2 different brands of tires ok?

[jen06explorer]

When I bought my 06 Explorer, the dealer put 2 new tires on for me and the other other two still had plenty of tread. All the same brand. I had some brake work done and the shop told me that I BADLY needed two new tires. Which I knew, the older 2 were about shot. Since I was having new brakes and rotors put on, I just had them replace those two tires b/c of the expense. When I picked up my truck, they told me I really need to replace the other two very soon, as it's bad to drive with tires that have different tread depths. (it will damage transfer case?) So I'd like to get the other two from a different tire store (I have a credit card for Tire Discounters, so I wanna go there) but they don't sell the same brand. They have what they consider "comparable" though. So is this OK to do? I've had the two new ones on less than two weeks. Or am I supposed to install the exact same brand as the other two? I don't wanna hurt my truck. Any thoughts?

 

[tursky4]

From what i was told a few years ago... might just be a ploy to get me to buy 4 tires but.. i had a awd vehicle and i was told that the awd system will not function right if the treads are not the same idk.. i now have an 04 ex with "auto 4x4" and i was told the same thing about that.. im not saying its true im sure you will get other people here to chime in but this is just what i was told by a tire shop.. good luck

 

[OffTrac]

The tread depth part is true. The brand does not matter, though.

 

[FIND]

^^^ Yeah, as long as they are the same diameter overall, you are fine, but you also want similar tread patterns for predictable handling and they should all have the same load rating.

 

[Carguy3J]

^^^ Yeah, as long as they are the same diameter overall, you are fine, but you also want similar tread patterns for predictable handling and they should all have the same load rating.

Its not the DIAMETER that matters. Its the rolling circumference that must be the same, otherwise called "revs per mile". This is where mixing and matching different brands, or even different tread patterns can be a problem. Even tires with the same advertised size (235/75R15, for example) can have large variations in the rolling circumference, between manufacturers, and even within different "styles" from the same manufacturer.

For that matter, although far less likely, you could have significant variations across the same manufacturer / tire model; especially if they are from different plants/molds.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=7

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=203

Good info on how/why mismatched tires can destroy your t-case:

http://www.rsgear.com/articles/2005_06.pdf

http://www.rsgear.com/articles/2004_10.pdf