new front tyres ( question )

[tridentlee]

just had 2 brand new front tyres fitted today, 195/70.15 as per the hand book & an exact replacement for what was on there but now i read that a lot of members have the same size tyres all round Ie 215's same as my back ones, could i have fitted the bigger tyres on mine bearing in mind mine is a 4wd version and would it have caused any problems in the future if i had of done, i did a search on the forum but could not find anything on this matter, ( i am a bit slow with this searching lark though ) its bound to have been talked about in the past so i appologise now for resserecting this subject, cheers ,LEE

[Lewy]

yep loads of stuff on this - but I think you'll find your set up will be fine loads of people have this 195/215 combo as per handbook.

[brorabongo]

I think you would find the reason Mazda suggest the different sizes is to improve road handling (Under steer?) I have 195's on front and 215's on the rear and ours is a 4WD.

[madmile]

Hi Lee
Only an observation, but I have just been driving a 4wd with 215's all round and the steering felt very wooly with little self centering happening. Certainly no where near as positive as my own 4wd with 195's on the front.
This may be down to other factors, but I do prefer to stick to the 195/215 split when it comes to 4wd bongo's.

[johnzbenson]

I have tried the all the same size approach and the responsiveness isn't as good with the larger tyre 215 as opposed to 195 option. It appears at first that this is a good idea with regards to carrying a spare that will fit all corners (a full size spare that is) when the time arrives for two new tyres I will be reverting to the original 195 option. the steering feels a whole lot better round town at slow speeds etc and I cannot discern a handling advantage with the bigger tyres at any speed or road condition.