Is it bad to mix different size tires on a car?

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jabdusty57

jabdusty57

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I was browsing a tire website and pricing two 215s for the front and two 235s for the rear of the same rear-wheel drive car. The website didn't like that and I had to OK a waiver that this was not a wise thing to do. What is the safety concern with this?
 
Dont know why...my 1970 AARCuda came from the factory with E60 x 15 in the front..and F60 x 15 in the rear..
 
Technically for legal reasons in various places around the world you have to run the same size tyre all round - I don't know if that is the case for you.
 
On two wheel drive cars you can run different sizes front and rear, but on a 4wd or awd car/truck, all four should be the same size or it can F up the transfer case and transmission....
 
"We" used to do it all the time. I CAN tell you though, that with radials, especially, you can generate some interesting handling problems. One time my boss had a then new 80?1?2? Dodge 1/2T pu, and we got a new pair on the rear. Same size as front, but different brand. That thing was just plain SCARY on a DRY freeway. It felt like if you just wiggled the wheel a "little" the rear was gonna swap ends

My Dart was "accidental." I bought these rear wheels and tires cheap, and still have not converted the front to BBP. They seem to work pretty well

15n7g39.jpg
 
roughidle said:
On two wheel drive cars you can run different sizes front and rear, but on a 4wd or awd car/truck, all four should be the same size or it can F up the transfer case and transmission....
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x2!


I bet 90% of the cars on this site have (Staggered) larger tires in the rear than the front.
 
I tried to buy ONE tire to replace a cut tire on my Neon, and they refused to install it on the front.

I could have them install on the rear, leave and come right back, and have them rotate to the front, but direct install? No.

Their concern was new tires in the front could grip more than worn tires on the rear resulting in accidental oversteer which could cause a wreck.

I went elsewhere for the tire and have yet to crash the car.
 
jos51700 said:
I tried to buy ONE tire to replace a cut tire on my Neon, and they refused to install it on the front.

I could have them install on the rear, leave and come right back, and have them rotate to the front, but direct install? No.

Their concern was new tires in the front could grip more than worn tires on the rear resulting in accidental oversteer which could cause a wreck.

I went elsewhere for the tire and have yet to crash the car.
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Bullshit's gettin deep huh?
It's gettin about where you might need a waiver just to use someone else's toilet paper, or you might get sued for thier finger slipping off the paper and,,,,,,,,,well you know.
 
Had a set of 33x12.5 mounted on a set of 7" wheels years ago, had to sign a waiver releasing them from liability. Supposedly mounting them on a slightly to narrow wheel helps the bead stay on when when running them at lower inflation's....I never had any troubles...
 
TrailBeast said:
Bullshit's gettin deep huh?
It's gettin about where you might need a waiver just to use someone else's toilet paper, or you might get sued for thier finger slipping off the paper and,,,,,,,,,well you know.
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Sad but true.....
 
jos51700 said:
I tried to buy ONE tire to replace a cut tire on my Neon, and they refused to install it on the front.

I could have them install on the rear, leave and come right back, and have them rotate to the front, but direct install? No.

Their concern was new tires in the front could grip more than worn tires on the rear resulting in accidental oversteer which could cause a wreck.
I had the same encounter LOL, some stupid industry standard that really didnt relate to me, I understood what they were saying but it just didnt relate to MY driving abilities at all, I know how to handle MY own vehicle. Ended up buying two tires elsewhere and taking them elsewhere still to get mounted/balanced and put ON THE FRONT like I wanted. By the time that was done to my satisfaction I ended up saving $15 over the original quote LOL.
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Have em put on the rear then come right back and have em rotated to the front give them like 20 more chances to break off a wheel stud..or two LOL. Next thing you know they will be saying guns are dangerous and want us all to surrender them!!!!!!!!!!!!
 
if it is not a four wheel drive you can run a different size on the front then on the back, i try to run the same dia. but different width
 
No problems in the 20 years my dads had his charger with 235-60-15 on the front and 275-60-15 on the rear and also running a 5.5 inch wide rim
 
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