Mismatched tire problems?
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Mismatched tire problems?
Can having a mismatched tire cause wheel vibration or cause any problems? Is it important to purchase the same brand/model tire if i were to get a flat?
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Re: Mismatched tire problems? (brandobot89)
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by brandobot89 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Can having a mismatched tire cause wheel vibration or cause any problems? Is it important to purchase the same brand/model tire if i were to get a flat?</TD></TR></TABLE>
1. No and yes.
2. Yes, but...
It is best to use four tires of the same make/model/size, to make your handling neutral and predictable. For example, when you have different tires on the front from the rear, what can happen is that, in some conditions, the front may grip better (so that your car has a tendency to oversteer, meaning that the back end wants to come around on you when you turn), and in other conditions, the rear may grip better (for understeer, meaning that the car wants to plow straight ahead when you turn the wheel). The standard advice is not to mix tires at all, where avoidable.
In some cases, it's impossible to avoid. For example, you have four matching tires, one tire gets damaged by road debris and must be replaced, and the tires have been discontinued, so you can't buy a single tire to replace it. Obviously, you could replace all four tires with a different set that matches. But no one wants to buy four tires if they can avoid it, or to have to get rid of three tires with plenty of usable tread depth. In such a case, your best bet is to buy a replacement tire whose performance characteristics match the other three tires. For example, if the other three tires are top-of-the-line performance tires, the fourth should be, also. The Tire Rack classifies tires in "performance categories" and these are useful for finding a tire that's similar. This will keep your handling neutral and predictable. What you really don't want to do is mix tires with drastically different performance - for example, mixing summer tires with all-season or winter tires.
Now let's return to your original questions.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by brandobot89 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Can having a mismatched tire cause wheel vibration or cause any problems?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Mismatched tires cannot cause wheel vibrations. However, handling predictability can become a problem, as noted above.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by brandobot89 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it important to purchase the same brand/model tire if i were to get a flat?</TD></TR></TABLE>
It is important. But if that's not possible, you can avoid problems by purchasing a different brand/model whose performance is similar.
It's a good question. I'm going to copy part of my reply into the FAQ stickied at the top of this forum. Thanks for asking!
1. No and yes.
2. Yes, but...
It is best to use four tires of the same make/model/size, to make your handling neutral and predictable. For example, when you have different tires on the front from the rear, what can happen is that, in some conditions, the front may grip better (so that your car has a tendency to oversteer, meaning that the back end wants to come around on you when you turn), and in other conditions, the rear may grip better (for understeer, meaning that the car wants to plow straight ahead when you turn the wheel). The standard advice is not to mix tires at all, where avoidable.
In some cases, it's impossible to avoid. For example, you have four matching tires, one tire gets damaged by road debris and must be replaced, and the tires have been discontinued, so you can't buy a single tire to replace it. Obviously, you could replace all four tires with a different set that matches. But no one wants to buy four tires if they can avoid it, or to have to get rid of three tires with plenty of usable tread depth. In such a case, your best bet is to buy a replacement tire whose performance characteristics match the other three tires. For example, if the other three tires are top-of-the-line performance tires, the fourth should be, also. The Tire Rack classifies tires in "performance categories" and these are useful for finding a tire that's similar. This will keep your handling neutral and predictable. What you really don't want to do is mix tires with drastically different performance - for example, mixing summer tires with all-season or winter tires.
Now let's return to your original questions.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by brandobot89 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Can having a mismatched tire cause wheel vibration or cause any problems?</TD></TR></TABLE>
Mismatched tires cannot cause wheel vibrations. However, handling predictability can become a problem, as noted above.
<TABLE WIDTH="90%" CELLSPACING=0 CELLPADDING=0 ALIGN=CENTER><TR><TD>Quote, originally posted by brandobot89 »</TD></TR><TR><TD CLASS="quote">Is it important to purchase the same brand/model tire if i were to get a flat?</TD></TR></TABLE>
It is important. But if that's not possible, you can avoid problems by purchasing a different brand/model whose performance is similar.
It's a good question. I'm going to copy part of my reply into the FAQ stickied at the top of this forum. Thanks for asking!
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