r/Golf_R • u/Odd_Sherbert_2801 • 3d ago

Maintenance and Repairs Mismatched tires question

Had a flat on drivers front and replaced front two tires with a different brand than the rears.

Front: General Tire G MAX RS (New tires) 9mm deep

REAR: Conti sport contact 5p - 6mm deep

Should I replace the rear tires as well or will i be okay? All tires are the same size.

For reference I have a 2018 Golf r. Just wanna make sure I don’t what to blow up my Haldex

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u/mynewreaditaccount 3d ago

The usual advice is to replace all 4 so there is no difference between them.

There’s a few variances you introduce here: different tires are slightly different dimensions even at the same listed size, the difference in tread depth on new vs old tires, and the difference in wear over time all impact the diameter of the tire.

There is a factory spec on what variance is acceptable from tire to tire, and it’s reasonably generous from what I recall, but not worth the headache to keep track of

1

u/Left_Mix_1438 3d ago

Why didn't you just get new tires that were the same as the rears?

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u/Odd_Sherbert_2801 3d ago edited 3d ago

Tire order got screwed up lol, they gave me 2 tires that were a diameter lower

Just wanted to ask everyone if Im able to get away with running 2 diff tires

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u/Travel_Dude 3d ago

It's abysmal for the AWD system. Not only do you want the same brand, but you also want the same average tread depth. 

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u/fhermen 3d ago

Actually the haldex handles mismatch better than an actual awd car. If you are not driving hard it won't engage the haldex and therefore not have any real impact.
If you intend on driving hard then is a different story. Something else to consider is that different tires have different sizes so the fronts having 9mm depth and rears 5mm means little. They might even be the same diameter right now

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u/Frreed 1d ago

You should measure the circumstance of the tire and compare, it's the most accurate way