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MrBadger
Badger out
Different pressures each corner as well, I hope (to balance out the different handling characteristics)I use a different tyre on each corner. Saves having to cut one up.
Jason71
Well-Known Member
I understand entirely the argument for having tyres of the same type and age on the same axle. but I have never understood why having the same tyre front and rear is of any significance? can you enlighten me?
Because if they are significantly different in the way they perform, especially in different conditions, it will induce an imbalance.
Now, in motorsport or a driving course where you might want to provoke more oversteer or understeer, that can be used to your advantage.
On the road, with a driver who is expecting the car to behave the same way as it did when they bought it, it could catch them out.
Does that enlighten you?
Different levels of grip, slip angles, sidewall stiffness. I think the problem is that you can't predict how the handling will be influenced in a situation where you need maximum grip/handling ... it could be OK or it might be life threatening ... and you'll never know until you try it!!
Here's an interesting video: Can You Mix Tyres Across Axles - Tyre Tests and Reviews @ Tyre Reviews
Rustybkts
Member
The video reminds me about 20 years ago when I was working overseas and my (now ex) wife took my BM convertible in for an MOT.
It failed on tyres so she had budgets fitted to the rears.
A few days later I drove it in the rain and couldn't believe the way the tail wagged! So damn dangerous considering it was being compared to worn tyres that failed the MOT!
It failed on tyres so she had budgets fitted to the rears.
A few days later I drove it in the rain and couldn't believe the way the tail wagged! So damn dangerous considering it was being compared to worn tyres that failed the MOT!
Jason71
Well-Known Member
I have tried it , many times.
The video is interesting but its message is more don't buy cheap tyres at all and don't mix cheap and expensive both of which I would agree with but its notable that when he mixed 2 different brands of similar quality it was basically fine and had zero impact on his lap time.
I currently have two rear tyres that are much more worn than the fronts. So I almost certainly have relatively more grip at the front and less at the rear now than when the car was new particularly in the wet. If I replace the rears with new tyres the same I will then have the reverse situation. I would argue that having uneven wear on your tyres between axles probably makes more of a difference than different brands of equal quality do. I've certainly never replaced a pair of worn out tyres on one axle and found the handling got worse or less predicable.
So do you ALWAYS stick to the OEM tyre and rotate them regularly to keep the wear rates, and thus the balance, even and then replace the whole set at once as they do in the US? If so I will accept you are a true believer who practices what they preach and I salute your dedication to the cause.
In your example, putting brand new tyres on one axle with very worn tyres on the other will cause a slight imbalance because of the difference in tread depths, but I wouldn't be too concerned about that in most cases. In a high performance car with stiff suspension, it starts to become more of an issue.
Have you ever replaced a pair of worn out tyres on an axle with a completely different brand and tread pattern?
You could put a different brand of tyre on each corner of a car and invite a group of people to drive it at 30mph in a straight line and I doubt any of them would say anything is wrong.
It's in an emergency or unexpected situation a lot of drivers discover their car isn't maintained well and then it's often too late to do anything about it as they're already in the ditch.
I wouldn't mix Michelin PS4 with PS4S myself, let alone mix P Zeros with PS4Ss. I certainly wouldn't mix PS4S TO (Tesla homologation) with PS4S NO (Porsche homologation) even though you might think they look identical.
Gatsojon
Member
If you don’t rotate tyres front to back to balance wear and want to change tyre type, then you have no real choice but to mix front to rear.
current advice is to have your best tyres on the rear now. Not what it was when I was a lad but it’s to do with the most likely impact on the car’s behaviour and predictability in the event of a tyre failure.
current advice is to have your best tyres on the rear now. Not what it was when I was a lad but it’s to do with the most likely impact on the car’s behaviour and predictability in the event of a tyre failure.
Absolutely agree ... anyone who has had cars over the years will have done it. However, given the unpredictability of Joe Public it's surprising that there aren't more attempts made to ensure people don't unwittingly make life threatening decisions!
Lots of cars have different tyre sizes front and rear and in practice even if you have the same tyre type on each corner they will all have subtle variations in the age of the tyre (they are often stored for a long time before sale) pressure, wear rate, impact weaknesses all of which will only really come to light right at the limit of their (and the drivers ability). Different tyres of a similar nature and quality front and back are unlikely to make any more difference than a small psi or wear difference.
Most modern quality tyres abilities are some way beyond where the skill of most drivers runs out.
Most modern quality tyres abilities are some way beyond where the skill of most drivers runs out.
What suprises me is most drivers faith that less than 1 sqft of rubber contacting the road (however premium it is) will sort out whatever you do with a 2 ton lump of metal. This is particularly obvious in snow when all of the Range Rover drivers near me realise that physics beats 4 wheel drive when they try to stop going down hill too fast
What suprises me is most drivers faith that less than 1 sqft of rubber contacting the road (however premium it is) will sort out whatever you do with a 2 ton lump of metal. This is particularly obvious in snow when all of the Range Rover drivers near me realise that physics beats 4 wheel drive when they try to stop going down hill too fast
Any 2 wheel drive car with winter tyres will always brake more quickly in snow or cold wet road than any AWD on summer spec tyres (like most of these Range Rovers will be running).
Wow. Can of worms I've opened up here. I would never mix tyres on the same axle, but I do fall in to the camp above that says it's pretty much ok to mix front and rears, as long as they are of high quality. That said, I will probably end up going for the OEM, but I wanted a quieter tyre if possible.
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