Have a 99 Subaru Legacy outback. Blew out 1 front tire and replaced both front tires with new matching tires. Also disconnected the FWD by putting a fuse in a box that must override the relay. Wondering if this is a reasonable way to drive without damaging the drive train or do I need to replace both rear tires as well.

Thanks,

Peter Dormont

I don't possibly see how installing a fuse could override an AWD system. I'm not quite sure what you're trying to learn here... are you assuming that the FWD caused the tire to blow out?

OK - tire blew from hitting a curb. The manual says that when the car is driven with the donut, AWD should be disabled by placing a spare fuse in a small holder that sits under the passenger side of the hood (honest). Indeed, when I do that the FWD light comes on. What I'm trying to accomplish is to drive the car (at least for a few hundred miles) with a matched pair of tires in front and a different matched pair in the rear without doing damage to the drivetrain. I'm wondering whether it's OK to drive the car this way or do I need to buy another pair of tires for the rear that match the front tires immediately. The fundamental problem is that I'm in a place where I will have to pay about double for the tires vs what I can get online or at home.

If the vehicle is AWD, you need to have the identical size on all 4 tires. Otherwise the tire rotation won't match up and affect the vehicle.