Swank4

although I think this definitely has something to do with it because you don't see it on stock height cars. What puzzles me is that the wear is uneven around the tire - it doesn't occur for the whole distance around but, rather, in a certain section. This has happened on two sets of tires for me now and the car has been aligned throughout.

My guess is this - that the AWD system doesn't allow enough independent rotation of the wheels (non open diff) so that when you turn the car it puts strain on the tires where it contacts the pavement. If you've ever driven a car with locked diffs and go to turn you can feel what I'm talking about - tire scrubs the pavement because it can't turn freely.

ANyway, this is just a guess. I can feel this sort of resistance/scrubbing sometimes when parallel parking.