Quote:
Originally Posted by CharlesJones
I've heard it said many times that you shouldn't mix different tyres front and back, but I can never really understand the reasons why.
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Let's take one example. Suppose you have a car that has had it's brake balance optimised for a particular set of tires. It just barely locks the front wheels before the rears. Now, let's say you change the rear tires for a pair that give 10% less grip than the original pair. The next time you hit the brakes hard, the rears will lock first and you'll possibly spin the car.
Here's another example. I have a bunch of cars and they use 8 or 10 different types of tires. I have gotten to know their characteristics well and some of them have very little grip when they are cold. The set I have on my 928 will spin easily when I turn and leave my housing addition. I have to be extremely careful with the throttle and, god forbid the road should be wet. It's so touchy, even my wife has noticed it and as a result, she doesn't drive the car much. The tires perform fine when warmed up. All of our other cars (on other tires) perform fine when the tires are cold. Suppose you put a pair of these tires on the rear of your car. What do you think the result might be? The front grips, the rear does not....
Here's another example. Some of the tires I have work fine in winter and are not particularly bothered with cold temperatures. Others are essentially useless below freezing temperatures (dry roads, just cold.) I wouldn't want to mix and match these on different ends of the car.
Lastly, when it rains, some tires I have maintain probably 90% of their dry weather performance. You can really push them hard on a wet road and have fun. Others lose more like 30% of their performance and they feel like you are driving on ice at times. Mix and match these and you would be in a world of hurt. You'd drastically change the oversteer/understeer balance of the car.
If you never exceeded the posted limits, drove mainly in straight lines, in good weather and never used the brakes hard or took a turn fast, you could probably mix and match and be fine. That just doesn't describe my driving.
JR