Is it ok to use same size but different brand?

[Albertchristian]

Can anybody tell me, Is it ok to use different brand of tires in front and rear
eg. Bridgestone potenza FR, FL and Continental comfort contact RR, RL, but all in same size 215/55 R16.
or better to use same brand on 4 tires

Thanks and regards
Albert

 

[Bill in Utah]

Depends on the vehicle.

AWD / Full time 4wd NO. FWD/RWD depends. Vehicle and use?

 

[Albertchristian]

Thank you for your reply

It's an Audi A4 2005 TFSI Fronttrak FWD

currently iam using Goodyear eagle gsd3, have to change the 2 front tire but I have difficulties to find the same tire because it's already discontinued

Any ideas?

 

[Eddie]

Full time AWD like Audi & Subaru require a circumference difference of no more than 1/4 inch.

 

[Albertchristian]

thanks, but mine is FWD not the quattro one

 

[Bill in Utah]

FWD Audi? I'd keep the same brand on the same axle but you should be good to go!

Bill

 

[Albertchristian]

Thanks I'd go with Bridgestone turanza 215/55 R16 in rear

 

[Scienceman]

Problem solved!
Bill, can you explain to me what the importance of doing this is in a FWD compared to an AWD?
I have always just believed to buy a set of 4 no matter what type of drive the car is.
I just have a lack of knowledge and just wondering.

Thanks!

 

[Albertchristian]

Actually any brands and types of tires will feel different, so I still searching in some others forums to choose what types and brands of tires that fits good for mine,
I just posted my "review and opinion of Michelin Energy MXV8"
thanks

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: DT466E_bus
Problem solved!
Bill, can you explain to me what the importance of doing this is in a FWD compared to an AWD?
I have always just believed to buy a set of 4 no matter what type of drive the car is.
I just have a lack of knowledge and just wondering.

Thanks!


Since an AWD vehicle has to have all the tires close to the same or the drive train will "buckle" when making turns and such. Same with PT 4WD on pavement. MY Subaru had a problem with 8,000 miles on 3 tires and one NEW same brand, same model, same size tire put on because of the "accident". I had to put on all the same tires (sell back the 3 old ones, the new one and get all the same new ones) to get it to work correctly.

FWD does not care since the fronts and rears are not linked. Same with RWD. Same with PT 4WD since you can only operate it in slippery / off road conditions.

Bill

 

[Scienceman]

Ok. Thank you!

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: Eddie
Full time AWD like Audi & Subaru require a circumference difference of no more than 1/4 inch.

Really?
Not saying you're wrong but for exactly the same tire that translates into not much more than a 1/32" of tread depth difference between tires and that's not including the circumference difference that you'll get from just a slight variation in tire pressure!
Since the tires on the axle with the predominate drive biase tends to wear faster that would amount to a whole lot of tire rotations during the life of a set of tires to keep the circumference difference under a 1/4".

 

[Bill in Utah]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
Originally Posted By: Eddie
Full time AWD like Audi & Subaru require a circumference difference of no more than 1/4 inch.

Really?
Not saying you're wrong but for exactly the same tire that translates into not much more than a 1/32" of tread depth difference between tires and that's not including the circumference difference that you'll get from just a slight variation in tire pressure!
Since the tires on the axle with the predominate drive biase tends to wear faster that would amount to a whole lot of tire rotations during the life of a set of tires to keep the circumference difference under a 1/4".





Yes Really! Read my post above. New Subaru with around 8000 easy miles gets one destroyed in a accident and they put on the SAME brand, size and model tire and the AWD system had fits. Once I took all of them off, put on a new set of tires from the same lot the issue went away.

That is the reason why Subaru's AWD system does very well in all conditions. And another reason to avoid AWD systems if you don't need them.

Take care, bill

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: DT466E_bus
Problem solved!
Bill, can you explain to me what the importance of doing this is in a FWD compared to an AWD?
I have always just believed to buy a set of 4 no matter what type of drive the car is.
I just have a lack of knowledge and just wondering.

Thanks!


I'll add a little more here, in case you're interested.

The recommendation of only replacing four tires on a 2WD vehicle is a very safe and conservative one, requiring no further thought. Still conservative, and only requiring that the tires be similar in performance type, is the recommendation that a new pair of tires only be installed on the back. Replacing only the front tires requires you to really know what you're doing to avoid potential catastrophe.

Having different models of tires between the front and back can alter the level of grip between the axles, making the car handle differently than the manufacturer intended. This could be positive or negative, depending on the result and whether you want the car to be optimized for cornering ability (neutral) or driver error forgiveness (understeer).

The main thing is this: don't ever have rear tires that will either hydroplane before the fronts or lose traction on ice before the fronts. Sudden, unexpected oversteer is always a bad thing and no amount of driver skill will save you if it's bad enough. As long as your back tires are a similar type of tire with similar or better tread depth compared to the fronts, you're not going to alter the balance enough to cause problems.

 

[J_Sap]

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=18

Good article from tirerack on why AWD cars need tires of the same circumference.

Also if you have a sports car having all tires of the same brand and wear levels
the same is smart and safe to make sure it behaves properly. If not your car can behave irregularly when you push it and spin out.

 

[Audi Junkie]

Yes.

 

[CATERHAM]

J_SAP, good Tire Rack link.

Bill, good advise to avoid AWD system, unless you absolutely need them.

 

[CATERHAM]

Originally Posted By: rpn453
Originally Posted By: DT466E_bus
Problem solved!
Bill, can you explain to me what the importance of doing this is in a FWD compared to an AWD?
I have always just believed to buy a set of 4 no matter what type of drive the car is.
I just have a lack of knowledge and just wondering.

Thanks!


I'll add a little more here, in case you're interested.

The recommendation of only replacing four tires on a 2WD vehicle is a very safe and conservative one, requiring no further thought. Still conservative, and only requiring that the tires be similar in performance type, is the recommendation that a new pair of tires only be installed on the back. Replacing only the front tires requires you to really know what you're doing to avoid potential catastrophe.



The main thing is this: don't ever have rear tires that will either hydroplane before the fronts or lose traction on ice before the fronts. Sudden, unexpected oversteer is always a bad thing and no amount of driver skill will save you if it's bad enough. As long as your back tires are a similar type of tire with similar or better tread depth compared to the fronts, you're not going to alter the balance enough to cause problems.


When replacing or rotating tires, obviously the tires with the most tread always go on the driven axle or the axle with the greater power biase.
In the case of a front drive car, that means the replacement tires go on the front. As long as the rear tires are still serviceable you usually don't have to be concerned about increasing the rear tires tendancy to loose grip before the fronts or otherwise oversteer in the rain. The reason is, the rear tires usually follow in the tracks of the front tires that have already cleared away the water.
It's the reason road racers can increase the rear brake biase in the wet.

 

[rpn453]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
When replacing or rotating tires, obviously the tires with the most tread always go on the driven axle or the axle with the greater power biase.
In the case of a front drive car, that means the replacement tires go on the front. As long as the rear tires are still serviceable you usually don't have to be concerned about increasing the rear tires tendancy to loose grip before the fronts or otherwise oversteer in the rain. The reason is, the rear tires usually follow in the tracks of the front tires that have already cleared away the water.
It's the reason road racers can increase the rear brake biase in the wet.


Interesting. Tests seems to show that a car with new tread on the front and poor tread on the back is prone to sudden oversteer in wet conditions. I'd have thought such a change in brake bias would be the result of the reduction of weight transfer under braking at lower grip levels. Maybe that's a factor too? Ideal brake force distribution would be almost equivalent to the vehicle's weight distribution on a really slippery surface like ice.

 

[Quattro Pete]

Originally Posted By: CATERHAM
The reason is, the rear tires usually follow in the tracks of the front tires that have already cleared away the water.

Except when turning, which is when high risk of spin out is possible.