combination of tires
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Honda-Tech Member
Joined: Jun 2009
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From: Northeast US
combination of tires
I was just wondering if any of you guys in here have different tires for the front and rear? What are the goods/bads of combining tires?
I see people run with 195-50-15 on front wheels and 185-55-15 on rear, is this a common tires combination?
any suggestion/opinions?
I see people run with 195-50-15 on front wheels and 185-55-15 on rear, is this a common tires combination?
any suggestion/opinions?
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Joined: Jan 2000
Posts: 23,478
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From: Chicago
Re: combination of tires
In most cases, it's a very BAD IDEA, if the tires aren't very similar to each other. The reason is that it adversely affects the handling, by making it unpredictable.
For example, let's say you put some sticky summer tires on the front of the car, and all-season tires on the rear. In moderate to warm temperatures, the front of the car will grip better than the rear. As a result, when you go into turns aggressively or if you hit a slippery spot in a turn, the rear end of the car will tend to swing around on you, causing the car to possibly spin. This tendency is called "oversteer". But on a very cold day or if there's snow on the road, the rear of the car will grip better than the front. As a result, when you go into turns aggressively or you hit a slippery spot in a turn, the car will tend to "plow" and go straight ahead even though you've got the steering wheel turned, causing the car to possibly go off the road. This tendency is called "understeer". That's why it's best to have four matching tires - the same make/model of tire, and for cars which come with four same-sized tires from the factory, the same tire size.
This rule applies to street use; for competition purposes (racetrack, autocross, dragstrip), there may be certain reasons for using mismatched tires; just understand exactly what you're doing if you decide to use mismatched tires in competition.
Also, it sounds like you're making the mistake of thinking that treadwidth is a big factor in grip. It isn't. The big determinant of grip is the design of the tire, as reflected in its compound and tread pattern. For this reason, the make/model of tire is the big choice in grip, rather than the tire size. A stickier make/model of tire in a slightly narrower size will almost always give better grip than a less sticky tire in a wider size.
For example, let's say you put some sticky summer tires on the front of the car, and all-season tires on the rear. In moderate to warm temperatures, the front of the car will grip better than the rear. As a result, when you go into turns aggressively or if you hit a slippery spot in a turn, the rear end of the car will tend to swing around on you, causing the car to possibly spin. This tendency is called "oversteer". But on a very cold day or if there's snow on the road, the rear of the car will grip better than the front. As a result, when you go into turns aggressively or you hit a slippery spot in a turn, the car will tend to "plow" and go straight ahead even though you've got the steering wheel turned, causing the car to possibly go off the road. This tendency is called "understeer". That's why it's best to have four matching tires - the same make/model of tire, and for cars which come with four same-sized tires from the factory, the same tire size.
This rule applies to street use; for competition purposes (racetrack, autocross, dragstrip), there may be certain reasons for using mismatched tires; just understand exactly what you're doing if you decide to use mismatched tires in competition.
Also, it sounds like you're making the mistake of thinking that treadwidth is a big factor in grip. It isn't. The big determinant of grip is the design of the tire, as reflected in its compound and tread pattern. For this reason, the make/model of tire is the big choice in grip, rather than the tire size. A stickier make/model of tire in a slightly narrower size will almost always give better grip than a less sticky tire in a wider size.
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