It is a popular fact that automobile experts insists on changing 4 tyres at the same time. While this is true for some cars, it is far from universal. The short answer is to consult your operating manual, but in this essay we'll provide some additional guidelines and share our knowledge on the subject:

  • Tyre Dimensions
  • Tread Pattern
  • Vehicles with four wheels drive
  • Vehicles with all-wheel drive

Tyre Dimensions

All wheel drive and four wheel drive vehicles must have the same tyre size on all four wheels, which should go without saying.

Various sizes on such four wheel and all wheel drive cars can actually cause damage. Because tyres Nottingham differ from brand to brand as well as from model to model, failure can happen even with tyres of the same dimensions if the circumference is large enough. However, because this second problem is one of the key points of this article, we will go over it in greater detail underneath the four wheel drive as well as all wheel drive sections. We've only ever seen one exception to this rule. The BMW X5 truly offers a variety of size front and rear option packs. Even so, the diameters of the two tyre sizes are extremely similar.

Tread Pattern

If there are 2 distinct tread designs on your AWD or 4WD because of whatever reason, the tread should be of the same type. All season against all season, all terrain against all terrain, mud against mud. We haven't seen any problems with mismatched tread designs, so the true problem is going to be the circumference of the tyres, which will be discussed further in the all wheel drive section.

Vehicles with four wheels drive

There are two types of four wheel drive cars: those with physically locking hubs and those that have adaptive hubs. You can get away with more with manually locking hubs.

This is because the front wheels are not involved until the hubs are turned to the "on" or "4WD" place. You can also employ different sizes, though you probably wouldn't want to employ the four wheel drive system with that vehicle. When using instantly locking hubs (those that are activated by a switch inside the vehicle), you must be more cautious about tyre matching. This is due to the fact that in these structures, the front axles are constantly turning and disconnect at the transfer case (or 4WD transmission). The tightness of any of these systems' tolerance is determined on a case-by-case grounds. Some are more sensitive than others, but the majority are fairly accepting.

However, two things are certain: you should use the same size tyres on all four wheels (except for the above BMWs) and you must always consult your instruction booklet to be secure. If the car necessitates close matching of the tyres, the owner's manual will generally be very clear about it, and likely very loud regarding it with warnings.

Vehicles with all-wheel drive

All-wheel drive cars differ from four-wheel drive vehicles in that all four tyres are always engaged. These vary from the most stringent to the most forgiving. Once again, the owner's manual is an excellent place to begin. The following are some prime examples:



Subarus: To our understanding, Subarus have the tightest sensitivity of any AWD framework. We can explain you what the tolerance is because we see many more. It can be expressed in two ways: The first involves a tread depth of 2/32nds throughout all four tyres. The issue is that actual tyre dimensions can differ from brand to brand and even design to model. As a result, the 2/32nds principle is only valid if you have the same size, label, and model tyre. Another method is to measure the tyre around the circumference; the tolerance is 1/4". That was circumference, not diameter, so you'll need an adaptable tape ruler to measure around the tyre tread.

The circumference is also affected by the presence of air in the tyre. Although the change due to the presence of air is only about 1/8", the tolerance is only 1/4". To get an accurate measurement, let the air out before measuring (since the potential replacement is unlikely to be aired up). This second approach allows you to test compatibility with any tyre brand, like Tyres Heanor or model.