Not all vehicles have tires of the same size on the front and rear axles. If different tires are fitted, then wider ones are usually mounted on the rear axle, because the car puts more pressure on the rear axle than the front axle when accelerating – and a wider tire can better transfer the power to the ground. This is quite easy to recognize in sports cars such as a Porsche 911 or a BMW M4, because the rear wheel arches are also flared wider due to these mixed tires.
Mixed tires for sporty motorized coupés or limousines
Meanwhile, there are wider wheels on the rear axle not only in outright sports cars, but also in sporty motorized coupés or limousines. Officially, this is mostly because the force can be better transferred to the road. In reality, however, these mixed tires are often part of a sports package with wider tires and a modified suspension setup. In this respect, the car manufacturer is primarily concerned with selling an extra that is subject to a surcharge and making the car look good.
Tires of the same size are fitted to the front and rear of the Audi RS 3 as standard. On request, however, wider tires are also available at the front.
An exception is the decidedly sporty Audi RS 3, which can optionally be fitted with wider tires on the front axle than on the rear axle, which should hide its traction problems and compensate for the high weight on the front axle. It used to be illegal in some countries to use different tires on the axles. This bond has now been removed.
