Do all tires need to match?

The short answer is that, in general, manufacturers do not recommend tire mixing at all. That means having the same brand, size, tread pattern, load index, and speed rating on the front and rear tires. However, there are exceptions that can lead to mixing tire brands.

Can wrong size tires damage differential?

Yes, that can do damage to your differential. The thing is, a differential is designed to take up the difference in travel between your tires as you turn. It’s also designed to correct for minor amounts of slip on the road as you drive.

Is it safe to drive a car with different size tires?

Having two different-sized tires on the same axle is generally not a good thing. If the diameter of the two tires is close, then the rolling radius is about the same, so in the short term, you probably won’t have any damage, but long term, you run the risk of messing up your car’s differential.

Can mismatched tires cause transmission problems?

A difference in diameter of less than half an inch between front and rear tires on your AWD can mean trouble for the drivetrain, or the parts of the car that transfer the power to move the vehicle forward.

Can I use tires with different aspect ratio?

That said, the only dimensions you can change are the width and aspect ratio — never the wheel size, unless you buy replacement wheels — and you should always strive to keep the total height of the tire the same as the OEM. So, if you widen the tire, you may need to decrease the aspect ratio, and vice versa.

Can you drive with different tires?

Primarily, you should avoid mixing different tire brands and different tread patterns. Driving a car with a set of mismatched tire sizes, constructions, load indexes, or speed ratings can pose a danger to you and other road users.

Is it bad to have one mismatched tire?

A car with mismatched front and back tires should still be usable, especially if it is a two wheel drive vehicle. Tires wear out at different rates, and if one is more worn than the other, simply rotating the tires may be a possibility to prevent further wear.

What happens if you have mismatched tires on the drive end?

Having mismatched tires on the drive end of a car would make me very antsy about the transmission. Especially if this noise was not there before, the noise is up front, and the noise remains up front even after a tire rotation. The tire dealer screwed up, they’re lying, and they should cover this for you.

Will one tire on a different size hurt the car?

When questioned, the tire dealer told us this would not have hurt the car because the only difference was in the width of the tires. But, after checking on the Intern… Buying Guides Deals Car Reviews Repair Shops Community Cars A-Z One tire on car different size from other three Maintenance/Repairs tinajones July 4, 2016, 8:20pm #1

Is there a big difference between tire sizes in a differential?

That’s not much difference in diameter, but to be safe you should have a matching set. You need to replace the damaged tire anyway or risk getting stuck by another tire problem. Any size difference will a cause typical “open” differential’s internal gears to spin constantly while in motion.

How much do tire sizes change when replacing tires?

Tire size can vary by width and height, and although a specific tire is usually recommended for a vehicle to perform optimally, there is a window of sizes that will work safely — roughly a 3 percent change in size for cars and 15 percent change for SUVs and trucks, according to Tire Rack.