Car Parts Faqs

i need to replace the front tires on my frontwheel drive car...?

all the tires on my car are currently 195 65 14inch tires. is it ok to buy two tires for the front that arew diffrent then the back, that is like 195 70 14 or 195 60 14 or 185 65 14?

Public Comments

1. Yes it is OK. What is not OK is to have different sizes on the same axle.
2. yes as long as they fit the rim perfectly I have seen this one car that has small front tires and massive back tires then they jacked up the front suspension
3. You could but you shouldn't . So no. Your speedometer is specifically calibrated for the manufacturer's recommended size. Also, a bigger sidewall will essentially lift your car a bit so the front of the car will sit higher than the rear. The numbers 195/65/14 mean basically tirewidth/sidewall height/rim diameter. A bigger tirewidth will improve stability and traction. What you don't want to do is go smaller. The sidewall I already explained. And the rim size you can't change unless you get different rims.
4. may change your alignment or the tires will wear faster on front wheel drive cars its different.. I did and results are not good.. PS I work for Midas i do alignments all day long I no what i'm talking about ..don't try to save money buy the right size tires..
5. Yes, thats fine, the number basically breaks down like this 195 is the diameter of the tire, or from the ground to the top, 65 is the width of the tire, and the 14 is the rim size. As long as the rim size is the same, and you have the proper clearance for the rest, you will be ok. Just make sure it doesn't rub on the inside on the strut. If you got the 70 series you might have a clearance problem, but the 65's will be fine. You could even go with 190's and they will be a little more low profile. And, since they are not off to much, you should not see a difference in the speedo or the odometer.
6. If you put the same size tires on the front that originally was equipped and larger in the rear thats fine, however if you put smaller tires on the front your speedometer will read fast if you use larger tires then original it will read slow, however the glitch to this is if it reads slow you'll actually be going faster and if it reads faster you'll actually be going slower by keeping it with the size it was originally equipped with it keeps the speedometer in sync. and will read to the closest accuracy... putting larger/smaller on the rear will not matter as that is just a dead axle and has no effect on the speedometer (although larger diameter tires roll easier) the same is true for a rear wheel drive car with the tires. for your question I would measure tire diameter and try to stay as close as possible to the original for the front, keep in mind that you can also change the gear on your speedometer to reconfigure your speedometer to keep it accurate.
7. If your car has ABS the different tire size will make false readings at the speed sensors and the system may not work correctly.If it don't have ABS as long you have the same size tire on the front axle the back axle can be a different size
8. The tires should be replaced only with the same size and aspect ratio. If not they will will be a different circumference and your speedometer will not work right.