Hi Guys,
After work today I had a flat front tire, (91 TA GTA) on top of that, it's -20 deg here in toronto AND I took the spare out of the back!!!

But really the question I have is if it is ok to have a different set of tire brand and size from the front to the rear wheels?
For example I have a new pair of yoko's 245/50/16 on the back which I now want to put on the front and buy a pair of Kumho 712's 255/50/16 for the back? Will this cause any trouble ?
I wouldn't think so but a friend told my otherwise.

I figured best to ask the source... all of you!!!

I hope you can help, especially if anyone is running this type of setup for a while and has experience with this.
ASAP would be great as I am getting this done tommorow morning.

Thanks in advance guys,
Fredel

 

No. I dont think so. Ive got 275/40/17 on the back and 245/45/17 up front. I am aware theat the series is different to componsate for the overall tire height and diameter but with a tire 10mm different I wouldnt even worry at all. As for different brands and tread patterns I would just make sure the back two are the same and the front two are the same. Ive had mismatched tires like that and never had any problems.

 

Different front to back... no problem. People do it all the time.

 

I've done that lots of times - never had a problem, don't think you will either.

 

Great, this is really good to hear you guys say that... I figured my friend was full of ****.

Bristol, you have 275's in the back! How do you feel they grip better than the stock 245's, and if you dont mind my asking what kind of 17 inch rims do you have?

Thanks again for the responses, I am going to get those 255's for the back in the morning.

 

hey man,

as long as you dont have a 4 wheel drive bird you are ok...

and if you have 2 snows and 2 all seasons thats another no no..

but as long as they are similar then you are ok..

iroc2nv

 

One more quick thought - If you had a car with anti-lock brakes on front and rear you might confuse that system with different size tires. In that case I wouldn't recommend it, but lacking ABS, you're still OK.

 

Really? I do have 4 wheel disc antilock brakes though....
But I am only going 1 size higher for the back... 245 in front...255 in back.
What do you think?

 

LastViceRS--- I agree with the ABS thing but dont you think that the difference in 245 vs. 255 is so minimal that it wouldnt make a difference. Think about it, if ABS was that sensitive then why do you need to slam the breaks to engage it and wouldnt a tire that is say under inflated 3 psi and another overinflated say 2psi total screw the whole system? I think the setups must be built with a certain range in variences in mind. I might be wrong but to me this makes more sense. If I am wrong please correct me cause Im really curious now.


Knight350--- Centerline Sabres. Yes the traction is definetly better but a lot depends on suspension and gear ratios. Ive got a 1LE so it has a little better suspension but Ive been modding that recently. I have 3.23 but will be rebuilding it with 3.73s so we will see what happens.

 

Here she is.

 

Bristol the psi differences is a very good point, one I didn't think of. LastViceRS is going to have to correct us both, as you have both given me something to think about.
And man Bristol, that's a beautiful car, definately one of the best I've seen on thirdgen. Those rims look bigger than 17's, which is a good thing though. Perfect the way it is.
Just out of curiousity, do you think the Kumho's 712's are good? And is it worth the effort to put 255 in back? (I'm guessing they don't come in 265/50/16) as it does not turn any result's on tirerack.

 

OK, guys;
1) I assumed since my '91 RS doesn't have ABS, your '91 didn't either. Sorry, my mistake.
2)After looking at the specs for Yokohama AVS ES100 and Kumho 712, the Yokos measure 25.8" tall, and are rated at 904 revolutions per mile, I think that is a misprint, should be 804. The Kumho 712 255/50/16 are 26.1" tall and are rated at 798 revs per mile. The revs per mile is less than 1% difference and the .3" difference in height is also minimal IMO.
I probably was splitting hairs, so to speak, but I realized i might have given you bad advice. I don't intentionally do that, and didn't want to cause you unnecessary problems.
So, I still think you're OK in doing this. Sorry for the confusion.

 

LastViceRS, you didn't give bad advice at all !!!!! And no problem caused at all !!! Just very good things for me to consider, an excellent point. I am sorry for sounding like I meant otherwise, totally my fault. I guess thats the downside of reading words over the internet.
As like Bristol's point, that too is a very good point I never did think off or consider. You both have helped me make the decision to put the kumho's on the rear.

Thanks very much for checking the specs on the tires!! You really didn't have to go to that much trouble, that just makes feel even better about putting the 255's .

Excellent work, both of you, and thank you for your help again.

Fredel

 

Hey. Dont appolgize. You spoke your thoughts and I hope I didnt come across as a *****. Im really curious now!! My car does not have ABS. Maybe thats a 1LE thing?

 

Hey - no apologies necessary. I was over emphasizing (in my mind) the difference in diameter between the tire sizes, but I thought it was worth mentioning so that you or someone else didn't push the envelope too far and run into trouble. And you don't want unexpected braking problems, especially when you need them most.
Bristol, I don't really know why your 1LE doesn't have ABS, but I'm thinking you could do a search on the History and Restoration board.

 

Thanks again guys for all the help, I learned alot from this. You both gave excellent points to consider and I do welcome all your input. I got the kumho's installed and they do feel good, the car handles alot better considering the condition of the front's.
That's a pic of the car just to give you guys an idea, but I will get some better pics when the weather gets better around here.

Thanks again
Fredel