Mixing tires, bad idea?
03-10-2009, 08:36 AM
#12
5th Gear Member
Join Date: Aug 2006
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I've measured the exact results of mixing front and rear tires using a racelogic telemetry system in a controlled environment. Its $10k in measuring equipment, not some gtech. I'm not going to bother mentioning the information but I think it sufficient to say that I don't think based on your criteria you should do that and that I also understand based on my results why it is illegal in germany to use two different model tires front and rear and they won't let you drive off from a ticket having them and why tirerack won't fullfill your order if you indicate to them in any way that doing this is your intention.
I've parking lot tested a wide array of mustangs from this forum, and many of the ones with upgraded suspensions I've found handle worse than stock an are slower to be honest.
Also subjectively speaking a car that mixes front and rear tires can in the worst of cases feel like stomach churning dog s*** when it takes a corner.
That's how I'd call that 5SPD07GT.
This post is directed souly to the original poster and no one else.
As a piece of general practical advice I'd recommend looking first for an all season tire, or an offbrand tire like Falken Toyo and Nitto which make weird combination of sizes at low prices. Numbers wise by doing so you will end up better, and safety wise having the same model tires helps to increase your vehicle's stability.
Let me know if that helped anyone of you.
I've parking lot tested a wide array of mustangs from this forum, and many of the ones with upgraded suspensions I've found handle worse than stock an are slower to be honest.
Also subjectively speaking a car that mixes front and rear tires can in the worst of cases feel like stomach churning dog s*** when it takes a corner.
That's how I'd call that 5SPD07GT.
This post is directed souly to the original poster and no one else.
As a piece of general practical advice I'd recommend looking first for an all season tire, or an offbrand tire like Falken Toyo and Nitto which make weird combination of sizes at low prices. Numbers wise by doing so you will end up better, and safety wise having the same model tires helps to increase your vehicle's stability.
Let me know if that helped anyone of you.
Last edited by Legion5; 03-10-2009 at 08:39 AM.
03-10-2009, 10:03 AM
#13
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Join Date: Jun 2008
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So why arent you running the same size all the way around. Arent those the 18x10s on all 4 corners or are they staggered 18x9.5 and 18x10. Also are you trying to stay away from 35 series tires? I was runnning 265/35 and 295/35s but some folks prefer 40 series.
03-10-2009, 10:05 AM
#14
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That comes down to how hard you drive, how smooth you are at it, how bad the wet weather is, and several other things. All of which are unknown and unpredictable, so I can't recommend mixing tires either.
Legion - I was unaware that Tire Rack would not fill this sort of order, but if that's their policy I'm all in favor of it (and their reputation just went up another notch).
Norm
Legion - I was unaware that Tire Rack would not fill this sort of order, but if that's their policy I'm all in favor of it (and their reputation just went up another notch).
Norm
03-10-2009, 10:17 AM
#15
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Location: alberta, canada
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It should'nt matter front to back. Side to side, yes. My buddy in high school got stuck in the snow with two different tires on the rear axle. Because of the difference in traction he burned out his rear end.
03-10-2009, 10:33 AM
#16
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↑ That was mostly self-inflicted damage due to a lack of either driving experience or mechanical knowledge.
The problem with mismatched tires is that one end will start to lose grip and slide in a wet corner before the other, and this happens more abruptly and at slower speeds than in the dry. If the fronts lose grip, you slide and can't steer to correct where your car is heading. If it's the rears instead, you spin.
Being able to safely get around corners in various weather conditions is not limited to autocross and road courses.
Norm
The problem with mismatched tires is that one end will start to lose grip and slide in a wet corner before the other, and this happens more abruptly and at slower speeds than in the dry. If the fronts lose grip, you slide and can't steer to correct where your car is heading. If it's the rears instead, you spin.
Being able to safely get around corners in various weather conditions is not limited to autocross and road courses.
Norm
Last edited by Norm Peterson; 03-11-2009 at 06:16 AM. Reason: duplicate word
03-10-2009, 10:53 AM
#17
Join Date: Aug 2008
Posts: 8
Hello,
I would also strongly recommend against mixing tires. Here in Montana, we deal with icy roads quite often (as I am writing this it is -2 degress with an inch of ice on the roads). The main reason not to mix tires has to do with extreme, emergency braking situations.
I am going to use the following example to illistrate my point. In Montana, it is common to put studded snow tires on the rear wheels of rear wheel drive cars in the winter to get traction when taking off or to assist with stopping on icy roads. When front wheel drive cars first came out, people put studded snow tires on the front wheels and not the rear wheels. The thinking was studded tires on the front would help them get traction when they were taking off. However, what people didn't realize was that when they applied the brakes, the studded snow tires on the front would grab and cause the front end of the car to slow down much faster than the back end which did not have studded tires. This resulted in the back end of the car swinging around and the car spinning. These days, if studded tires are used, they are used on all 4 wheels to prevent this.
I know you are not driving a front wheel drive car with studded tires. But it is not to hard to image how the same thing could happen on a rear wheel drive car with mismatched tires in an extreme braking situation during wet weather. If you were going around a corner at 60mph on wet roads and had to brake hard because a deer jumped out in front of you, you would want your car to remain straight and not go into a spin.
If this emergency braking situation occured and the front tires on your mismatched set gripped the road better than your rear tires, your car could go into a spin.
I keep all 4 tires the same becasue my life is worth more than the few dollars I would save using a mismatched set of tires.
Just my thoughts.
Scott
Billings, MT
I would also strongly recommend against mixing tires. Here in Montana, we deal with icy roads quite often (as I am writing this it is -2 degress with an inch of ice on the roads). The main reason not to mix tires has to do with extreme, emergency braking situations.
I am going to use the following example to illistrate my point. In Montana, it is common to put studded snow tires on the rear wheels of rear wheel drive cars in the winter to get traction when taking off or to assist with stopping on icy roads. When front wheel drive cars first came out, people put studded snow tires on the front wheels and not the rear wheels. The thinking was studded tires on the front would help them get traction when they were taking off. However, what people didn't realize was that when they applied the brakes, the studded snow tires on the front would grab and cause the front end of the car to slow down much faster than the back end which did not have studded tires. This resulted in the back end of the car swinging around and the car spinning. These days, if studded tires are used, they are used on all 4 wheels to prevent this.
I know you are not driving a front wheel drive car with studded tires. But it is not to hard to image how the same thing could happen on a rear wheel drive car with mismatched tires in an extreme braking situation during wet weather. If you were going around a corner at 60mph on wet roads and had to brake hard because a deer jumped out in front of you, you would want your car to remain straight and not go into a spin.
If this emergency braking situation occured and the front tires on your mismatched set gripped the road better than your rear tires, your car could go into a spin.
I keep all 4 tires the same becasue my life is worth more than the few dollars I would save using a mismatched set of tires.
Just my thoughts.
Scott
Billings, MT
03-10-2009, 12:02 PM
#18
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A big THANK YOU to all the replies, some of you guys took the time to answer the question in length an i do appreciate it. I am going to try to keep them all the same
03-10-2009, 04:25 PM
#20
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Join Date: Jan 2008
Location: MD
Posts: 2,544
well if ur gunna mix try 2 look at the sidewall design and make sure they arent drastically diff... i wanted nitto 555's on mine but i got one more set of stockers for the rear and will swap all 4 next time... the F1's and nitto's looks nothing a like w/ the sidewall comparison