I just had my front tires replaced by Nissan for the tire feathering recall the car has. So now I have fresh Bridgestone RE040's in the front, and the original RE040's in the rear. It's almost time to change out the rears, but I want to go with a different tire.

Would it be a bad idea if I were to put Bridgestone Potenza S03's in the rear and keep the RE040's in the front? When I compared the two tires, the S03's perform better in all aspects, and is a much better rain tire which really appeals to me. Also has a longer tread life.

What do you guys think about this?

 

Generally it is better to stick to the same tyre on all four wheels. The bare minimum would be to have the same tyres on the same axle. It is now generally advized to keep the better tyre on the back so your setup would be an acceptable compromize.

 

agree with 350doc

you're still OK as long as you keep the same tire per axle. Also, generally speaking, make sure you get the same speed rating front and rear and the same performance/tread type (especially wet-weather performance).

If you really have to mix performance/tread types, I would go with stickier REAR tires... YES you will understeer even more, but for a street setup, you'll be fine.

 

Like the other two said, you'll be fine as long as you have the same tires on each axle.