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So I have 2 different rims in the back. One is wide and the other is thinner, along with two different size tires.

It pulls hard to the left.

Is there a way to fix this without having to get matching tires?

I've heard as long as the 2 in the back are exactly the same it should drive fine. Is this true?

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  • Sorry to say but you will have various issues without matching tires potentially.
    – DucatiKiller
    Apr 19, 2016 at 6:22
  • Can you give us the tire sizes? Different tire widths should not be an issue (think of space-savers) but if the diameters are different it will be little surprise that the car is pulling towards one side
    – Zaid
    Apr 19, 2016 at 7:27
  • @Zaid there is a good reason you are limited to 56mph when driving with a space saver. Consider the differences in available grip level between the rear wheels. Now consider what happens when 174bhp is dumped through the rear tyres, especially on a damp or greasy road surface.
    – Steve Matthews
    Apr 19, 2016 at 11:12
  • @SteveMatthews my comment was addressing the OP's concern of the car pulling to one side. I agree that space-savers are challenged for grip, but I fail to see what that has to do with this question.
    – Zaid
    Apr 19, 2016 at 11:34
  • @Zaid If you imaging one tyre is half the width of the other, the other wheel will effectively have twice the grip. If you start to accelerate hard, the point at which the narrow wheel starts of break traction is far lower than the wider tyre. At this point the narrow tyre will start to spin and if the car is fitted with a limited slip differential, the side of the car with the wider tyre will now be transfering more power to the road which will cause this side of the car to begin to attempt to overtake the otherside which will, as the car is a fixed shape, cause this side run wide.
    – Steve Matthews
    Apr 19, 2016 at 14:35

2 Answers 2

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I'm afraid the only way to resolve this is to get matching width wheels plus matching sized tyres across the back axle.

Even with the same sized tyres on different width wheels, the effective surface and sidewall profile shown to the road will be different.

You may have success trying to find a second hand set of wheels cheaply or even buy an incomplete set that match one of the wheels you already have fitted.

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  • I agree: new tires and wheels cost way less than replacing your car due to an accident, and also the medical bills. It costs money to own a car. Economize somewhere else.
    – user15009
    Apr 20, 2016 at 0:03
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You will have to replace one or both wheels to make sure you have matching sizes on both sides. Note that in many jurisdictions having non-matching tyres on an axle will fail safety/roadworthyness inspections (or side-of-the-road checks)

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  • 1
    You make a good point about the inspections, but your base answer is really the same as Steve Matthews, from 4 hours ago.. Your note is a great comment to supplement Steve's answer.
    – zipzit
    Apr 19, 2016 at 12:11

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