[BeAmW335i]

I bought a set of used BMW 17" wheels/tires for AutoX/Tracking. The rear tires are worn differently (one more than the other). Since our cars do not have a LSD, would it matter which side I put the tire with the least amount of tread? I know that with an open differential, the tire with the least amount of traction will end up spinning more, but wasn't sure if a certain side gets worn out quicker than the other.

Thanks.

Edit: I went Autocrossing this past Saturday and Sunday. It's more like a low speed road course without many cones. As you can see, it was organized by the Corvette association. We had 14 runs each day, and here is what I learned. Keep checking the tire pressure, as it went up 1 psi after each run. I started with 38psi cold. Previously, I was complaining about having cheap tires up front because I was getting a lot of undesteer. After doing some research, I realized that I was probably going into the turns too fast, and that's exactly what it was. This weekend I hardly had any problems, and was able to rotate the car at will. In the pics you can see the staging area and some shots of the track. My best lap time was 56 seconds. Most of the stock C5/C6 Corvette's (including Z06) were running about 53-55 seconds, and the ones with stickier rubber were in the low 50's. Overall, it was a great weekend.

[nicknaz]

OP how much is the difference? if its minor should be ok. if it is a lot the traction control electronics and ABS electronics might get weird. no clue what the tolerance is though.

When in doubt I personally go with the tight spec of my old subaru, which is no more than 3-4/32" tread difference across any two tires (ie if the difference is 3-4/32" don't worry about it and toss it on the car. if the difference is more, do more research to see what the E9X tolerances or get the tire shaved down to the same depth)

[BeAmW335i]

Actually, just the inner edge of one of the tires is more worn out, but it's not a huge difference. I am not doing autocross for competition, and I don't care if I run a second slower or faster...it's just for fun I typically have the traction control completely off, but occassionally I will leave it half on just to give the car's electronics a good workout Thanks for the input!

[BeAmW335i]

Added some pics from this weekend. Enjoy!

[E90330iS]

nice

[nicknaz]

OP what tires were you using? 38psi cold seems on the high side. I suspect you were giving up a fair amount of grip with those tire pressures. FWIW I use 32psi cold (which nets out to around 38psi hot) for my 17" RE050A II stock tires

[BeAmW335i]

17" Nexen N5000 UHP in the front and RE050A II RFTs in the rear. I know it's not the greatest setup, but the wheels came with these tires when I bought them from a forum member. I was maintaining 38psi for every run, and the tires seemed to respond well. I never really tried lower psi because everyone says to run high psi to keep the tires from rolling. BTW, I already have some BFG G-Force Sport in 235/45-17 and 255/40-17 for next year. They were almost 40-50% off at TireRack, so I couldn't pass up the deal.

[nicknaz]

Originally Posted by BeAmW335i

I never really tried lower psi because everyone says to run high psi to keep the tires from rolling.

You should, especially with the RFT. The sidewall is so mega stiff (because of the run flat ability) it will not roll over when it has air.

Just check it out.. sometimes the car will feel better but it is loosing grip, and less pressure will actually be faster even if the tires feel worse

EDIT: i've autox on winter tires so whatever, glad you showed up