sasman

Just had 2 fitted on the rear,I won't say the make , but the car feels loose now. The rear seems to move after turn in and there is less grip on the front. Checked the pressures which were at 37, so dropped them to 30 as thats what I have always used, also the tyres were quite scruffy on the sidewalls and the last of a shipment, could the sidewalls be damaged if they were old stock or stored under a big heap for too long " call me stupid if you like". The answer I am looking for is, is it OK using new one end and almost worn out the other, would the difference in size although small effect the transmission?. My other theory is, I am traveling quicker than previous cars and have just got used to the suspension "starting to feel distinctly soft" I thought the STI felt to much but maybe thats the only way to go. HELP

Andy W

Sas,
New tyres take time to scrub in sometimes as much as a few hundred miles.
Personally the potential difference in grip levels front and rear would be my main concern about different makes of large differences in tread depth particularly in low grip situations.

Andy

Dave T-S

Doesn't have a 3 on the end by any chance does it ?

It can take up to 500 miles, or even more, for some tyres to bed in nicely....

You can feel a noticeable difference between the same make/type of tyres if worn ones are at one end and new at the other, which is why I always rotate them regularly (every 3000 miles or so) and replace all four together.

MARK MORRIS

i put remolds on a car years ago as i was changing the alloys soon, that felt like it turned in a few seconds later on the rear
mark

skiddusmarkus

"would the difference in size although small effect the transmission?"
Say you're new tyres have 7mm of tread on them and yout old ones are still legal but only 2mm,a diiference of 5mm.Double this as there's 5mm more at the top and bottom,so a difference of 10mm.Circimfrance is Pye x diameter so there will be a differnce in the rolling radius of the tyre and the speed it's travelling in relation to the others.I don't know about the subaru transmission but on cars such as the calibra and cavalier 4x4 this could knacker them.

Dave T-S

This has been asked a number of times. Subaru do not sell a car that is not capable of dealing with new tyres at one end and worn at the other.

That's why the centre diff is not actually a diff - it's a viscous coupling and not mechanical as such - it only locks up when there is a big difference in rotation between the front and rear halves of the propshaft and the shear properties of the silicon viscous fluid change from a fluid to a solid and lock the plates together.

Under normal running this will not cause transmission wind up like old Land Rovers (and some 4wd cars) did with a mechanical centre - the LR had freewheeling front hubs so most of the time it was in 2wd.

merlin

Maybe the fronts are not a good enough match for the new rears. Some people reckon it's a good idea to change all 4 at the same time... See http://www.sidc.co.uk/faq.htm#4.3.6 for more info.

sasman

The front and rear are the same make, "whats that toy on a peice of string that goes up and down TS " .I usually put the new ones on the front but they're almost gone so didn't bother rotating, think I will do that again next time. It even had me thinking they may have jacked it up in a dodgy area and bent something, i hate people working on my cars because it always makes you paranoid, even more so when you read some of the post's on here. Oh i worked as a fitter when i was a teenager for about a month and "NO THANK YOU" one of them jacked an RS1600 MK3 up on the petrol tank-fuel pump DOH.

Dave T-S

Sasman

LOL - i'm with you

Having used them myself, and having been impressed with their grip, I would guess it is the combination of needing bedding in and new on the back/used on the front that is giving the impression of being on tiptoes. They will get better as they wear.