If I only purchase two new tires, where should they be mounted
For front or rear wheel drive vehicles, we
recommend mounting the new tires on the rear axle, in order to prevent an
oversteer condition. When purchasing a single new tire, it should be paired on
the rear axle with the tire having the greatest remaining tread depth . When
radial tires are unavoidably used with bias-ply tires on the same vehicle (not
recommended), the radial tires must ALWAYS be placed on the rear axle. NEVER mix
radial & bias-ply tires on the same axle.
For 4-wheel drive vehicles, if no instructions for tire mixing appear in the
vehicle owner's manual, adhere to the following guidelines:
Do not mix sizes --all four tires must be branded with the same tire size.
Do not mix radial & bias-ply tires.
Outside circumference of all four tires should be within one & one-half
(1-1/2) inches of each other.
Do not mix tread patterns such as all-terrain & all-season.