Different tyres (but similar quality) front and rear?
Discussion
Hi all.
Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this.
My Cayman has Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 N0 tyres all round. The fronts need replacing, but the rears have loads of tread and are much newer. I don't want to needlessly replace all 4 tyres. The issue is the Asymmetric 2s are old now - I think they've just released Asymmetric 6s - so I'm having trouble finding any.
What's the opinion on fitting a pair of either newer model of Goodyear Eagle F1s or a similar high performance tyre, like MPS4S? Obviously identically sized as the incumbents so 235/35/20.
Car is in warranty so need to ensure they are Nx rated as far as I'm aware.
Thanks.
Just wondering what people's thoughts are on this.
My Cayman has Goodyear Eagle F1 Asymmetric 2 N0 tyres all round. The fronts need replacing, but the rears have loads of tread and are much newer. I don't want to needlessly replace all 4 tyres. The issue is the Asymmetric 2s are old now - I think they've just released Asymmetric 6s - so I'm having trouble finding any.
What's the opinion on fitting a pair of either newer model of Goodyear Eagle F1s or a similar high performance tyre, like MPS4S? Obviously identically sized as the incumbents so 235/35/20.
Car is in warranty so need to ensure they are Nx rated as far as I'm aware.
Thanks.
I did similar on my E class and I lived to tell the tale, although I did notice that when changing direction at speed the front and the rear of the car did not react at the same time, hard to explain. When I put 4 matching tyres on it the strange disconnect between front and rear disappeared.
A quick google suggests options are few.
Michelin or Pirelli seem to be the two that pop up with an N rating.
If you just drive like a normal person, I wouldn't have any concerns about either tyre.
If you drive like a maniac at times, then all 4 is maybe a better idea, but really largely unnecessary.
Online Camskill seems to be a little cheaper than the others.
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m63b0s7691p0/Car_Tyres_...
Michelin or Pirelli seem to be the two that pop up with an N rating.
If you just drive like a normal person, I wouldn't have any concerns about either tyre.
If you drive like a maniac at times, then all 4 is maybe a better idea, but really largely unnecessary.
Online Camskill seems to be a little cheaper than the others.
https://www.camskill.co.uk/m63b0s7691p0/Car_Tyres_...
I guess it depends on if you want the last word in handling and how much tread the rears have left.
Rears down to 3.5mm, track day regularly, change the lot.
Rears at 5mm, use it as a fancy commuter car, get the newer model of the same make.
I tried mixing tyres front and rear, on a boggo Golf, couldn’t really feel a difference driving around town, but the car was unsettled when pushing on, sometimes to an alarming degree. So I ended up matching all four tyres within a couple of months and it went back to feeling normal. This was mixing touring tyres on the sporty end (Continental Premium Contact 5) and eco end of the scales though (Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 2). I reckon if I mixed Premium Contact 5’s and 6’s the difference wouldn’t have been as pronounced.
Rears down to 3.5mm, track day regularly, change the lot.
Rears at 5mm, use it as a fancy commuter car, get the newer model of the same make.
I tried mixing tyres front and rear, on a boggo Golf, couldn’t really feel a difference driving around town, but the car was unsettled when pushing on, sometimes to an alarming degree. So I ended up matching all four tyres within a couple of months and it went back to feeling normal. This was mixing touring tyres on the sporty end (Continental Premium Contact 5) and eco end of the scales though (Goodyear Efficient Grip Performance 2). I reckon if I mixed Premium Contact 5’s and 6’s the difference wouldn’t have been as pronounced.
Edited by wyson on Friday 30th December 11:21
I learnt this one the hard way..... On any moderately performance car, all 4 matching.
You want the car behaving as the chassis engineers designed it - when you have tyres behaving differently you lose that. It's made worse when there is inconsistency across conditions - sometimes the fronts grip better, other times the rears.
It you drive like Miss Daisy, then nothing to worry about - otherwise, it will always be a question at the back of your mind.
You want the car behaving as the chassis engineers designed it - when you have tyres behaving differently you lose that. It's made worse when there is inconsistency across conditions - sometimes the fronts grip better, other times the rears.
It you drive like Miss Daisy, then nothing to worry about - otherwise, it will always be a question at the back of your mind.
Thanks for the replies all.
Annoying to have to bin two perfectly good tyres. As it happens I can't get anything at the moment anyway. Asymmetric 5 or PS4 would be my preferred choice, but they're like rocking horse s
t it seems. The tyres one notch above those are widely available though - Michelin PS4S and Eagle F1 SuperSports. Looking at the data from tyre-reviews YouTube channel, you do appear to lose a little bit of wet performance with those "UUHP" tyres, and I don't like the idea of that in a car that's quite prone to a spot of aquaplaning as it is 
Think I'll wait a month or so and see if availability improves.
Annoying to have to bin two perfectly good tyres. As it happens I can't get anything at the moment anyway. Asymmetric 5 or PS4 would be my preferred choice, but they're like rocking horse s
t it seems. The tyres one notch above those are widely available though - Michelin PS4S and Eagle F1 SuperSports. Looking at the data from tyre-reviews YouTube channel, you do appear to lose a little bit of wet performance with those "UUHP" tyres, and I don't like the idea of that in a car that's quite prone to a spot of aquaplaning as it is Think I'll wait a month or so and see if availability improves.
The reason they're different now is that front and rear have worn at different rates in the past. No doubt the new ones will continue to do so. It's perfectly normal and expected. If you insist on replacing all four at the same time every time, you'll be throwing away a lot of good tyres.
Carbon Sasquatch said:
I learnt this one the hard way..... On any moderately performance car, all 4 matching.
You want the car behaving as the chassis engineers designed it - when you have tyres behaving differently you lose that. It's made worse when there is inconsistency across conditions - sometimes the fronts grip better, other times the rears.
It you drive like Miss Daisy, then nothing to worry about - otherwise, it will always be a question at the back of your mind.
Miss Daisy didn’t drive.You want the car behaving as the chassis engineers designed it - when you have tyres behaving differently you lose that. It's made worse when there is inconsistency across conditions - sometimes the fronts grip better, other times the rears.
It you drive like Miss Daisy, then nothing to worry about - otherwise, it will always be a question at the back of your mind.
Gassing Station | Suspension, Brakes & Tyres | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff