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We are continuing to shop for a car to replace our 1996 Camry that was totaled about 2 weeks ago.
Several of the cars we looked at had mixed brands/treads of tires installed (e.g., Michelin on the front and Continental tires on the back). The last car we looked at had excellent tires but they were mixed in this way.
I did a Google search and found differing answers as to whether this would be dangerous. TireRack indicated that a person should avoid mixing tires in this way. Here in NW Iowa we do have to drive through a good bit of snow, ice and rain. Safety is important, but I would not want to needlessly replace two good tires just because the brands/treads don't match.
I would appreciate input and links on this issue.
Thanks!
Dave
...on the trailing edge of technology.
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I think you are OK as long as you don't mix radial and bias ply tires, and keep the tires paired front and rear. (You aren't likely to find bias ply tires anyway these days.)
Almost by definition tires will differ front and rear, as they experience different wear patterns, particularly on front wheel drive cars. Some fancy cars even come with different front and rear tires.
You don't want them to differ side to side (i.e. two different front tires or two different rear tires) as the car might steer or brake unpredictably. However auto makers don't seem to be unduly concerned about this, at least for short distances, given all the cars now sold with compact spare tires...
Good luck.
- Winston
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Winston- I appreciate your input. That is encouraging to hear. Thanks!
Dave
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Keep looking, I have learned that it is best to not look for a specific make or model and to keep an open mind. Locking yourself into a specific thing forces you to be less picky about the overall condition and make concessions. I have found that looking for the car in the best condition for the price point is the way to go.
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C-ris- thanks for your post. The last car we did test drive was in very good condition. I'm guessing the previous owner did not rotate the tires as often as they should and, when the front tires wore out first, just replaced the 2 tires. All four tires are in excellent shape, but each pair is a different brand (Continental, Michelin). I'm guessing price dictated which brand they purchased.
Thanks!
Dave
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Don't mix tractor tires, mini bike tires, and shopping cart wheels together. One or the other won't reach the road, I forget which.
Cheers!
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motopsyco- gosh, I had one of the kid's old trike tires I thought I'd try on the car! LOL! Thanks for the chuckle!
Dave
...on the trailing edge of technology.
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H1N1 wrote:
[quote=Winston]
Some fancy cars even come with different front and rear tires.
Good luck.
- Winston
Size, not Brand nor Type & Speed Rating
Agreed. But still different in characteristics. (And with suspensions tuned for those specific tires.) But they never come with different tires side to side.
- W
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Most importantly, check the date codes. If they're older than 6 years, don't buy.
You should lookup each of the tires and see what their original actual dimensions are. For example, the tires that came on my car are equal in diameter (new) to most other tires in the next size up. If the car was AWD, you'd like have a big problem.
Certainly don't mix tires from side to side.
