olliecampbell

iTrader: (3)

At the moment ive got some Avon ZZ3s on the front and some continentals on the back.

Apart from strange handling, is this likely to damage the car (the pairs of tyres are of the same age/wear)?

Ollie

surfer boy

It's unlikely to cause physical problems as impreza don't suffer from wind up that some 4x4s do when running different size wheels of even a few mm - ie new on front old on rear would knacker a calibra. Of course crashing due to the iffy handling might be an issue!! All the advice seems to be that matched tyres all round are the only really good option. Just consider that you could be dramatically effecting grip levels at either end and so the usual predictable handling when pushing on may be anything but predictable. Read the tyre comparison test in this months autocar to see the fairly large difference in capabilities of different brands in different conditions - then think about whether it is worth the risk.

olliecampbell

iTrader: (3)

Yeah true, although i think ill hold out as i want to buy a set of 18"s

pmarch

There have been loads of threads covering this - basically, don't mix tyres. I can vouch for that because my Bugeye used to have Goodyear F1's on back and Bridgeton Potenza's on front - what a disaster that was in terms of imprecise handling, tramlining etc. Now on F1's all round and the car is so much more assured - others have said the same.

CHEN

General advise seems to be same tyre type allround . Have just acquired my 2nd Scooby (WRX 03) with Avons on rear and Khumo on front (oversize 235 profile) and it definetly does not handle.
On searching for suitable replacements two separate tyre shops have commented tyre walls on Avons are prone to splits appearing. Sure enough i found some on the inside wall of one of mine.
HAS ANYONE ELSE EXPERIENCED SIMILAR PROBLEMS? Its definetly worth keeping an eye on them or changing them for F1s like me.

WRBlu

DITTO - dont mix em!