Are mixed width tyres (225 front/ 205 back) wise?

sixman9 · 04-03-2004, 15:45

Gentlemen,
Although I'm 'reasonably' well paid, I don't want to fork out on a full set of tyres at the moment. However, my rears are now balder than the proverbial eagle (?), so I must now purchase replacements. The present set are 'standard' Octavia vRS size (205/17"), but I'm considering moving to 225/17 because they offer more grip and are easier to come by, I'm lead to believe.

Would it be at all wise/OK to say swap my current fronts to the rear (205/17's) and put some new 225/17 at the front end, until money stretches far enough to complete the 225 set (or the current set ALL wear out)? I'm no expert but I'm wondering about the cars dynamics etc, or is this a total No-No?

Thanks

Big Rich.

P.S. No flames, pretty please

Kentish · 04-03-2004, 15:59

Check the "for sale" room, Ecklad has some original fits going cheap, or he did have anyway.

SkodiRS · 04-03-2004, 16:00

I was in the same situation as yourself....I swapped the standard rears to the front and put the 225/45/17 on the rear....no probs.

kenny · 04-03-2004, 16:06

the wider tyres would have to go on the rear with the narrower tyres on the front

RallyMarshal · 04-03-2004, 16:36

why kenny?

Is this due to the 'safety' issue of the backend letting go rather than the frontend?

Paul..

kenny · 04-03-2004, 16:39

yea, in and emergency/hard braking in a corner can cause the rear to break away.

blades · 04-03-2004, 16:40

I was told by a tyre fitting company years ago that it was illegal to have wider tyres on the front of a vehicle then the rear as I was in a similar situation with swapping tyres etc. I don't know whether this is true but it might be worth ringing your local independant tyre stockist and ask there opinion. I also may have a set of vrs alloys with original tyres for sale soon (see post on RS4 alloys)

kenny · 04-03-2004, 16:45

its ok for the rear to be wider than the front tho

Fatbloke · 04-03-2004, 16:47

Stick the new tyres on the rear anyway as the fronts will wear quicker. When you then come to replace the fronts, the new larger rears that are already on will be barely worn

devonutopia · 04-03-2004, 16:57

Quote:

Originally Posted by kenny

yea, in and emergency/hard braking in a corner can cause the rear to break away.

sounds kind of familiar to me, not that I remember braking, but I could have.

RallyMarshal · 04-03-2004, 17:17

Personally I prefer the oversteery effect to the understeery effect - but thats personal choice....

kenny · 04-03-2004, 17:25

the tests were done to highlight the difference under braking in an emergency, so if the back end kicked out you couldnt correct it

DaveH · 04-03-2004, 17:34

Quite sadly, I've made a spreadsheet to calculate at what point to swap the rear tyres to the front and vise versa such that all tyres need replacement at the same time. I did have a nasty experience with different tyres front and rear though.

ecklad · 04-03-2004, 18:00

Still for sale!!!!

cheers

Dazz

Quinten · 04-03-2004, 20:27

Oops. And there I was thinking I could get away with having 225s on the front and the 205s at the back... No way I'm forking out another £200+

sixman9 · 05-03-2004, 04:59

Thanks for that gentlemen. So I'm taking it is IS OK to go with the new 225's at the rear. It's worrying that at least one of you had an issue with larger rears, but the wear and tear of the old 205's at the front makes a lot of sense

Now just to see if my neighbour can get me a nice discount at A-national T-yre S-hop

Thanks

Big Rich

P.S. Costco do Michellin [?] Pilot Sport [Contact, ?], 225/45/17's for £112 inc VAT, doesn't sound too cheap for a 'wholesaler'. Any ideas?

SkodiRS · 05-03-2004, 09:24

Quote:

Originally Posted by sixman9

P.S. Costco do Michellin [?] Pilot Sport [Contact, ?], 225/45/17's for £112 inc VAT, doesn't sound too cheap for a 'wholesaler'. Any ideas?

When I checked out the Costco prices for Michelin PS they were around £125 a corner.

£112 is the same as I paid for 225/45/17 Pirelli PZero Rosso at Micheldever.

**mannyo** · 05-03-2004, 09:32

You should ALWAYS fit new tyres to the rear, the old addage of new on front because of wear has been proven in many tests to be extremely dangerous because under extreme conditions, eg. hard braking in emergency or cornering quickly with the worn tyres on the back the rear end has a tendancy to overtake the front of the car.

My old BM had 245's on the rear and 225's on the front and seemed to stick to the road like glue. You cant fit them the other way round, not only is that dangerous but you will also fail the MOT when it is due.

piv34uk · 05-03-2004, 11:01

new tyres should be placed to the rear of the car, you want the best tread at the rear as you have no control over the rear axle... the front tyres could be near on bold but you can still control them. 225 45 17 will be ok on the rear and i would let the 205`s scrub out on the front. i would only recommend swapping tyres front to back but keeping them on the same side...i.e nearside front to nearside rear do not be tempted to swap them side to side.....if you think about it a tyre that has done say 5k going in one direction is then turned the other way uneven tyre wear can result and also vibration problems can occur

personally try Goodyear F1`s they are quiet and oh so very sticky

need more info on tyres call me

Phil

piv34uk · 05-03-2004, 11:09

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannyo

You cant fit them the other way round, not only is that dangerous but you will also fail the MOT when it is due.

sorry but as long as the tyres are on the same axle it wouldn`t fail the MOT....
size and profile the same it would only warrant an advisory...

Phil

Quinten · 05-03-2004, 13:00

Ok, ok, I get the drift

I shall ask my fitter to put the backs on the fronts and the new ones on the rear. Safety first

!

Nigel26 · 05-03-2004, 13:02

according to a good friend of mine who happens to work for national tyres it is infact illegal or at least you could get a ticking off for having wider tyres on the front of your car than the back.

I'd put the new wider tyres on the back and the thinner ones on the front, you should have enough tread on the front to last 6-12 months then and when you swap them for the same size as the backs you can swap them around again.

apparently its also recommended you bed tyres in on the rear.

piv34uk · 05-03-2004, 14:07

Quote:

Originally Posted by Nigel26

according to a good friend of mine who happens to work for national tyres it is infact illegal or at least you could get a ticking off for having wider tyres on the front of your car than the back.

apparently its also recommended you bed tyres in on the rear.

HI...all tyres front or rear should be bedded in we normally advise 30-50 miles although my F1`s took about 200 before they fealt good

wider tyres on the front only become illegal if they foul or protrude the body...i admit though you should never have wider tyres on the front than back.cos it looks stupid

dont forget it might pass an MOT but it may be a police legalisation....

Phil

DaveH · 05-03-2004, 17:27

Quote:

Originally Posted by mannyo

You should ALWAYS fit new tyres to the rear, the old addage of new on front because of wear has been proven in many tests to be extremely dangerous because under extreme conditions, eg. hard braking in emergency or cornering quickly with the worn tyres on the back the rear end has a tendancy to overtake the front of the car.

My old BM had 245's on the rear and 225's on the front and seemed to stick to the road like glue. You cant fit them the other way round, not only is that dangerous but you will also fail the MOT when it is due.

That explains my 'exit stage left' incident then when the rear most certainly overtook the front. Will bear that in mind from now on!

04-03-2004, 15:45	#1
sixman9 Briskodian Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Leicester Posts: 392 Members Car: Black Octavia vRS, Jabba'd, 187KillerBHP, to 229.8BHP. Packing SERIOUS heat!!! Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Are mixed width tyres (225 front/ 205 back) wise? Gentlemen, Although I'm 'reasonably' well paid, I don't want to fork out on a full set of tyres at the moment. However, my rears are now balder than the proverbial eagle (?), so I must now purchase replacements. The present set are 'standard' Octavia vRS size (205/17"), but I'm considering moving to 225/17 because they offer more grip and are easier to come by, I'm lead to believe. Would it be at all wise/OK to say swap my current fronts to the rear (205/17's) and put some new 225/17 at the front end, until money stretches far enough to complete the 225 set (or the current set ALL wear out)? I'm no expert but I'm wondering about the cars dynamics etc, or is this a total No-No? Thanks Big Rich. P.S. No flames, pretty please __________________ A wise man always know when to listen [so be wise and let me speak!!].

04-03-2004, 15:59	#2
Kentish Briskodian Join Date: Feb 2003 Posts: 5,245 Members Car: 4 wheels, 4 doors. Thanks: 0 Thanked 11 Times in 7 Posts	Check the "for sale" room, Ecklad has some original fits going cheap, or he did have anyway. __________________ Andy Owner of a sense of humour.

04-03-2004, 16:00	#3
SkodiRS BRISKODA Staff Join Date: Oct 2002 Location: darkest Hampshire Posts: 8,650 Members Car: Thanks: 0 Thanked 17 Times in 13 Posts	I was in the same situation as yourself....I swapped the standard rears to the front and put the 225/45/17 on the rear....no probs. __________________ Adrian.

04-03-2004, 16:06	#4
kenny Briskodian Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 3,795 Members Car: Audi A4 Quattro S-Line Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	the wider tyres would have to go on the rear with the narrower tyres on the front __________________ Ive seen a lot of good things die and im in an over emotional way So please hand me the bottle I think im lonely now, and please give me direction I think the hurt has set in, and I don’t feel nothing

04-03-2004, 16:36	#5
RallyMarshal Briskodian Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Mansfield, Notts. Posts: 189 Members Car: Octavia vRS, 1400 Nova RallyCar Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	why kenny? Is this due to the 'safety' issue of the backend letting go rather than the frontend? Paul.. __________________ paul@rallymarshal.co.uk Just back from Barbados See www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk for details

04-03-2004, 16:39	#6
kenny Briskodian Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 3,795 Members Car: Audi A4 Quattro S-Line Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	yea, in and emergency/hard braking in a corner can cause the rear to break away. __________________ Ive seen a lot of good things die and im in an over emotional way So please hand me the bottle I think im lonely now, and please give me direction I think the hurt has set in, and I don’t feel nothing

04-03-2004, 16:40	#7
blades Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2004 Posts: 500 Members Car: octavia vrs Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	I was told by a tyre fitting company years ago that it was illegal to have wider tyres on the front of a vehicle then the rear as I was in a similar situation with swapping tyres etc. I don't know whether this is true but it might be worth ringing your local independant tyre stockist and ask there opinion. I also may have a set of vrs alloys with original tyres for sale soon (see post on RS4 alloys)

04-03-2004, 16:45	#8
kenny Briskodian Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 3,795 Members Car: Audi A4 Quattro S-Line Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	its ok for the rear to be wider than the front tho __________________ Ive seen a lot of good things die and im in an over emotional way So please hand me the bottle I think im lonely now, and please give me direction I think the hurt has set in, and I don’t feel nothing

04-03-2004, 16:47	#9
Fatbloke Briskodian Join Date: Oct 2003 Location: Biddulph Posts: 21 Members Car: Octavia 2.0 Ambiente Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Stick the new tyres on the rear anyway as the fronts will wear quicker. When you then come to replace the fronts, the new larger rears that are already on will be barely worn

04-03-2004, 17:17	#11
RallyMarshal Briskodian Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Mansfield, Notts. Posts: 189 Members Car: Octavia vRS, 1400 Nova RallyCar Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Personally I prefer the oversteery effect to the understeery effect - but thats personal choice.... __________________ paul@rallymarshal.co.uk Just back from Barbados See www.teamrallymarshal.co.uk for details

04-03-2004, 17:25	#12
kenny Briskodian Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Scotland Posts: 3,795 Members Car: Audi A4 Quattro S-Line Thanks: 1 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	the tests were done to highlight the difference under braking in an emergency, so if the back end kicked out you couldnt correct it __________________ Ive seen a lot of good things die and im in an over emotional way So please hand me the bottle I think im lonely now, and please give me direction I think the hurt has set in, and I don’t feel nothing

04-03-2004, 17:34	#13
DaveH Briskodian Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Sheffield Posts: 806 Members Car: Octavia Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Quite sadly, I've made a spreadsheet to calculate at what point to swap the rear tyres to the front and vise versa such that all tyres need replacement at the same time. I did have a nasty experience with different tyres front and rear though.

04-03-2004, 18:00	#14
ecklad Briskodian Join Date: Feb 2003 Location: Shamone Mother F*****r Hi Hi Posts: 727 Members Car: 2003 Skoda Octavia vRS, met Black... Standard Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	Still for sale!!!! cheers Dazz __________________ Blackadder Quote of the Year ! ( I don't change it often) Blackadder: Baldrick, have you no idea what irony is? Baldrick: Yes, it's like goldy and bronzy only it's made out of iron. 03 reg Magic Black Octavia vRS, standard well apart from, Pagid FR pads, 225x45x17 Toyo Proxies T1-R.

04-03-2004, 20:27	#15
Quinten Crossdresser Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: fast lane Posts: 10,000 Members Car: Citroen C-Crosser 2.2HDI Thanks: 25 Thanked 40 Times in 37 Posts	Oops. And there I was thinking I could get away with having 225s on the front and the 205s at the back... No way I'm forking out another £200+ __________________ Awooga!!!

05-03-2004, 04:59	#16
sixman9 Briskodian Join Date: Sep 2003 Location: Leicester Posts: 392 Members Car: Black Octavia vRS, Jabba'd, 187KillerBHP, to 229.8BHP. Packing SERIOUS heat!!! Thanks: 0 Thanked 1 Time in 1 Post	Thanks for that gentlemen. So I'm taking it is IS OK to go with the new 225's at the rear. It's worrying that at least one of you had an issue with larger rears, but the wear and tear of the old 205's at the front makes a lot of sense Now just to see if my neighbour can get me a nice discount at A-national T-yre S-hop Thanks Big Rich P.S. Costco do Michellin [?] Pilot Sport [Contact, ?], 225/45/17's for £112 inc VAT, doesn't sound too cheap for a 'wholesaler'. Any ideas? __________________ A wise man always know when to listen [so be wise and let me speak!!].

05-03-2004, 09:32	#18
mannyo BRISKODA Staff Join Date: Nov 2002 Location: Stevenage Herts. Posts: 11,475 Members Car: Octavia 2.0 TDi Elegance Thanks: 58 Thanked 362 Times in 333 Posts	You should ALWAYS fit new tyres to the rear, the old addage of new on front because of wear has been proven in many tests to be extremely dangerous because under extreme conditions, eg. hard braking in emergency or cornering quickly with the worn tyres on the back the rear end has a tendancy to overtake the front of the car. My old BM had 245's on the rear and 225's on the front and seemed to stick to the road like glue. You cant fit them the other way round, not only is that dangerous but you will also fail the MOT when it is due. __________________ Manny 2005 Octavia 2.0TDi Elegance combi my skoda website http://www.octaviars.co.uk Join the briskoda.net folding team click Here for more info

05-03-2004, 11:01	#19
piv34uk NOW @ PEUGEOT Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Bicester,Oxfordshire Posts: 1,453 Members Car: 2 x octavia vrs 03&01 Thanks: 32 Thanked 44 Times in 42 Posts	new tyres should be placed to the rear of the car, you want the best tread at the rear as you have no control over the rear axle... the front tyres could be near on bold but you can still control them. 225 45 17 will be ok on the rear and i would let the 205`s scrub out on the front. i would only recommend swapping tyres front to back but keeping them on the same side...i.e nearside front to nearside rear do not be tempted to swap them side to side.....if you think about it a tyre that has done say 5k going in one direction is then turned the other way uneven tyre wear can result and also vibration problems can occur personally try Goodyear F1`s they are quiet and oh so very sticky need more info on tyres call me Phil __________________ 1)RED ONE, FEW MODS; AND A HEALTHY 237bhp 2)GONE BUT NOT FORGOTTEN, 2ND OWNER OF THE BLACK BEAST, GOD WHAT A HOOT LACK OF PLANNING ON YOUR BEHALF DOES NOT CONSTITUTE AN EMERGENCY ON MINE

05-03-2004, 13:00	#21
Quinten Crossdresser Join Date: Apr 2003 Location: fast lane Posts: 10,000 Members Car: Citroen C-Crosser 2.2HDI Thanks: 25 Thanked 40 Times in 37 Posts	Ok, ok, I get the drift I shall ask my fitter to put the backs on the fronts and the new ones on the rear. Safety first ! __________________ Awooga!!!

05-03-2004, 13:02	#22
Nigel26 Briskodian Join Date: Nov 2003 Location: Walsall, West Midlands Posts: 2,298 Members Car: Sea Grey Mondeo Titanium X Thanks: 0 Thanked 0 Times in 0 Posts	according to a good friend of mine who happens to work for national tyres it is infact illegal or at least you could get a ticking off for having wider tyres on the front of your car than the back. I'd put the new wider tyres on the back and the thinner ones on the front, you should have enough tread on the front to last 6-12 months then and when you swap them for the same size as the backs you can swap them around again. apparently its also recommended you bed tyres in on the rear. __________________ Sea Grey Mondeo Titanium X

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