On a related note --- I bought this vehicle from a good friend. The tires were all oddly worn and he said that the vehicle had always done that due to it being all wheel drive.
He stated he always rotated front to back. I questioned this with my tire supplier and he stated that the X pattern was recommended for all wheel drive vehicles using radial tires. So that is what I have done and I have noted no difference in tire wear.
AWD does nothing to make tires wear unevenly. Perhaps you should talk to a mechanic instead of a friend.
The X pattern for rotation is fine, unless you have directional tires. Directional tires should only be switched from to rear and would be turning the "wrong" way if put on the other side of the vehicle.
Well I didn't have to talk with anyone to observe the wear patterns. So yeah, apparently on my vehicle AWD did in fact result in uneven wear when rotating front to back. Conversely the X pattern has shown even wear. So in fact AWD on my vehicle does make tires wear unevenly.
I'll would let you know how my personal experience with maximum psi works out but I'm planning on selling or parking the beast pretty soon and will likely never reach the usable end of my tire life.
But I can tell you that everyone I've read (and I've read a lot since posting this thread) that has actually run their tires at or above max psi reported that their tires lasted longer and that they wore dead even. People who stuck near the 32 psi level experienced more wear on the outer edges of the tires, more overall wear and lower gas mileage.
Hey I'm not promoting anything dangerous here folks --- just suggesting to inflate to at or near the max PSI which is well within the safety margin of the tire manufactures. Use your door or the tire. Whichever you like.
And yes --- driving a car is much more dangerous than most people think it is ---
So,
Drive as few miles as needed (there is a direct correlation to number of miles driven and fatalities)
Always wear shoulder and waist belts appropriately adjusted
Always drive alert
Never drive impaired
Never text or phone call while driving
Avoid driving distractions such as eating or listening to radios
Drive defensively
Drive below the posted maximum speed limit (I'll bet more than a few of us break this daily??)
Avoid driving during busy times and at night
Allow a safe distance (1 car length per 10 mph, and almost no one does this)
Remember that driving in the rain is the cause of more accidents than driving in the snow. (its been raining like an MF here all week!) Slick roads are very dangerous and I think most people don't know that or forget that.
Yes ----safety first