Share:

For many auto-owners, proper tire maintenance feels like a pain. Between replacing flats, rotating positions, correcting wheel alignment, and checking the pressure, some vehicle owners get overwhelmed and are tempted to neglect important aspects of this maintenance. Some people even think they can save money by mixing different types of wheels—but this can have catastrophic results. Here’s why mixing and matching is a bad idea.

Here’s Why Mixing Tires Is Bad for Wheel Alignment

Mixing Tread Patterns

The design of a tire’s tread determines how it grips the road, which has a direct impact on your safety, especially in slick conditions. Mixing tread patterns can cause these to wear out more swiftly than they otherwise would, creating a potential for hydroplaning and other accidents, as well as wasting money by making you replace them sooner. Additionally, having mixed tread patterns will cause the wheels to tug in different directions, throwing off the alignment.

Mixing Manufacturers

wheel alignmentFor most tire brands, mixing and matching voids the warranty, meaning that you’ll bear full financial responsibility if anything damages your wheels on the road. While a few manufacturers do make staggered fitment tires that are specifically designed to allow for mixing, you should only do this if the tire maker and your mechanic say it’s alright.

Mixing Sizes

Once again, unless your tires are designed for staggered fitment—designed to have different sizes on the front and rear axles—you should not mix smaller and larger ones. Once again, this is partially an alignment issue: differently sized tires will wear out at different rates, throwing off the wheel alignment of your vehicle. Having different sizes will also prevent you from rotating them properly, contributing to the speed and unevenness of tire wear.

 

If you’re looking for an auto repair center around Columbia, MO, to assist with wheel alignment, oil changes, transmission repairs, or another automotive task, the experts at G & J Auto Center can help. Over their 20 years in business, they’ve sought to offer the best service possible to clients, maintaining these standards by offering state-of-the-art tools and training to all their technicians. To learn more about how they can assist with maintaining your car, visit them online or call (573) 474-5819.

tracking