Replacing one front tire on AWS: how much tread difference warrants replacing both?

[eric_n_dfw]

A nasty pothole on I-35W got me over the weekend and ended up having to replace the driver-side, front tire. Fortunately, no wheel damage, and I have road hazard coverage on it from Discount Tire so I'm only out the cost of insuring the new one.

Now, however, I have that tire at a full 9/32 tread and the passenger side at 7/32. Given that it's AWD, do I need to bite the bullet and replace both to avoid differential wear, or is 2/32's not enough to be a problem?

FWIW, they said they'd give me $80 credit for the current one in trade toward which is close to 50% off. (Nitto Motivo at $164 and I'll try to get them to comp new road hazard ins.)

This is my first AWD car so thanks for any advice!

 

[eric_n_dfw]

I just realized there's a specific "Suspension, Brakes, Wheels, Tires Discussion" board that this probably should be in. Moderator(s) - can you move this there or should I repost?

 

[CeramicGT001]

A nasty pothole on I-35W got me over the weekend and ended up having to replace the driver-side, front tire. Fortunately, no wheel damage, and I have road hazard coverage on it from Discount Tire so I'm only out the cost of insuring the new one.

Now, however, I have that tire at a full 9/32 tread and the passenger side at 7/32. Given that it's AWD, do I need to bite the bullet and replace both to avoid differential wear, or is 2/32's not enough to be a problem?

FWIW, they said they'd give me $80 credit for the current one in trade toward which is close to 50% off. (Nitto Motivo at $164 and I'll try to get them to comp new road hazard ins.)

This is my first AWD car so thanks for any advice!

I had the same thing happen way back after the initial 5k miles and decided to just replace the one that went flat, put 15k miles like that no issue. Then replaced all 4 once the tread started looking pretty thin around 20k miles.

 

[stoopid]

Might not be enough of a difference. Was told (and never verified) that when it gets to about half the tread wear/life of the tire, with AWD you should replace all (or in this case the other matching front tire). I'm not sure that just because 'I didn't notice anything' means you weren't causing strain on the drivetrain.

This article mentions shaving down the new replacement tire to match:

https://www.cars.com/articles/do-i-need-to-replace-more-than-one-tire-at-a-time-1420684865769/

 

[westcoastGT]

I had my front right replaced due to dealer damage at 8000km , no issues, now at 27,000 km