Hello dear CL friends,
Just wanted your advice and opinion on mixing tyre brands. I am in Australia and just bought an 08 RX350 with 44K on the clock. It has 4x Hankook tyres. These are low to mid range tyres. Two of the tyres on the left rear and left front are starting to wear on the outer. I'm contemplating changing these two tyres (Continentals) putting the new Contis in front and the old Hankooks at the back. The Hankooks still have 7-8mm thread left. I am also thinking about changing all four tyres to ensure consistency. Not sure what you all think about mixing a high end tyre with low to mid range tyres. At the same time, I'm not sure if discarding two tyres with 7-8mm thread is wise. I'd really appreciate your comments.

 

It is OK to mix brands. While the purists cringe at this, it is done all the time out in the real world. Putting the new tires on the front is a good idea as the front wheels are the driving ones. Having good tread depth on the front wheels that steer the car is good when driving in the rain and helps in light snow. I do this in the rainy seasons, but in the dry seasons, I put the worn tires on the front so that they will wear out faster.

In your situation, make sure you get a true 4 wheel alignment to stop the uneven tire wear. Many places here will say they do a 4 wheel alignment, but in reality only do a front wheel alignment and just check the rear and don't touch anything in back.

 

I have always thought the same about two tire replacement, but Discount Tire says that is a myth -- although they would prefer you replace all four...:-)

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiret....jsp?techid=52

https://www.discounttire.com/learn/replacing-2tires -- We recommend that you replace all four tires at the same time. However, we understand that sometimes you may only need to replace two tires at a time. If you’re only replacing two tires, we recommend mounting the new tires on the rear axle, which adds traction and increased overall safety to your vehicle. Your car can better resist hydroplaning with new rear tires, even if the front tires are worn. If the front tires hydroplane, the vehicle will travel in a straight line and you can safely maintain control. While you steer, the unworn rear tires will help stabilize the rear of the vehicle.

 

In 2018 I was driving up north with two 3/4 worn tires on the front and 2 almost new tires on the rear. Just outside Tulsa OK I encountered heavy rains and high side winds. The nose of car was being blown off the road repeatedly. After about 5-6 times I pulled off the road and waited out the storm. When you do not have good traction with your steering tires, you have very little control when you go into a skid. I knew better and was kicking myself for not rotating the tires before I started the trip.

That was not the first time that happened to me, just the most recent. I used to drive 90K miles a year before I retired. You try everything and go with what works. The armchair quarterbacks are not always right and this is one of those times.

 

I am not trying to play arm-chair quarterback, that was just my experience when I went to Discount Tire and they wouldn't install on the front (AWD vehicle).

This is a pretty good read with the lawsuits Costco and GM faced for this type of scenario: https://www.tirereview.com/so-where-do-new-tires-go/

 

Thanks for your comment. I note that the article talks about FWDs. My car is AWD btw. But thanks.

 

I was not aiming my comment at you. I apologise for not wording my comment more clearly. All these places such as Discount tire that tell you to always buy 4 tires are wanting you to buy more stuff using safety as the reason. While a new tire is better than a used tire, a tire with 7-8 mm tread depth as the op has, certainly is capable of proving good service. In the case of front wheel drive cars (and all wheel drive fall into this), the better tires should be on the front.

 

I am not advocating one way or the other, but in the article, it states:
"In dry, clear weather it really doesn’t make much difference, but in wet conditions having new rubber on the rears makes a huge difference. Tiremakers and major retailers are universal and unequivocal in their recommendations that, if only two tires are being replaced, the two new tires should be installed on the rear axle. And that goes for FWD, RWD, AWD and even 4x4s."

 

No worries, just wanted to clarify my experience.

 

I'd throw the best tires on the front & have the front & rear toe settings dealt with. A good tech is going to inpect the suspension for wear. Ball joints, tie rod ends, struts, A-arm bushings, ect as well as make sure the air pressure is correct......

 

2WD - only 2 tires can be replaced
AWD / 4WD - all tires should have the same tread depth and pattern design!!!

 

Wow, I hadn't thought about pattern design. Tread width I've been thinking about. But you make quite an interesting comment with regards to 2WD vs 4WD. Can you shed a bit more light? Is there any evidence supporting this? Thanks

 

These are well-known requirements for Audi Quattro. It's all about safety.
1. Different pattern -> different traction between front and rear -> risk of an uncontrolled skid -> unskilled driver will not return AWD car on road.
2. Different tread depth -> different traction -> see point 1. )))

Moreover, it can cause transmission failure (an expensive repair). For example, modern BMW with their AWD transmission has this issue after 30-50k miles because of different tread depth of front and rear tires.

 

Four Michelin Premier AS Tires - 235/55R18's purchased in late 2019. Less than 16k miles on them. The mechanic may be pushing tire sales but says 5/32 left on treads.
Totally stupid issue that takes out 1 tire. I was hoping to have the whole set for another 35-40k miles - a few years since I put less than 10k on the garaged RX350 that is in great shape.
Definitely was going to replace two tires - but reading this thread looks like I might want to replace all four. If I were to only replace two, the mechanic suggested putting them on the back but wouldn't putting them on the front - with turning and other steering aspects - wear them down a little more than the rears - making them a little more even? It's AWD, but is there any more braking pressure (more wear) on the fronts than the rear?
Suggestions? Mandatory to replace all four?

 

If you have AWD then ALL 4 tires should be the same