AWD car with different tires? Good or Bad?

[1RaZoR1]

I get mix answer on this question. What do you guys say?

Is it ok to drive with blizzaks on the front 2 tires and Michelin x-ice on the rear 2 tires ?

And you Drive a BMW 335 xdrive.

[colinxx235]

I did it for one season as a quick fix on my S4.
I had michelin alpins on and 1 blew unexpectedly in January so I picked up two cheap used blizzaks with the same tread depth off kijiji for next to nothing and ran that until end of winter without issues and did a replacement for the next season

[zieg]

Taking into account the size and wear on the tread, and what the manufacturer lists as the ACTUAL rolling diameter when new, what is the difference in current rolling diameter from f-r?

[redblack]

I would get all 4 tires matched since your rollin in a $$$ BMW, any other pos I'd run mismatch tires

[lilmira]

Isn't it a bad choice to begin with regardless of drive type? One pair of tyres potential have more grip than the others. The car won't explode obviously but it can lead to issues in both handling and mechanical wear.

[Kloubek]

It isn't ideal, for the reason lilmira mentioned. Say there was a significant grip advantage on your front tires as opposed to your rear, and you went around a corner with momentum. Well, your rear will swing while your front remains planted.... causing you to spin out. This is an extreme example of course. Chances are, with two different snow tires the difference in grip is relatively insignificant.

But as you have AWD, you absolutely do want to consider diameter. The driveline can only handle so much difference. So then you need to consider the amount of wear, and obviously the total rolling diameter that might be affected by different tire widths and profiles.

[revelations]

Both are winter tires with roughly the same amount of cold weather grip.

As long as the INSTALLED diameter is within what, 5% difference? you should be just fine.

If you had All Seasons in one end and studded winters in another, then I would be concerned.

[dtrieu]

Originally posted by revelations
Both are winter tires with roughly the same amount of cold weather grip.

As long as the INSTALLED diameter is within what, 5% difference? you should be just fine.

If you had All Seasons in one end and studded winters in another, then I would be concerned.

This. 100%

The difference in grip will be so minor, they're both great winter tires. Even if one slips a bit for a second, it's no different than a car with the same 4 tires and one wheel or end of the car not gripping.

[mzdspd]

From what I understand.. It is only an issue to have two different tires from left to right.. Because diameters will be different which will cause an issue on your differential having two different rotational speeds.

[JustinMCS]

I had a rear blow on my winters and didnt want to buy all 4 when I was going to be buying new winter rims and tires, so I put on two used alpin on the back and had 2 contis on the front, both winter.

I did it for a month only until I got my new set ready. Ideally run all 4 the same but you are not running two all season and two winters, so should be fine.

[revelations]

Originally posted by mzdspd
From what I understand.. It is only an issue to have two different tires from left to right.. Because diameters will be different which will cause an issue on your differential having two different rotational speeds.

Probably depends on the type of AWD system installed but with a central locking diff, it would matter.

[mr2mike]

All I read here is budget baller.