Can I drive with two wheels one size and two wheels a different size on my FWD?

Posted by Creepy-Suspect-8166@reddit | askcarguys | View on Reddit | 57 comments

Hello, have a FWD car, and have two rims and tires on the front passenger and driver that are the same size, and the two tires on the back are that are different than the front (but both back tires are the same). Is it okay to drive a day or two like this until get my new rims and tires to make all four of them the same? hope that made sense. Both front tires are the same size, but different than the back two tires. Since it's on a FWD I'm hoping be fine. Please let me know if you think that's okay for now

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UniquePotato@reddit

Yes, but put the wider ones on the back

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Creepy-Suspect-8166@reddit (OP)

Why is that if you don't mind me asking?

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DFLDrew@reddit

They grip better and you want the front tires to lose grip before the rears. That’s also why you rotate and do NOT put tires with more tread in front.

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Hersbird@reddit

Wider tires don't grip better. They end up with less pounds per square inch of contract patch. They don't get to the melting point and get greasy as fast on a track pushed to the limit, but for normal driving if anything they are more prone to hydroplaining which is something you might encounter on a normal drive.

That is why you put the best tread on the rear as better tread will grip better when wet, but wider does not necessarily grip better just because it's wider.

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Friendly-Inspector71@reddit

The size of the contacts patch is determined by the tire pressure.

The size of the tire only changes the shape. Wider tires will have a wider but shorter contact patch.

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Hersbird@reddit

Within a similar size, but no matter what pressure you run, a 37x12.5 tire is going to have a bigger contact patch vs a 195/65/14.

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Strange_Produce5601@reddit

yes, understeer is easier to counter then oversteer. In this case though, I think he might be better suited putting the ones with better tread and newer rubber on the back. The key though, is make sure your front tires are the same. The back does not really matter as it is just getting dragged along for the ride and has no differential to fuck up.

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WizeAdz@reddit

If the rear wheels break loose, the back of the car wants to be the front of the car.

If the front wheels break loose, the front of the car wants to be the front of the car.

Average drivers are far better at recovering a car when the front of the car wants to be the front of the car. This is one of several reasons why front wheel drive became the default drive setup 40+ years ago.

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Cool-Negotiation7662@reddit

Should be wider on the drive wheels. However in the back looks cooler. Taller in the back gives body rake whick looks cooler too.

As long as left and right on the same location are the same, clear the brakes and stearing linkages, then no big deal.

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qkdsm7@reddit

In general would suggest the same, but noteworthy that several cars that had factory staggered sizes, have had the bigger tires on the front, FYI....

OP, what sizes are we dealing with? 215/50/17 instead of 215/55/17 (small difference anyways) on one of ours but with the brand variances/etc, almost measure exactly the same.

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No_Brother_2385@reddit

Nope. Wider ones on the left side, to even out driver mass. S

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jrileyy229@reddit

Different size by how much? If it's close, it's fine.

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oldfartjr@reddit

Makes no difference.

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jrileyy229@reddit

Why is that?

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oldfartjr@reddit

As long as both tears are the same and both fronts are the same, it’s not only immaterial, it’s commonplace.

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jrileyy229@reddit

It's not commonplace on cars that aren't designed for it... Especially with height.

OP didn't specify width or height or both.

You can't put 24" tires up front and 28" tires in the back ..

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oldfartjr@reddit

Sure you can. It’s done all the time. Not necessarily on mobility blobs, but on enthusiasts’ vehicles it’s not at all uncommon

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jrileyy229@reddit

No. You don't take a car engineered to run 4 24" tires and put 28" tires on the back or front..m especially not enthusiast cars.

You maybe go with wider tires, but that's it

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oldfartjr@reddit

https://www.autoblog.com/.image/w_3840,q_auto:good,c_limit/MjA5MDg5MTIxMDA4MzYzMTIw/Donk%2520car%2520at%2520the%2520Woodward%2520Dream%2520Cruise.jpg

I agree that it looks stupid. It was just the most obvious example that came to mind.

People have been putting different size wheels and tires on their vehicles since vehicles became affordable for the masses.

https://silodrome.com/wp-content/uploads/2025/03/Ford-Model-A-Tudor-Coyote-V8-Hot-Rod.jpg

https://cdn.episode.ninja/file/episodeninja/7651036.jpg

Or the advertising stunt that created the monster truck craze:

https://www.ford-trucks.com/wp-content/uploads/2015/03/BIGFOOT1-side.jpg

And an article explaining the concept:

https://cokertire.com/blog/big-and-little-tires

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FeelTall@reddit

I think you're confusing the diameter vs the width. The guy you're responding to is saying you can't just stick 24" diameter wheels in the front and 28" diameter wheels in the back and expect the car to "to be fine".

In your pics you're showing different sized width tires, skinny tires in the front with wide tires in the back, but they have the same diameter/"height". So the car is level.

Also, putting larger or smaller tires, like in your pics, requires extensive modification to work.

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oldfartjr@reddit

No confusion between diameter in width. and width. And if you go back a couple comments you’ll see that I comment it isn’t usually done on mobility blobs.

Yes, pics I posted were older vehicles. They were the most obvious way of could show it. But it IS done on newer models are you still led enough to remember a few years son when the rivers were putt little super wide 12 inch wheels on their cars and stretch the wheels as wide as they possibly could and still seat the tires on the wheels?

Somebody commented that you can’t put 28 inch ties on a car designed for 24 inch tires. That statement is totally incorrect. It certainly can be done, it just takes money and some work. Just because most people don’t do it doesn’t mean it can’t be done

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jrileyy229@reddit

Cool, those are hot rods that run taller tires in the back. Not only are they built that way, but they don't have traction control, stability control, and ABS.

You start mismatching tire heights by more than a tiny amount, you screw up all of those systems... Because they use wheel speed sensors to function.

Not only that, but putting taller tires in the back pitches the weight balance way forward, you have no weight on the back of the car and no working electronic nannies... Additionally your front suspension is now under sprung and the car is going to bounce around.

I'm giving advice to a stranger who lives in the real world and probably driving a KIA... Not a hot rod or monster truck.

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TheGeek00@reddit

Are you perhaps German?

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jrileyy229@reddit

No, but without knowing how much different the tires are, I wouldn't tell someone who knows nothing about cars that "it will be fine".

There's a real chance none of the safety systems will work correctly and that the car will bounce around dangerously

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TheGeek00@reddit

It’ll probably be fine. If it fits without rubbing it’s fine

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BATorRAT@reddit

Check out when fwd guys go drag racing. Looks weird but is functional when they put big slicks up front. The only time it’s really important to have all tyres the same (square setup) is with all wheel drive.

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oldfartjr@reddit

Close. Even with real four wheel drive you can have different tire sizes on front and back regardless of the surface being driven on. You just gear the differentials accordingly

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voucher420@reddit

Most people aren’t customizing their car that much.

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oldfartjr@reddit

You have a bit of a point.

It’s really sad that most people are willing to drive whatever the gov’t and the companies give them. It’s just another way to see how the apathy and malaise has taken hold if the general population.

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Prize-Mail-6769@reddit

Bro. Can I I call you bro?

Put the best tires up front. Guess which ones do the steering and braking. It’s not the rears.

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CakesForLife@reddit

I believe the tyres with more thread must be fitted to the rear, to reduce the risk of skidding in wet weather. I believe that’s the worse case scenario.

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stonewall028@reddit

no. FWD cars want the best tires on the front.

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voucher420@reddit

The reason why most manufacturers recommend the best tires on the rear is to help prevent oversteer. For most casual drivers, a understeer situation is preferable to oversteer. It’s far easier to control (though not always as much fun) and easier to recover from.

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CakesForLife@reddit

Please do a search and see what the manufacturers say about it. Don’t take my word for it.

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Prize-Mail-6769@reddit

You can be confidently wrong all you want

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CakesForLife@reddit

Of course. Could you kindly look in to the industry standard regarding this?

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Prize-Mail-6769@reddit

….you want me to look up’s facts for you?

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CakesForLife@reddit

Look, I have been in the trade for a while and I am going by what manufactures say about swapping the tyres with higher tread to the rear.

Would you consider that you may be wrong on this one point and might be actually giving people incorrect advise? If you take a minute to look it up it might help you and others. That’s all I asked.

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Prize-Mail-6769@reddit

Legit I’m not going to pick an argument on Reddit over something that won’t affect me.

After decades of racing, I learned you put the tires where the traction is needed. Steering and stopping.

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CakesForLife@reddit

But your comment to the fella was not about racing - it was for day to day driving. Your comment is valid for racing, not day to day driving (ie specially in wet weather).

I was under the impression that the best tread must be in the front too, but it’s not. I did my part in letting you know.

I hope you will look it up and maybe consider the fact that you are giving misleading info to people on Reddit.

Have a good day bud.

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Prize-Mail-6769@reddit

As well.

All I’m saying is put the best tires where you need it most. In a front heavy, fwd car, where the most braking force and traction is needed: That’s the front wheels.

We’re not all out here in Porsche 930 turbos.

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CakesForLife@reddit

My comment to your original reply was based on OP having a fwd car, and the stuff I said is based on what Toyota, Michelin, Bridgestone say about fitting tyres with more depth to the rear.

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Prize-Mail-6769@reddit

I literally have an old Camry with new two new tires and a rotation.

Guess where they put the new tires. It want the rear.

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CakesForLife@reddit

That is possibly because workshops have people like you that may have the same point of view.

The time you spend replying to me could have been spent to do a quick search what Toyota and other manufacturers say, which was my initial request.

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