Hi!

We purchased our first FL (2011 TD4 XS) a few weeks ago, just before the lockdowns. It's currently running highway tyres on 19" wheels and I've spent the last few weeks building up a set of five 17" wheels with Cooper AT3's in 225/75r17. The reason for the tyre choice was mostly because I picked up a set of 4 wheels with 3 tyres already fitted, so I separately sourced two more tyres and one more wheel.

The first three tyres have roughly 8-9mm of tread each. One of the three has a small gouge in the sidewall, close to the bead, I'm planning to use this as the spare and the other two as a pair on the rear.

The other two tyres have about 11mm and 13mm of tread each. I'm a little concerned about this 2mm difference as it makes a 4mm difference in diameter. Will this difference cause binding in the driveline or other undesirable issues? Should I fit the uneven set on the front or back?

Thanks in advance!

As long as they are all same brand/tread pattern wear is not an issue unless of course they’re below the tread wear markers. MY15
Tyre Pressure Monitoring System (TPMS)
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Follow Me Home Reverse
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Factory Powered Tailgate
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Electrochromatic Wing Mirrors (WIP)

That's 13mm on a circumference of 2419mm. You will probably have about the same difference with sun on one side of the car in the outback for an hour due to difference in tyre pressure. Procrastination, mankind's greatest labour saving device!

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I really wouldn't worry about such a small difference in tyre diameter, it won't cause any issues, particularly with the driveline, that is exactly why there is a differential in there to allow for differences in rotational speed, such as driving around bends in the road.

I'd be putting the best pair of tyres on the front axle since they're the ones doing the most work, with most of the power going to the front most of the time and dealing with the steering too. Chances are, by the time the front ones need replacing the already more worn back ones will be done too.

jayoh wrote:

Will this difference cause binding in the driveline or other undesirable issues?
Thanks in advance!

That's very reassuring, thanks for the replies!