When I bought my van, it had a pair of General SUV tires, 8.5x27R14.  They were not Grabbers, but I don't remember exactly what they were.  They were slightly under the load recommendation, and I didn't want to have mismatches front and rear, though the previous owner contended that was a great set up.  Of course, he was running sedan tires on the front.  Discount Tires took the Generals as a trade in for $25 and I was happy.

It used to be the norm to run snow tires on the rear only for rwd vehicles, and to chain up that way, too.  All manufacturers now, and USDOT, specify snow tires (and chains if used) front and rear, whether rwd or fwd.  I'm sure that plenty of old timers would tell you to go ahead with the BF Goodrich's on the rear.  Tire makers say that it is ok (not preferred) to run different tires front and rear, but not different tires on the same axle.  Then they sell us the donuts for spares, though they do offer caveats as to speed and distance with the donut.

mcneely

---- Rick Cooper <rickdcooper@GMAIL.COM> wrote:
> Planning a trip next month down the I-5 from BC to CA and there may be snow
> on the pass between OR and CA.  I picked up a set of four good used BF
> Goodrich All-Terrain 8.5x27R14 tires as part of another deal and put these
> on my '87 Westie.  The handling is fine but the road noise is a good deal
> more than I like.  Would it be safe to use a pair of my previous 195/70R14s
> on the front and leave the All-Terrains on the back?  I'm no tire expert
> and am not really sure about the difference between these tires.
>
> Thanks, Rick

--
David McNeely