change where you ride

I ride to work. I wish I didn't have to any more but it is a fact of life for most of us.

Hey Sendler,

Hypermiling and Ecomodding saves tires too huh? I didn't know you were on this forum.

FXSTi

I was just thinking you could lube the chain at the same time.