Different tires - front and back?

How much tread do the "good" tires have? Are they worth keeping? It's best to have four matching tires.

 

We have had 2 pairs of tires of the same size but from different manufacturers on the front and rear of our Gen 2 Touring Prius and have not noticed any issues. While I agree that it is ideal that all 4 tires on your car are identical, when you stop to think about it, that is not likely to be the case for very long, even if you replace all tires at the same time. The front tires will always wear more quickly than the rear tires, due to the increased friction on them from steering and braking, regenerative or otherwise, so they are soon mismatched with the rear tires, at least to some extent.

Hopefully one of the members can give you some information about which tire would be the closest match to the Turanza, but I would not stress about getting less than a perfect match.

 

Same axle, same tires. OK Not optimum but as Dave said, never is for long.

 

Is the Serenity Plus in your size still in production? TireRack.com shows a Serenity <something else> for your car.

 

I like these but you have a different size so it is not a good endorsement.

https://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Yokohama&tireModel=AVID+Ascend+LX&partnum=15HR7ASCLXXL&vehicleSearch=true&fromCompare1=yes&autoMake=Toyota&autoYear=2014&autoModel=Prius%20v&autoModClar=Five

 

Years ago, Pirelli made a pair of tires specifically for a Porsche and the tread designs and even tire widths were designed to be different front and back. There was a Porsche set of tests of any set of tires that Porsche would deliver on a new Porsche and the design would get an N rating from Porsche only after any needed design and construction changes to the tire and them finally passing the tests (and they were comprehensive tests). So with all that background on a specific car designed with asymmetric tire sizes to run to 120MPH on the autobahn and mid-engined and all that we know it is possible to even have different tread pattern on the car as long as they are on the same axle.

Now also we know that it was a common practice on RWD cars to put snows only on the back. So different tread designs front to back.

Still try and pick a tire with a similar tread design. You are trying to keep the tire characteristics as close as you can so the anti-lock braking system does not get totally confused. When you need that to work, you really really need it to work.

Tires are my contact patch with the earth. It is an area I never tried to save on.

 

Not that big a deal as long as you have good tread. I've done it on my prius.....

 

But it is not necessary.....as long as you keep the matching pairs on the same "axle".
I think that anyone in this situation should ask a tire shop or 6 and get the new tires that gets the most "votes".

P.S. I get mine from Sam's Club and they usually are very helpful.
Did Costco really NOT make a recomendation ?

But the basic answer is: NO, unless they are wildly different, it should NOT be a problem.

 

With your set-up, you would not be doing tire rotation. Keep the good tires on rear, when the front wears out , bring the rear set to the front and buy tow new tires and put them on the rear. I was in a similar situation with my Gen3 with unmatched tires in front and rear. I had OEM EP20 and Ecopia 422 Plus. I would think any touring tires (which Turanza is) of the same speed and load rating would be fine. Only thing is that with this scheme, you do lose the opportunity to buy tires on sale for most of great sales on tires requires a set of four new tires. Also, since you will not be doing tire rotation, you will void any tire tread warranty, although those warranties are most often not worth claiming. As such, I ended up with purchasing a set of four new tires eventually, and leaving two newish tires I took off from Gen3 in my garage.

 

The front tires are ALREADY worn out (described as bald)......and with mis-matching sets, there is no reason that they can't still be rotated front to back and they should be. Directional tires are done that way all the time.

 

Sure, if the "2 good tires in the back" are almost new. OP did not say how much treads are left on those "2 good tires in the back".

 

OK, sorry I worded that poorly.
I should have said "There is no reason that the tires can not be rotated front to back.........when all 4 tires are in good shape.
It seems as though you are suggesting that she keep driving on her "bald" tires.......and that is NOT good advice no matter which position they are mounted on.

 

That is why the maintenance list calls for frequent tire rotations -- to keep the mismatch from getting large.

That old practice of snows only on the back of RWD cars, predated ABS and stability / skid controls that could be confused. And it wasn't a particularly good idea even back then, due to poor steering from the front non-snow tires.

 

I would never suggest to keep driving with "bald" tires. My assumption was that OP's rear tires are still good, but substantially less tread than new. What I am suggesting is that when she is ready to replace those "bald" front two tires, bring the still good, but less than full tread rear tires to the front, and put the new tires on the rear. With this scheme, it is impossible to keep the even wears on front and rear sets of tires since already less tread front tires are going to lose the tread even faster than the brand new rear tires. The tire rotation is recommended for even wears on all four tires, but you just can't achieve that with this setup, unless you put the brand new tires on the front and keep driving until they are matched to the tires on the rear.

This may bring up a hot topic on "When changing only two tires, which axle they should go". I advise new and better tires with more tread should stay on rear for safety reasons, but some people may argue differently.

BTW, I found out that tire rotation is mostly US thing, and many European countries do not even suggest tire rotation. I for one did not rotate my tire on my Gen3 with miss matched tires until I eventually replaced all four tires with a new set.

 

Tire Rack, looks like you can still get these tires:

Tire Rack - Search Results for Bridgestone Turanza Serenity Plus

Not sure why Costco can't order. Show the this link and ask again perhaps.

I'd agree with post above … as long as the matched tire are on the same axle …. you could do this.

But...personally I prefer all 4 tires to be matched make and model.

Good luck in your decision.

 

What is a "bold" tire ? She said BALD. I repeated BALD. As in, no tread left.
There should be no "when ready".
The time is NOW.

 

My bad. Typo. Corrected "Bald". Yeah, NOW is the time to buy new tires, I agree. But if she is buying only two tires, then new tires should go to the rear, as suggested by most. But still, some may disagree.

 

I don't do that......but also do not disagree that it is the best strategy for most drivers.