Mixing stock and non-stock tires

[Sesamecrunch]

At 16K miles, my front tires are wearing thin. I was thinking of replacing them with non low rolling resistance tires for better traction. The rears still look great.


The tire shop I went to insists it's not safe to mix them, and is trying to get me to buy 4 new tires.

Anybody know if that's a factory requirement, or the garage trying to upsell me?

Thanks in advance for any info....

 

[ecilopaveht]

Wow, how funny I came here for the same thing

From what I know it is not the best practice but it works. I have done it in the past. The tire shops do not like to change them out and mix tires for liability reasons. I am looking to put sport tires on the front, I know I will lose mileage but I want better grip.

I suggest take the wheels off your car take them up to the shop have the new tires mounted and balanced and put the wheels back on at home. This is what I do that way you don't get issues.

Has anyone mixed different treads yet? what were the results on this car?

or

increased the size of the front tires to match the back?

 

[markcmann]

See this thread below, I've had a different pair of rear tires (brand) for a while now with no effects to range, performance, etc.

http://www.mychevysparkev.com/forum/viewtopic.php?f=9&t=3526

 

[Electricbowtie]

After my stock front tires wore out at 9000 miles, I swapped them out a few months ago with non-LRR Firestone Firehawks with no noticeable range decrease or issues. I do notice better traction and less of the traction control kicking in on the mountain roads. Have 3000 miles on the tires now.

 

[jsca72]

My car picked up a screw that worked its way through the bottom of the tire into the side wall. There was no saving this tire. My shop, which is a good shop, couldn't track down the same tire my car came with, but had a non-eco tire that would fit. I had to get home, so I had them go ahead and put the tire on. I think my range might be slightly lower, but I feel no difference in driving.

 

[nmikmik]

At 16K miles, my front tires are wearing thin. I was thinking of replacing them with non low rolling resistance tires for better traction. The rears still look great.


The tire shop I went to insists it's not safe to mix them, and is trying to get me to buy 4 new tires.

Anybody know if that's a factory requirement, or the garage trying to upsell me?

Thanks in advance for any info....

To answer you question,

It's a bunch of BS. They can and should be able to mix the brand between front and rear unless they are directional tires and in this case they are not.
Tell them you will sign a waver if the liability is their concern, see what they say then :lol:

 

[fengshui]

Yeah, they're trying to get more $$$ out of you. I swapped Yokohama S. Drives for my fronts at my local shop with no problem. I even kept the old tires to put back on at the end of my lease if the S.Drives are worn out.

 

[Sesamecrunch]

Yeah, it was total BS. I called the dealer and another tire chain. Both said plenty of drivers mix and match.

I reported this incident on their Yelp page. I don't know how those kind of people can sleep at night.