Last night I placed an order with TireRack for a pair of Generals for the front and a pair of Kumho's for the rear. Someone called me this morning and told me that I shouldn't mix brands, and that I should get the Kumho's in the front also. I told him that's fine, since the sizes matched, but I just realized that it was an additional $50.

He claimed the performance and handling would be compromised by mixing brands. Is this true?

From the reviews, Generals are much better than Kumho in every aspect.

 

do a search. Some people have had problems with the VDC when using 2 different brands of tires.

 

How would the VDC know what brand a tire is if they are exactly the same size and equivalent performance? I thought VDC was picky about some staggered sizes, but general consensus was 245/35/19 & 255/40/19 are ok together?

 

VDC kicks in when it senses one tire doesnt have as much grip as the others. By mixing brands the Kumho's could be stickier than the General's or vice versa, thus it would trigger the VDC to go off much more than wanted. Same thing happened to me when i had the stock Michelin Pilot's on the front and multiple Bridgestones on the rear.
-GP-

 

^^ is that really true?

 

Just had General Exclaims installed this wkend..245/35 and 275/30/19. Noticed a significant difference in handling compared to the oem Potenzas. General also has a higher treadwear rating than the Bridgestones, double to be exact. At half the price of oem, Generals FTW!

 

More than likely you'll be just fine, as long as you get the right sizes. I've mix/matched front/rears with several different tires, and no issues at all.