I'm sorry if this belongs in the tire sub-forum, I couldn't figure out where this topic should be.

My 1995 Accord came with four tires sized 195/60R-15. They were all in great shape, 80% - 90% tread left, but one front tire had a bad bubble in the wall. I figured okay, replace two tires since the other two are still in great shape.

The manufacturer's specs for the vehicle indicate all four tires should be 205/60R-15, which were the only applicable size the tire place had in stock at the time. They said you can go ahead replace only two, but then you wouldn't be able to rotate them. The pocketbook made the decision for me, and I got two 205/60R-15 installed on the rear, and the rear 195/60R-15 tires were put in the front. I asked what the difference was, they said the new tires would be slightly wider.

Now I've been scouring the internet for information as to why I cannot rotate my tires. I have found that in certain cars which call for two different size tires on the back and the front, call for a taller tire in the back and a shorter tire in the front. It would make sense then, that you could not rotate the taller tire to the front and the shorter tire to the back.

My tires are of the same height. The manufacturer wants them at the same height.

My question is, why exactly can I not rotate my tires? If there's a good reason I won't do it and I'll learn something new. But for the life of me, I can't figure out why I can't rotate tires of different widths. (Especially when the old tires were on all four corners, and the decision to put the new tires on the back seemed more like a company policy rather than a decision made based on my vehicle and the situation.)

Thanks in advance!

 

Tire Tech Information - Tire Rotation Instructions

http://www.wikihow.com/Rotate-Tires

You can rotate them, the link above will show you and tell you how to rotate the different sized tires too.

 

I didn't read the link posted by gopart but I hope it shows how to calc the tire size...if not there is a link to the right, tire rack, a sponsor here that does have it.

The tires are different in width AND height. The issue as I see it, you just need to be sure the same size tires are on the same "end" of the car. You don't want to have one 205/60 and one 195/60 on the front for example.

 

Does your 1995 have ABS brakes?? If so, the different-sizes might cause an error for the ABS.

Otherwise, there's a couple things you might do...

1 Keep the new ones on the rear, wait for the front to wear out (faster) then buy 2 more to get a set, then begin rotating them. Maybe not the best idea, because maybe(?) the rear tires will wear enough by then, so they still don't all match.

2 Just rotate them but keep each axle a matched set. As long as you don't include a full-size spare in the rotation, then it'll work.

 

I don't think the abs on the 5th gen's was "that smart". Yes the newer ones with TCS/VSA, I'd be more worried as the computer would be trying to compute each wheel and comparing that to each other.

OP- as stated, much better by Jim, as long as the same size is on the same axle don't loose any sleep. When the time comes for new tires...then by all means get a full set of the same size (new ones that match what was just put on). We are talking about a ~10mm width difference and a ~12mm (total) height difference. Quick math, which I'm not that good at

 

having 2 different thread tracks is normally not the most " effective " way of treading water/snow/gravel etc while driving, but if you had an alignment done and its correct, the only "correct" way of rotating them would be back to front and front to back, not diagnal.

 

Unless one set is directional, I don't know why you couldn't use the "forward cross" rotating pattern from TireRack (go-part's first link).