pitscars Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Hi all - a friend recently had two new tyres put on the front of his 2006 outback auto (different brand than the rears) and afterwards had a vibration at road speed. I had previously told him that ANY new tyres must be the same brand and size !! I also told the same tyre place this when I had new front tyres fitted (our 2007 Impreza auto) and they assured me the two tyres I got were the same circumference - I had my doubts and when I got home I measured them and there was a 25mm difference !!! - I disabled the AWD and took it back and got two more tyres fitted the same as the other new ones - the guys at the tyre place were looking at me as though I was an idiot - any rate I reckon my friend has done damage to his Outback (he did a few hundred kms with the vibration) what are the implications of this ? is his car safe to drive ? Cheers Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
nvu Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 Center diff takes the brunt of the mismatch. In a safe place, drive in figure 8's and see if there are any odd noises under the car. Center diff failures are usually a binding/release feeling, then quick knocking sounds, then catastrophic failures that could lock all 4 wheels. It's probably safe if there are no noises or binding. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 vibration needs diagnosed, can’t assume it’s caused by the mismatch. *** balance the tires *** rotate the tires and see if the vibration “moves” or changes. If installing two new tires with widely different circumference - you can install one new one up front and one new one on the opposite side rear. This isn’t ideal but it’s what you do when you’re going to only buy two tires for whatever reason * At this point you want to do this as a diagnostic tool. A. If the vibration goes away then there’s a good chance it is tire related - either a tire problem (balance, broken belt), or circumference problem B. If the vibration changes then it’s probably a tire balance issue. 1. Brand doesn’t matter. I routinely mismatch brands like I’ve done it 100 times. Zero issues at all in a quarter century 2. Buy four matching tires and rotate them properly. 3. If you have to get two new tires put the two newest ones up front and they’ll wear down to match the rears then start rotating them properly so they stay the same. Or do as I said early about one on the front and back. Tire shops here do it all the time as we have the unfortunate mismatch of one of the poorest economies in the US and terrible mountainous unmaintained snowy roads, lanes and driveways. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
pitscars Posted November 21, 2018 Author Share Posted November 21, 2018 He finally took it back to the tyre shop and they went over the car tying to diagnose the vibration - in the end my friend got two more tyres on the back (the same as the fronts) and the vibration has stopped - shouldn't tyre places know what tyres go on what car and why ? and advise their clients accordingly ? and when it comes down to it ignorance is no excuse. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1 Lucky Texan Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 what shop was this? It does seem like they need to be educated about AWD - I think some Audi cars have about the same tire-circum-difference specs as our Soobs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
idosubaru Posted November 21, 2018 Share Posted November 21, 2018 5 hours ago, pitscars said: He finally took it back to the tyre shop and they went over the car tying to diagnose the vibration - in the end my friend got two more tyres on the back (the same as the fronts) and the vibration has stopped - shouldn't tyre places know what tyres go on what car and why ? and advise their clients accordingly ? and when it comes down to it ignorance is no excuseare your best advocate Hey that’s success though - they figured it out and it’s fixed it. Is it common to not rotate tires over there and replace all 4? Why are you and your friend buying two new tires? They can’t make you change tires... It’s not uncommon for places to not know if you’re not in a highly compelling Subaru or AWD area. The owner is always the best advocate for their own car. If the owner isn’t capable of that: A. Get a good independent Subaru mechanic B. Use the dealer In general average shops are keeping costs low to attract customers from those places. They pay low, train less, and do the best they can but will make oversights particularly platform specific oversights as they try to cater to everyone and cheaper consumers. People are also anecdotal and quick to blame shops and tell them what to do and how to run their business. Theybhear advixe everyday don’t get too offended if they didn’t listen. And as quickly as youre blaming here, the next guy will blame that shop for overcharging them for 4 tires when they only wanted two tires. Then word spreads that they rip people off. Happens all the time. They’re not in the easiest position. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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