Hey guys!

I was just wondering if it is an issue running different brands of winter tires in the front and back. Right now, I have Blizzak LM22s on all 4. However, the rear tires need to be replaced (the front ones have plenty of tread left). Tire Rack doesn't sell LM22s in the correct size, so I was hoping to pick up some Dunlop M3s to replace the rears. I understand that this might not be optimal, but is this ok? Thanks!

Mike

 

i'm running different front and rears for summer tires, without issue. I can't say for sure that it's good or bad, but i haven't had any problems.

 

same here. never had an issue with summer tires. not sure about winter.

 

I don't do it for summer tires but I'm picky. I would totally do it for winter because I drive like a granny in winter - especially when I drove the S. You should be fine. Just understand that with 2 tires your traction will change at differing rates.

 

It's ok to do it, just be more aware of how much grip the new tires have versus the old tires. When it starts snowing, test it out. One season I ran Firestone winterforces at all 4 corners. when the rears went out i replaced them with blizzaks. the blizzaks gripped a lot more than the winterforces and actually caused understeer when i pushed the car in tight turns.

 

It's like wearing different shoes for each foot...it's the amount of difference between each shoe that's going to affect your performance.

If you wear a 6 inch stiletto Manolo Blahnik on your left foot and a Nike Air Jordan on your right foot, you won't be able to walk very easily.

However if you switch out the Manolo Blahnik for a Reebok basketball shoe with the Nike, you'll be much better off.

Also the other thing to point out is that you may want to think about finding LM22's in the same size as the front. From personal experience of driving on ice and through snow, tire width matching all around gave me more traction through lousy weather than when I used winter tires that had OEM sizes (215 (f)/245

 

not tottaly correct. he is using the same brand on the same axle.

so the analogy would be better using differnt shoes and gloves. winter boots and driving gloves.

 

Blizzaks and Dunlop M3s are fairly different even though they are both winter tires. With the Blizzaks you'll get more traction in the snow and less in the dry.

Personally I wouldn't mix those two tires. You'd be better off getting a pair of Blizzaks in a close but not quite size for the rear.

 

but not all of us crawl around on all fours

 

Skinnier the better in the snow. Try running a smaller width with one step up in profile. Like if you had 245/40 go to 225/45, etc.

You will likely have more tire options that way too. And from my experience, try to run a snow/ice tire not a performance winter. The difference is dramatic.