my car came with 2 near new 245/50/z16 hankook ventus plus tires but I haven't been able to find another pair for the front. if i cant find them, what are the disadvantages of using another brand, same size tire?

i was also thinking of putting the tires i have now on the front and getting 255/50/16 for the rear which would have a bit more sidewall than the front, would the pros of a wider tire outweigh the cons of a thicker sidewall?

 

Theres lots of people that run 255's in the back. I just stick to the same all the way around.

The issue with different types applies more to right-left than it does front-rear. Front-rear I wouldnt worry about it too much unless one is a really hard compound and the other is really soft.

 

I've had two different sets quite a few times... but one set stayed on the front, one set stayed on the rear. The car had goodyears all around when I bought it; when the fronts wore out, I put Firestones on the front; when the rears wore, they got Firestones. I went thru one more set of those, then when the fronts wore out, I went to BFGoodrich... and finally, BFGoodrich for the back.

I wouldn't go getting those "super wet traction" tires to replace two, though... it might make turning in the rain a slippery experience for the other half of the car!

 

Right now I am running Comp T/A VR4 in the rear and Dunlop A2's in the front. It doesnt really do much to be running different tires front and rear.

One lady came into my work one day and wanted one new tire for her car. She asked who made the house brand and it was Michelin. She said she didnt want it because her mechanic told her running Michelin and BF Goodrich at the same time would blow up the tires.

 

I don't dare leave a Michelin and BFGoodrich tire in the same House, let alone the same car! They just argue, and then they start fighting, and if the cops don't come in time, one usually blows the other one up... ugh- it's just an ugly scene.



You should've asked her when was the last time she changed the air in the tires. "Are you serious? You haven't done that yet?"

 

hahaha the person that i was working with had to leave the counter cause he couldnt hold his laughter back.

 

I know someone with a 87 bird that had 295's in the rear + front runners in the front. With that car it needed the traction.

 

here's what i've decided to do: they no longer make my current rear tires in 245/50, which is what i have now, but they do in 245/45 so i'm going to get a pair of those and put my current rears in front and the new ones i get in back. i figure the slightly smaller diameter will help my launch since i've got 2.73s

the radius on the new ones will be .5" less which i hate cuz there'll be even more gap between the fender and the tires but at least i'll have four of the same tires. maybe this'll be an excuse to lower it lol

anyone say i should do otherwise?

if someone happens to know where i can get some hankook ventus plus 245/50/16's that were maybe left over before they discontinued it, please let me know, thanks.

 

Don't put shorter tires on the back. It won't look very nice IMO.

 

Since you've already got the large tires in the back I'd say just leave em there. You wont have to pay for them to be re-mounted and balanced, and your car will have a better profile with slightly larger in the back as opposed to in the front. The effective gear ratio between those tires is 1.038, so with the smaller tires on the back it'd be like changing the gears to 2.83, still pretty sucky. When I put the snow tires on my truck it changes my 4.11s to about a 4.27 and I can barely notice the difference. You'll want to upgrade your gears anyway, its not like putting the smaller tires on will make you happy with the current gears.