Tires: Replace two tires, nitto tires, centrifugal forces

Question
I have a cadi escalade AWD with custom Rim 305/45R22 tires on it. One of the tires needs to replace. The others thread are still good. (45% still good). Some mechanic recommended to replace all four tires and some you can get away with two tires. Currently i have a Nitto Tires 3005/45/22 NT404 V rated (420 threads). These tires are discontiued. The closes tires that i can find with the same thread and V shaped and V rated are the khumo STX. What is your recommendation? Can i get replaced two tires?

Answer
Mike,

AWD mechanisms can be very fussy about rolling diameter.  The risk is damaging the drivetrain - very expensive to repair.

So the question becomes - How much risk are you willing to accept?

Clearly a single tire is not a good idea, and if you are lucky, you might find a set of tires that have the same rolling diameter - which you can measure because they change due to centrifugal forces at higher speeds.

I certainly would not mix tires - brands, speed ratings, etc.

Remember, it isn't the tread pattern that is important - it's rolling diameter at speed.