Hi,

Sorry if this is an odd question, but only having had my RB5 for 6 months and never had 4 wheel drive before, i was told this today at a tyre fitting place when getting a quote for 2 new tyres.

Quote : As it is 4 wheel drive you will need to get 4 new tyres rather than the 2 you need because the difference in diameter between new on the rear and old on the front will mess the differential up.

Any help if this is a true comment or not as it could turn out more expensive than i thought ?

Your help appreciated

Dave

If the front and rear tyres would end up with vastly different tread depths, then yes he's right, but if it's only a mil or two, I wouldn't worry, check make sure they're the same size tyre you get, that sounds daft, but check anyway!

was told all tyres have to be within 2mm of each other

Also recommended to switch front/rear periodically to promote more even wear.

The worst thing that you could do on a scoob is actually mix 2 or more different makes of tyre.
The tread depth shouldnt be a problem as your going to wear out the fronts more quickly than the rears, if this was a fault and it knackered diffs then you would think there would be lots of claims in with subaru for new diffs, this isnt the case.
The different levels of grip with new and old tyres is just as bad as having 2 different makes one (the only tyre i found without this problem were the bridgestone SO2 PP's which are no longer with us unfortunately :() as a new tyre is more slippy than a worn one, but the worn one will have less grip when the new tyres bed in.
4 is the best option, your subaru dealer/speciallist can change your tyres around for you at service time if you ask them to, which would give you better even wear over all.

Tony

Good advice from the man above!
Why did Bridgestone drop the SO2PP's? Simply the very best road tyre for a Scooby ever. Had 2 sets on 17's on mine, Ab Fab, then fitted SO3's, good god...Cr*p. Toyos the closest to SO2.
Graham.