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Mismatched tires - bad?

bigalpha

bigalpha

Moderator
Location
Tucson, AZ
Is it bad to have tires that are not all the same circumference?

On my Subaru, all the tires need to be within 1/4" Circum. of eachother because of the AWD system.

I know that my Jeep doesn't have the all-time 4WD feature, but can having mismatched tires affect anything negatively? or positively for that matter?

muchas gracias.
 
i think the only way you would run into a problem is if you run two different heights on the same axle. if you run smaller tires o nthe front and bigger o nthe rear or reverse, as long as you dont put it on 4 wheel drive, it shoudl be ok. if i understood you correctly, you were talking aout different heights not different patterns, right?
 
bigalpha said:
Is it bad to have tires that are not all the same circumference?

On my Subaru, all the tires need to be within 1/4" Circum. of eachother because of the AWD system.

I know that my Jeep doesn't have the all-time 4WD feature, but can having mismatched tires affect anything negatively? or positively for that matter?

muchas gracias.
Click to expand...

IF they are within 1/2", you shouldnt see a problem. When you air down, there is more difference than that. Just dont run 31's on one end, and 33's on the other.
 
Yeah, I'm talking about different heights not different tread types. I was thinking of downsizing my 32" to 31" because they are cheaper and there are many more to choose from.

Do you think I'll need to get all four 31" tires before I can mount them?
 
You want to have the tires match fairly close if you are running 4WD for any period of time. You have to remember even if you have it in 2WD, if you have a locker you should have them fairly close side to side on the same axel as they will be fighting each other causing stress on the axel shafts & carrier.
I was plowing snow at work with a Dodge 1/2 ton 4X4 & had a blowout. The truck had P235-15 tires on it & the only spare they had was a P225-15, it tore up the transfer case. That transfer case made a lot of noise until they got rid of the truck a couple of months later.
Best thing to do is have them matched as close as possible.
 
If you put on different size tires it will cause binding and unloading in the drive line causing different problems for jumping and kicking all the way up to exploding the transfercase. Thats if you put it in 4wd.
 
The majority of the time, the rig will be run in 2WD. Only 4WD on the trails.

Is it unsafe/destructive to run 31's on the front and 32's on the back, as long as the circumference is the same on each axle? What about if I air down the 32's some?
 
Alright, well I will definitely run all the same sized tires then. I was hoping to start rotating out my tires two at a time to go easy on the budget.
 
bigalpha said:
The majority of the time, the rig will be run in 2WD. Only 4WD on the trails.

Is it unsafe/destructive to run 31's on the front and 32's on the back, as long as the circumference is the same on each axle? What about if I air down the 32's some?
Click to expand...
Airing down won't make much difference. Look up the exact specs of the tires your running. Cause some tire companies 31s are different then others 31. Super Swampers have always been considerably smaller then the advertised size. Their 36s are the size of others 35s.

If your running different brand & type tires on one end they really need to be the same size. That will get them as close to matching as you can. Cause running in 4wd it will cause some binding somewhere in the driveline. And mismatched size tires is notorius for tearing up transfer cases. It's not worth the risk and shouldn't be considered unless it's a last ditch effort to get home or off the trail. Thats my $0.02.
 
well as I've always known the golden rule of 4wd, all tires must be the same size, and have the same amount of tread, because as previously stated, it will cause binding, and your Jeep won't be happy with you.
 
slipslap said:
Super Swampers have always been considerably smaller then the advertised size. Their 36s are the size of others 35s.
Click to expand...

Yea, my 33" bias ply's dont measure out to 33.7. And my friends uncle's, cousin on his ex wifes 3rd husbands adoptive family's side, his 36" Irok's dont measure out to 36.8"

:rolleyes:

Simple, dont mismatch different size tires. Different brands are not always the same height, even though they may be advertised as. Get all the same tire, keep em at the same pressure, and you wont notice a difference.
 
Hey look, he can read the vendor's spec sheet :eeks1: But I guess that means my 35" Maxxis Bighorns really weren't the same size as my friends 36" TSLs. It was just my mind playing tricks on me.
 
alfman said:
You want to have the tires match fairly close if you are running 4WD for any period of time. You have to remember even if you have it in 2WD, if you have a locker you should have them fairly close side to side on the same axel as they will be fighting each other causing stress on the axel shafts & carrier.
I was plowing snow at work with a Dodge 1/2 ton 4X4 & had a blowout. The truck had P235-15 tires on it & the only spare they had was a P225-15, it tore up the transfer case. That transfer case made a lot of noise until they got rid of the truck a couple of months later.
Best thing to do is have them matched as close as possible.
Click to expand...


slipslap said:
Airing down won't make much difference. Look up the exact specs of the tires your running. Cause some tire companies 31s are different then others 31. Super Swampers have always been considerably smaller then the advertised size. Their 36s are the size of others 35s.

If your running different brand & type tires on one end they really need to be the same size. That will get them as close to matching as you can. Cause running in 4wd it will cause some binding somewhere in the driveline. And mismatched size tires is notorius for tearing up transfer cases. It's not worth the risk and shouldn't be considered unless it's a last ditch effort to get home or off the trail. Thats my $0.02.
Click to expand...


I work for a hobby shop and have even seen this on a Traxxas Nitro 4-Tec 3.3 that the owner stuck a different set of tires with 1.9" rims on the back of the car while leaving the stock tires and 2.0" rims on the front. For those that don't know, these cars use three cogged rubber belts (like some timing belts) as a permanently engaged, part time-esk "transfer case". The use of rear tires that were only 1/10" smaller diameter on this car actually stripped the cogs off the belt all the way to the reinforcement cords! I've also tried it with smaller tires on one end of my electric 4-Tec and stripped the threads out of the front ball diff.
 
slipslap said:
Hey look, he can read the vendor's spec sheet :eeks1: But I guess that means my 35" Maxxis Bighorns really weren't the same size as my friends 36" TSLs. It was just my mind playing tricks on me.
Click to expand...

Copied from both websites.

TSL. 36.3" http://intercotire.com/site33.php

SAM-26
36x12.50-15LT
65
8
4
24/32
10.5
36.3
13.5
536
15x10
45
2820 ​




Maxxis Bighorn. 34.6 http://www.maxxis.com/products/automotive/product_detail.asp?id=5477

Tire Size 35x12.50R15LT* 6PR Service Desc./
Ply Rating 113Q 6PR Sidewall OWL O.D. (in.) 34.6 S.W. (in.) 13 Max PSI 35 Max Load (lbs.) 2535 Rim Width (in.) 10 Tread Depth (in.) 20/32



Yes, Im sorry, a Maxxis bighorn measures out to be taller than a TSL. 1 3/4" difference in height aint noticalbe.
rolleyes.gif


Get some glasses.

:D
 
Swampers have always run true to size or slightly bigger, especially the bias tires. Put down the crack pipe.
 
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