Can you mix tire brands and models?
What you can safely mix, what you should keep matched, and why all-wheel drive is the strict one.
The rule in one line
Match across an axle. Mixing front to back is usually fine. Mixing left to right on the same axle is not.
Why the axle matters
The two tires on one axle share the braking and the cornering for that end of the car. If one grips differently from the other, the car can pull under braking or behave oddly in the wet.
Different brands and models have different tread patterns, rubber compounds and wet grip. Even at the same tread depth they do not behave identically.
Front and back can differ
Having one brand on the front and another on the back is common and generally acceptable on a front- or rear-wheel-drive car, as long as each axle is matched to itself.
If the tires differ, the better pair normally goes on the rear. That sounds backwards, but a car that loses grip at the back first is much harder to catch than one that loses grip at the front.
All-wheel drive is the strict one
On many all-wheel-drive cars, all four tires need to be close in circumference, which means close in tread depth as well as the same size. A big mismatch makes the centre differential or coupling work constantly, and that can be an expensive repair.
Manufacturers set their own limits, often just a few 32nds across the four. Check the owner's manual before mixing on an AWD car. If you need to match, buy a set.
Never mix these
Do not mix sizes on an axle. Not the width, not the sidewall, not the wheel size.
Do not mix a winter tire with a non-winter tire on the same axle.
Do not fit a tire with a lower load index or speed rating than your door sticker calls for.
How we sell them
Pairs here are the same brand, model and size, with tread within 1/32 of each other, so an axle stays matched. Sets of 4 are four matching tires sold and shipped together.