Flat tire question

My car has two flats and is in new orleans. I am in washington state. My wife is driving up on tuesday so needs to get tires replaced. I can not find the same tire in stock in NO area.the local shop I am thinking of using is telling me to just replace 2 and as long as on same axle it should be fine. Old tires are brand new with maybe 5k on them. I would prefer to replace all 4 if it will avoid damaging the car. She will be driving 3k miles. If replacing 2 is reasonable, I was going to buy 2 of the original and replace the temp 2.

Thoughts?

It's common knowledge that the OEM tires suck.

She can get any aftermarket tire of the same size. You say the other tires on the car have 5k on them. IMO they should be fine with the new tires.

Try and buy two tires you want, most of us are using the Continental DWS's I have them for both my legacy's.

Have you checked the local Sears store ?

Oh, can they plug the two flats ?

If she can find the hole's may be someone can plug them for her. A plug kit from the auto parts store is like $7.00. I plugged a hole in my GF's tire 2 year ago. It's still fine.

Beyond plugging.

The set I have on are Hankook Vertus v12 evo

The 2 replacements are falken 912 or something like that

I would also assume that. If the old tires were in the 10,000 + miles I might think different.

The new tires can be shaved too.

Is the AWD all tires need to match a real rule? or more of an old wives tale?

Either way my plan was to get her out her on the Falkens and then have the Hankook replacements here and at some point buy 2 more falkens so I have 2 total sets.

The question boils down to- if I put the Hankooks on the front and the Falkens on the back and she drives ~3000 miles on them, will I be doing damage to my differentials, or some other part of my car? And what is your source of the information legit or is it just something that is commonly accepted?

Any guidance is appreciated on this. She was planning to leave on Tuesday so I am trying to get this resolved for her on Monday.

IMO if you have open front diff. & VCD ( It's what all Legacy come from the factory with.) She'll be fine for that 3000 miles. If it bothers you. Put matching tires on the car when she get out to you. Now the only time that I would worry about matching tires. Is your car was modded like mine, front LSD, DCCD & rear LSD.

Mike

My car has two flats and is in new orleans. I am in washington state. My wife is driving up on tuesday so needs to get tires replaced. I can not find the same tire in stock in NO area.the local shop I am thinking of using is telling me to just replace 2 and as long as on same axle it should be fine. Old tires are brand new with maybe 5k on them. I would prefer to replace all 4 if it will avoid damaging the car. She will be driving 3k miles. If replacing 2 is reasonable, I was going to buy 2 of the original and replace the temp 2.

 

Thoughts?

I would say that they should be on the same side of the car, not the same axle since it's the center diff that you shall concern yourself about.

The front/rear LSD:s have more room for slipping (if you have a front/rear LSD) and the Torsen diffs (Spec B, STi) are completely different in construction and won't suffer.

I would say that they should be on the same side of the car, not the same axle since it's the center diff that you shall concern yourself about.

 

The front/rear LSD:s have more room for slipping (if you have a front/rear LSD) and the Torsen diffs (Spec B, STi) are completely different in construction and won't suffer.

Oh man... one more variable to add to the equation.

This is on a bone stock 2007 Legacy 2.5i. They should be just doing pure steady speed highway driving the whole way. Probably averaging 75mph.

Any other thoughts on what configuration to mount these in?

Here are the two tires:

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tires.jsp?tireMake=Hankook&KEYWORD=tires.jsp_Hankook_Ventus_V12_evo_K110_Tire&code=yes&tireModel=Ventus+V12+evo+K110&GCID=C13674x012-tire&partnum=045WR7K110XL

http://www.discounttiredirect.com/direct/tires/falken/product/byName.do?tmn=Ziex+ZE-912&typ=Passenger%2FPerformance

Also, don't tires get out of spec just from normal wear and not being rotated frequently enough?

That's why it's good to rotate the tires.

GO with what ehsnils say's

For the 2.5i - just mount both new tires on same side, that would be the best option since it doesn't have any rear/front LSD and only a center diff, but if the difference between front and rear axle doesn't change you are fine.

I just found this on the Subaru website: http://drive2.subaru.com/Win09/Win09_ItsWhatMakes.htm

"MODELS WITH FIVE-SPEED MANUAL TRANSMISSION – CONTINUOUS ALL-WHEEL DRIVE: A viscous-type locking center differential and limited-slip rear differential help distribute torque – normally configured at a 50/50 split front to rear. If wheel speed differs between front and rear axles, the center and/or rear differentials lock up to help distribute power to the wheels with the most traction."

Since it has a LSD in the rear, should I rethink the same side approach?

And if you have trouble finding tires get a completely new set and save the two tires taken off.

A set of Continental ConttiWinter-Contact TS830 or Nokian WR D3.

And then get a new set of summers in the spring.

There is a timing issue here. My wife is driving about 3k miles on the car starting on Tuesday early morning. The car is going to be packed so I am not sure if there is room for the 2 tires. I am figuring if there is a high liklihood of damage to the drivetrain I should cut my losses and spend more for a full set. The sticking point I am having is the tires on it are about 6 months old with less than 6k on them. If she had flattened the tires a week ago this would all be a lot easier.

I have a set of snow tires on steel rims for the car but they are in New England right now. I am supposed to be getting them shipped out to me.

5k miles doesn't matter. What matters is tread depth.

Either get two tires shaved (the EXACT same tire, no mix/match), or replace all 4.

That's what I'd do.

There is a timing issue here. My wife is driving about 3k miles on the car starting on Tuesday early morning. The car is going to be packed so I am not sure if there is room for the 2 tires. I am figuring if there is a high liklihood of damage to the drivetrain I should cut my losses and spend more for a full set. The sticking point I am having is the tires on it are about 6 months old with less than 6k on them. If she had flattened the tires a week ago this would all be a lot easier.

 

I have a set of snow tires on steel rims for the car but they are in New England right now. I am supposed to be getting them shipped out to me.

OK, that's of course tricky, but maybe they are willing to at least give you a few bucks for the good tires at the shop and then you get a fresh set of matching tires.