Two Different Size Tires?

There is one thing that I find odd about the Smart Fortwo is that they have two different size tires. I do not know the reason for having two sizes on such a small car. Even if the Fortwo had a spare (which it doesn't - it has an air pump with a can of sealant [different post]), which size would be in the vehicle (assuming one can find space for it - the Smart car is very small).

One down side of the two sizes is that one can not rotate the tires like other vehicles. One can only switch the front tires with the front tires and the back tires with the back tires. Cars with all four tires the same size, one can switch the front with the back and either side.

Would one have all the tires that same size of the front ones or the back ones? Personally I like the front two being the same size as the back ones. I like the bigger back tires. I think it would look nicer that way and would make proper tire rotation.

I don't know if all the tires the same size as the front would improve performance or make the economy better. The front two are narrower than the back ones and seem to be set closer in.

This is just my rant on the two different size tires on the Smart Fortwo.

I do not know if the different size tires are on the Forfour. The Forfour was never sold in the USA. It would not make sense that they would be but Smart might have it that way. I think the Forfour makes more sense than the Fortwo for the USA market. Smart says the market niche for a four door four seat car is crowded in the USA market. I think that is the reason to have it here in the USA since the reason it being crowded is that people want that size car; just my opinion.

This site - Tire Size - has the sizes of tires for the Smart cars.

Thomas Lee Mullins

Cafe Press and TomLeeM