Can I safely put 2 235/60 tires on the rear axle when the front has 235/55? Thanks.
There’s a sticker on the door jamb that reflects what tire sizes can be used on the vehicle.
Tester
Not if it has all wheel or 4 wheel drive you can’t
Not recommended if you have front or rear wheel drive.
Why do you want to do this?
Thank you. I figured you can’t mix on an AWD but just wanted to be sure. The Santa Fe came with 235/55 but one source incorrectly stated 235/60 was the correct tire and I found a very good price on them.
The money that you “save” now will come due later in the form of a new transfer case on your AWD drive vehicle.
Stick to what’s listed on the door jamb sticker, as Tester suggested.
You would probably be okay with the 60 series tires, but you must replace all four tires.
Suggest you stay with the factory specified tire size. Select tires that provide the qualities you desire; wet, dry, or snow/ice traction, ride , noise, or longevity.
In my case, wet traction is my first priority.
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What is the rim diameter? Standard sizes are 235/60-18 or 235/55-19.
AWD vehicles don’t have transfer cases.
They have center differentials.
Tester
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Done. Will use specified 235/55 r19, same as what was on. Thanks.
Using the latter on all 4 wheels to match what was on.
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I replaced 2 coupla months ago, did not do all 4 because SF has 180k + miles on it. Now replacing other 2 due to bumpiness. They will be exact same tires as first 2. I do know ideally should do all 4 at once. Thanks.
Would putting the new tires one one side only damage the all wheel drive system? I believe I read that Subarus can’t handle different sized tires. I guess tire that is low on air can damage the AWD system too? If that’s true it’s a horrible system. I would take apart the transmissiond and weld the differential together to get rid of the AWD if I had such a car.
There is nothing wrong with different sized tires if the AW drivetrain is made to handle it.
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Subaru’s AWD system is one of the best in snow. Having to be careful of matching tire circumferences is the tradeoff, which is apparently acceptable to the many buyers of those cars.
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Unlikely, if it’s low enough to have a significantly different circumference the driver has more immediate problems!
Correct me if I am wrong, but to my knowledge nearly all, if not all, full time AWD systems use some sort of a center differential or viscous coupling.
Thank you, Tester, that’s what I meant. Hadn’t had enough coffee at the time…
You wouldn’t be getting rid of the AWD if you did that…
A 235/60/18 has a 29.1" Diameter versus a 235/55/18 has a 28.2" Diameter depending on how picky the ABS/Traction control is you could be making the vehicle think that the different size tires are rotating at different speeds and give the computer a fit making the vehicle drive crazy… If this is an AWD vehicle it could cause damage to the driveline unit…
Most AWD vehicles must either have to have 2 or 4 tires replaced at the same time that are the same make/model with in 10% of lowest to highest tread of the same design… But I have seen many KIA and Hyundai replace 1 tire at a time with out damage to the driveline… Replacing 2 or 4 at a time is in the manufactures design so check your owners manual, yes it can be a PIA to find sometimes… lol
To answer another question or two, the main difference between an AWD/4WD and full time 4WD is that Full time 4WD and 4WD have 2 differentials and 1 Transfer case, an AWD has 3 differentials and no Transfer case…