Mix and match tires...

[pothole]

With the greatest of respect, I think this no mixing thing is total bull****************.

Here's proof, if you need it. A base 2.5 Box left the factory as standard on 205 fronts, 225 rears. The 17 inch option is 205 front, 255 rear. A huge difference - much more of a balance - altering difference than sticking with the same size tyres but mixing brands. And yet no children died!

As long as you don't go for something really weird, like snows at one end and high performance summer on the other end, you'll be fine.

I wouldn't bet $5 on just about anyone being able to tell the difference between having decent mixed tyres and the same decent tyres all round in a blind test.

[papasmurf]

pothole. I drive my car pretty conservatively and with mismatched rubber front to rear and it has never been an issue. I do use similar tires front to back in that they are all summer performance and not all weather tires. The car until recently has been my DD so tire wear and longevity was one of my major concerns. IMO if you are driving the car to the point that mismatched rubber is frequently becoming a driving hazard (assuming the tire designs are similar) then you probably need to do that kind of driving on the track. I have been able to get about 35k miles out of the last set of fronts I had on the car and of course the rears are wearing quite a bit faster. When I go to replace tires, sometimes the tires I would be trying to match to the fronts or vice versa are out of stock or no longer in production so instead of scrapping the good tires still on the car and starting over with four new, I find whatever is comparable and still fits the budget and durability requirements.

[Topless]

Originally Posted by pothole

With the greatest of respect, I think this no mixing thing is total bull****************.

Here's proof, if you need it. A base 2.5 Box left the factory as standard on 205 fronts, 225 rears. The 17 inch option is 205 front, 255 rear. A huge difference - much more of a balance - altering difference than sticking with the same size tyres but mixing brands. And yet no children died!

As long as you don't go for something really weird, like snows at one end and high performance summer on the other end, you'll be fine.

I wouldn't bet $5 on just about anyone being able to tell the difference between having decent mixed tyres and the same decent tyres all round in a blind test.

I'll take that bet. Find a Boxster friend with very different tire compounds than you and swap 1/2 for a day. Mount A/S tires on the rear of your car and Max performance summer tires on the front. Take it for a spirited drive through the countryside to see if you can discover your new handling limits. If you don't stick it in a creek or back it into a guard rail you will still have a very clear picture of "Boxster gone wild". Afterwards you can send the fiver to my paypal acct or meet me in Dublin on St Patty's and you can buy me a pint.

It will be very evident that these different compound tires should not share the same car. Ask me how I know this.

Different brands with very similar compound, no problem. A/S 480TW on the rear, Max Summer 180tw on the front, PROBLEM.

[pothole]

Eh?

I specifically said I wasn't claiming you can mix summer tyres with winter tyres.

What I specifically said was that mixing decent summer tyres was a non issue. Which it is!