different tires front & back

[Silvia2b]

Hey all, this is a question I've been thinking about, thought I throw it out there and see what people have to say. I have 2 brand new TOYO 225/50VR16 FZ4 that I am going to put on the front of my car, but I need new rear tires too. would it be really unusual to put the same size only different tire on the back? Like The Toyo T1S. What kind of perfomance changes will occur by doing this if any. I know the T1S is stickier, and will wear more quickly, which is why I wanted the FZ4 on the wheels that steer the vehicle, and don't have a throttle directly attached to them. So what do you think is this a bad idea or what. should I just buy another pair of the FZ4s? Has anybody intentionally done this before?

[Grant@tirerack]

I would not mix and match different tires. It's much safer to match all the way around.

[Altiman94]

what is unsafe about mis-matching tires?

[Grant@tirerack]

Any time you have two different tread designs, compounds, and interior construction on a tire it is not going to handle the same way. This can throw off the balance front and rear on the car in lane changes, corners, on wet pavement, and in emergency situations. It can make braking, steering, and overall vehicle response very unpredictable. It's sort of like running across a sheet of ice wearing a dress shoe on one foot and a studded boot on the other (that's an extreme example but makes the point). The tire is your only mechanical connection between the car and the road surface. The construction of the tire can make a big difference in how the car's suspension reacts to the road as can the tread design and compound. You're looking at different slip angles, traction rates, and response front and rear....

[Silvia2b]

o.k. so right no I've been driving carefully because I put the new tires on the front and will get the new rears soon. But right now the rears have like 2/32 tread and are next to nothing but rubberbands when it rains as far traction goes. The bald rears are proxes A05, so if the tread was actually in good condtion this could lead to total unpredictability driving? Got it, well I had pretty much made up my mind about waiting for the other set of FZ4's, except that they had 2 of the T1S in stock in my size, and the FZ4 would take a day or so to get. So I was considering it just from a wait/ no-wait standpoint. That's why I was considering two completely different tires in the first place. I didn't think that it would be good for handling, but was curious if there would ever be a reason for doing it?