2) It is far better to have suspect tires on the front axle than on the rear axle. will be fine as long as its the same size. I'm looking at the Continental Conti Motion Sport-Touring. To me the best results are having 4 the same tires on any avg car but if you have to then be use at least the two front tires match each other and the two backs match each other and all the tires are the same exact size. It's perfectly okay to run different sizes, brands, and types of tires on the front and rear. Also, is it ok to have tyres with different amounts of wear front and rear? The remaining tire is P195/60/R15. The short answer is that, in general, manufacturers do not recommend tire mixing at all. No one tire is best, as everyone's needs are different. The most dramatic effect of tire width comes in inclement weather, like snow, he explains. Possibly everything. Thread starter PR Fect; Start date Sep 15, 2012; P. PR Fect Member. Depending on the conditions, this could include having four winter tires or four all season tires where the pairs have different tread patterns or traction characteristics. My Forester's tires are the same size and type, but are different brands. Improve this answer. If a vehicle's tires don't all wear out at the same time, drivers are typically forced to decide whether they should purchase a new set of tires (forfeiting the worth of the two tires not fully worn out) or just a pair of replacements. As you note, rears will wear faster due to carrying more of the load. Having two different-sized tires on the same axle is generally not a good thing. A new tire is larger in diameter than one of the same brand, type and size that’s part way through its tread life. This is why you want to but the tires with the best traction on the rear, but the trouble is that if you’re comparing two different tread patterns you don’t really know which one actually does have the best traction. Cheap, poorly designed tires can make for longer stopping distances and less control in an emergency maneuver. Share. It could happen due to several reasons – not rotating the tires, aggressive driving, driving with under-inflated tires, and misalignment of the tires or wheels. Id avoid it if possible, get two more of the better tyres and sell the other two on ebay or something. So the differential is under constant load at all times, but the load characteristics would differ during a turn or, in your case, with one tire of a circumference 1.22 inches greater than the others. If you have low-quality tires, your vehicle may lose handling, and you will experience a lot of road noise. The rear tires have PLENTY of tread life on them, but for one reason or another I may not be able to get the same type of tire. A VW dealer I called gave the off-hand answer of 6/32". Ride safe, wear a helmet. The front differential is designed to allow the two front wheels to travel at different speeds. In an oversteer situation, the rear tires will begin to slide and can be very difficult to correct. In terms of braking, four all season tires may be good, two of each may be better, but the best is still four matched winter tires. Another option is to choose equivalent tires from the same tire performance category that share the same tire size and speed rating. Follow edited Oct 24 '16 at 10:07. answered Oct 20 '16 at 12:53. devst3r devst3r. But different tire treads etc affect the over haul even traction and even the mileage. Always buy the recommended size and type of tire by your motorcycle manufacturer. Sep 15, 2012 #1 I just pick up a 1998 Chev 3500 4X4. Question: Is it dangerous to have mismatching front and rear tire sets? When I got another key set made, the guys at the Subaru dealership said I might want to get them changed. Hope that helps and best of luck. Each tire has a certain amount of grip, depending upon the conditions, and a certain feel to it, especially when things get interesting. Here’s a great depiction: HOW STUFF WORKS. Mostly with equipment like end loaders, and large dump trucks. It is not a bad idea to buy tires of different brands unless one of them is cheap or doesn't have the quality of the other. Location Wisconsin. So there are basically two differences between tyre types. VW customer care gave the answer that as long as the two tires new tires are either both on the front or both on the rear, that it's OK. First, tire choices can be fewer than hoped when trying to find two different sizes that match in the same brand. Installing the new tires (with full tread depth) on the rear axle will ensure that any differences in traction between the two pairs of tires will not lead to a dangerous oversteer situation. We recommend changing out tires in sets of four (one of the only exceptions is if the front and rear wheels are different, like on all Porsche's and other high performance vehicles.) two different brands of tyres were put on the front and rear. If its 4x4 all tires should be the same, and if its AWD all tires must be the same. The new 225/45R17-sized tire has a calculated diameter of 24.97", a circumference of 78.44" and will roll 835 times each mile. OK Or Not OK? This can be a frustration point for some unsuspecting consumers. The grip threshold is largely irrelevant, since the front and rear will be exposed to different forces and grip requirements. Aside from what tires are best for my motorcycle, one of the questions we get asked the most is “Do I need to replace tires in pairs, and can I mix and match different brands and types of tires front and rear?” Should You Mix Street Motorcycle Tires? For example, the two rear tyres would need to be the same brand and tread pattern, whereas the two front tyres can be different to the rear – but would still need to be the same as each other. This list of simple do's and don'ts will help you make informed decisions when it comes time to buy new tires. Assuming the alignment gets fixed, and I of course will buy the same size tires. The reason for this is that different tires grip and handle the road differently. But even two different pairs of tires of the same general type can lead to unpredictable handling. Replacing just one or two tires on an AWD vehicle could cause unnecessary wear and tear on your drivetrain, or confuse the traction control system to think that you are frequently losing traction. I'm not sure if there is legitimate concern there, or if they were trying to sell me tires. To top that off, you must buy new tires every few thousand miles as the old ones will wear out quicker. Wider tires don't perform as well in slick conditions. For optimal safety and performance, it is recommended that vehicles are fitted with the same tires to every wheel position on your car. Mismatched tires on AWD may lead to the damage of several components. That means having the same brand, size, tread pattern, load index, and speed rating on the front and rear tires. The three tires installed are P195/65/R15. The bike has Bridgestone Battlax BT020s on it, but I'm looking at other options for replacing the front. Second, prices on the larger rear pair can… You often won’t know quite what the car will do until you put different tires on it. My question is: Will it screw up the handling if I put a different brand on the front? So I need to replace the front two tires on my car (something like the alignment caused them to get worn down pretty bad). Don't Spend Too Little on Your Tires . Or one tread pattern may be better in one situation and the other one in another. For instance if its a front wheel drive, the front tires have to be the same, if its rear wheel drive, the back tires have to be the same. Is this acceptable to be running different size tires on the same (rear) axle? Certain mixes are expressly forbidden, such as mixing two snow tires with two summer or all-season tires. It is preferable to keep every tire on a vehicle identical in size, brand, model, rating, etc. In general, you want to replace all four tires at the same time, and you want to make sure any car that you buy has four tires from the same manufacturer with approximately the same amount of wear. Long story short: Yes, it is a problem to have two tires of different sizes on the front (or back) of your car. Two different tires on 4X4. When different width tires than recommended are used, the driver may feel the car pull in a certain direction or notice differences in turning and braking, automotive engineer Jeffrey Shaffner says. The tires on this bike only have 2600 miles on them, and the rear is in excellent condition. As poster above said knock off $500 off the price Mixing Tires: Last Resort Only …OK to mix two tires of one type with two tires of another. If the car is AWD or 4WD, then you should never mix tire brands at all. This pickup has LT265/75R16 tires on the front, … Different premium tyre manufacturers, such as Continental, manufacture their own distinct tyre tread designs. Not two or four but three. 327 2 2 silver badges 15 15 bronze badges. The most obvious one – because it can be seen if you look carefully – is the variation in tyre tread patterns. It has a 8 1/2 foot Boss Pro V. I have plowed snow for 30 some years. 2. This can be an excellent choice because the consumer may want a different performance attribute than the vehicle manufacturer specified. Mixing brands on a drive axle is a good way to wear out a differential, even if the tires are supposedly the same size. …with different size tires in the front and rear (staggered) continues. A different brand or model tire will have even greater differences in traction and number of revolutions per mile, and it’s likely to wear at a different rate. In other words, there's no tolerance limit. If the car is front-drive, then your advice holds. As an example of different tire diameters resulting from tires worn to different tread depths, we'll compare two 225/45R17-sized tires, a new tire with its original tread depth of 10/32-inch and a second tire worn to 8/32-inch of remaining tread depth. Another search showed that Brand X produced this model and size tire for both BMW and a General Motors car. Vehicle manufacturers select tires for a broad range of consumers that live in many climates. Is It OK to Mix Tires on Your Vehicle? That’s why it’s strongly recommended that you change your tyres in pairs – this detailed guide explains the benefits this would have for your vehicle, which type of tyres you should choose and more. So I am new to the pickup truck plowing. The main reason is that uneven tires or tires with different wear patterns might change a car’s handling, especially in bad weather. (Some vehicles have what is known as a “staggered fitment" -- different-sized tires on the front and rear axles.) The tires on the front axle in AWD often wear off faster than the rear tires. There are hundreds of tire-manufacturing brands out there but not every brand makes good tires. I find this somewhat hard to believe.