Different Tires Front And Back

…industry's trend of offering vehicles with different size tires in the front and rear (staggered) continues. This can be a frustration point for some unsuspecting consumers. First, tire choices can be fewer than hoped when trying to find two different sizes that match in the same brand. Second,…

…tires on only the back of a rear-wheel drive vehicle can push the car, or force understeer, through corners as the all-season tires up front are overpowered by the tires on the rear. Tires play such an important role in a vehicle's handling capabilities, it's always best to drive on tires…

…a tire's tread pattern, it can lift the tread until it loses contact with the road. Tires with less tread depth will hydroplane in shallower water and at lower speeds than tires with deeper treads. Whether the front or rear tires hydroplane first can make all the difference. Hydroplaning front tires…

…Winter/Snow tires narrow enough for deeper snow yet wide enough to be effective on ice, packed snow and dry roads. Ideally we would want to stay close to the overall diameter and weight of the Original Equipment Wheel(s) and Tire(s) to minimize impact on driving range. Given differences such as tire…

…different front and rear tires but the computer thinks you should have all one size. Maybe you need custom sizes on a vehicle that came with staggered wheels. Whatever the case may be, having two sizes makes the search a bit more complex. You could pull up two different windows, one for the front…

…significant differences in tread depth within the pair. If the vehicle has tires of a different type and/or size on the front and rear axles, they should only use the rotation pattern depicted in Figure I, rotating across the axle side-to-side, but not front-to-rear. Studded Winter / Snow Tire…

…the different performance categories and the traction levels they provide is important to selecting the right tire. In Northern Indiana, I need a tire that delivers the most amount of grip in all winter conditions, including ice, slush and snow. As someone who has the privilege to test winter tires…

…Directional tires cannot be cross rotated unless you have them remounted for the other side of the vehicle. With regards to mixing tire types, it's always best to identically match tire models on the front and rear of the vehicle. If you have to substitute the tire for a different model, at…

…sure your tires and brakes are in good shape. If you're heading to the track every weekend then fix the car's understeer by upgrading your wheels and tires and getting a "track" alignment. Wheels: Running wider wheels and tires of the same size in the front and back in a square…

…four tires on rear-wheel drive or front-wheel drive vehicles are the same size, they can be rotated to different wheel positions on the car to help equalize tire wear by using a crisscross or "X" rotation pattern. When using this pattern, the right front tire is exchanged with the left rear tire and…

…the testing of tires here at Tire Rack and detailed notes developed during our in-house track time, many customers prefer to hear how I feel about a tire's behavior during street driving. Our road tests give us valuable information on how a given tire will perform on different road surfaces at…