[CaberTosser]

For the OP I would stick to having the same tires across each axle at minimum. I have previously played Scottish cheapskate by rotating a full size spare into the mix and relegating a partly-worn tire into the spare position so that only one tire had to be purchased to get two equal tires across an axle, in that case I put them both on the rear as they had greater wear than the fronts.


I was talking with the lead mechanic at my dealership about tire sizes as it applies to my specific vehicle and its 4WD system, he noted that so long as they're within 2% between the front and rear axle they're OK (this being a Mercedes Sprinter 4x4 dually). I was inquiring about changing my tire sizes but I have a weird compulsion about getting creative with my fronts by having a wider wheel and tire out front but maintaining the same revolutions per km in the differing front and rear sizes. It would be as simple as taking off the dually adapter hubs and running the 2500 wheels and keeping one hub adaptor in the van in case of a flat so that the spare could fit up front (of course the spare be on a dually wheel to match the rears). I want 50mm wider fronts and only 20mm wider rears from my rather skinny factory 215/85/16's. If I could get rears the same width but taller and the same revolutions per KM as the desired fronts that I want I would opt for those but there's no 95-series tire sidewall to get taller from an already 85-series sidewall.