I have an older car (2002) and recently purchased two new tires for the car. The tire merchant wanted to move the rear tires to the front and put the two new ones on the rear. I told him to put the new tires on the front because the car is front wheel drive and I want maximum traction on the front wheels. The tire merchant told me it was usual policy to put two new tires on the rear and move the older/current rear tires to the front. He had a minor freak out and had me sign a form saying customer insists on new tires mounted to the front. Was the tire guy correct, or did my desire to have the new tires in the front make more sense?

Is your car FWD or RWD? Or even 4WD?

The reasoning is that if the rear wheels lose traction then it is more difficult to recover and dangerous than if the front loses traction. Hence put the new tyres on the rear.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=__0DL8dE3Eo

Doesn't make sense to me.

Especially for front wheel drive you would want to rotate oldest to rear (for wear purposes)

Fronts will incur more wear due to turning, whith that wheel alignment. Also brake bias will see most force applied front and obviously acceleration on FWD cars will see more wear up front as well.

My family car is front wheel drive and wear is most prominent in the front and i always have new TYRES (aussie spelling) placed on the front and have the fronts rotated to the rear.

Never ever ever had anyone tell me differently.

Add to that that the guy could not give you a definite reason for either wear or safety why his suggestion is better, so ignore him.

I think that video is bs. If you enter a flooded corner at too high a speed then you as a driver are at fault.

That video didn't explain front or rear wheel drive vehicles nor did it take into account the tread deth of the worn tyres nor the types of tyres used (which makes a huge difference)

Utter bs

The more i watch that video the more pissed off i get.

Its not like i am rotating bald tyres to the rear. the tyres i rotate to the rear have loads of tread and grip. Here in the uk where loads of water abounds on the roads, i have never ever had any problems with rear end grip on turning on flooded corners...


Maybe i am just lucky, or maybe because i don't enter FLOODED CORNERS AT WARP F'ING FACTOR 6 AND MY REAR TYRES ARN'T BALD AS A BADGERS BACKSIDE.

Really annoying video

They tell me that all the time when I get tires especially if I am just replacing one of the front tire, they will tell me it has to go to the back and they also tell me since you are replacing one of the front one already, you might as well (UPSELL) and replace the other front one.

I always tell them NO. Just replace the one that needs to be replaced and don't put it in the back because I am pressed for time and I only have enough wait time for you to replace one tire without taking off all other 3.

+100

RedToo.

I have been playing with, building, restoring, and repairing cars for almost 30 years. When I stared we didn't have youtube and all that. I have some suggestions and thoughts:

If you want car advice, coming to a game forum is less than ideal. I am fully aware that expertise and good information is here (I consider myself a source for that, and I'm here) but the old adage goes: You fish where the fish are. The internet could collapse under the weight of car forums, and none of us would go to a Subaru forum for the best info on the latest mods for Il2, would we?

People's logic and gut feelings often have little to do with physics, and people don't understand how the non-drive wheels in a car need tires that produce traction. Worn tires in the rear do promote over-steer, whether your head wraps around that easily or not. It's not "those tires won't spin, so what's the problem". Don't think of "spinning" as the only way traction is lost. ALL tires provide traction, and not just what we might think of as "front to back" traction. When a RWD car fishtails, it's because the rear tires did not provide traction, not becasue the rear tires are what drives the car. You probably are also not thinking of the car's wheelbase and polar moment. Always remember- almost all cars under-steer on purpose, because that's easier to drive. Having the fronts grip more than the rears change the 'normal' characteristics of that to some degree. Just what degree you may see...I cannot determine.

Unless you're going to miss paying for an operation that will save your Mom's life, buy four new tires and keep the "good' ones you have as emergency spares. Good tires for most cars are cheap today, at least in the US.

Replacing both front or both rear tires instead of just one is not simply a way to make money. It is a dangerous assumption to feel it is just to get money from you. It is absolutely standard practice for a valid reason. Firstly the age of the tire is absolutely a consideration. The "good" tire is now going to age though another 'cycle' of years of exposure to elements and UV. That "good" tire may look just fine, but how old is it now? How old will it be when you visually determine it is "bad"? Also, the 'one new tire' is similar to the 'mismatched tire' scenario in which it's pretty hard to determine what handling characteristics will be like. In normal driving, you probably won't see a difference, so most people say "Ah, I have never had a problem!". Similar to the guy I know that puts the wrong ammo in his vintage rifle because it chambers fine and chamber pressures are OK, while he ignores the impact (literally) of gas port pressure because that isn't on his reloading chart, no, he has never to date had a problem. And he never will- until he does. Hopefully if it does, all that will happen is his rifle is ruined. But he is gambling.

I feel cars are plenty dangerous, mostly becasue the people driving around me don't think- or don't care- about how what they have done (or neglected to do) to their cars will influence how they can control the vehicle.

Front tires do the steering and most of the braking. Even on a RWD car it's a good idea to have the best tires in the front.

5 minutes on a frozen lake in a car will prove that it's far easier to recover from under steer than it is overseer.
Best tires in the rear always. In most cases you should be rotating front to rear every so often anyways so it really doesn't matter.
Front wheel drive sucks in my opinion.

I'm a front runner also. The way I look at it your best tires on the back won't do you any good if you can't get traction from the front tires on ice to get moving. That's where most of the weight is. Seems like about 5 years ago is when the tire guy started saying to put the new tires on the back.

It's for skid control, plain and simple. With less weight on them the rears are more likely to skid or hydroplane, and the deepest tread/best traction will help alleviate that.

It has little to do with getting the vehicle moving and more to do with recovering when you loose control.
If you encounter under steer (the car doesn't turn when you try to but tries to keep going straight) you let off the gas so the car slows down to a point where it will turn. Same thing if you hydroplane. Let off the gas and let the car slow down.
Over steer (the rear of the car tries to keep going around farther and faster than you want) on the other hand is far harder to recover from. Let off the gas, turn into the spin without over correcting and keep doing it back and forth without ever over correcting until the car is straight again. If you have more traction in the front than the rear the car tends to snap around if it over steers much quicker some times to the point that you can't react quickly enough to catch it. This is why most "experts" recommend
putting the better tires on the rear if you only replace two.

The professionals say the rear. Go down to the third block and then the next couple.

http://tires.tirerack.com/tires/Best%20Tires%20On%20Front%20Or%20Rear

Ok there is some dramatic absurdity going on here.

We have started with a stupid video trying to scaremonger people into non needed rotations, then moved to advice on who is right and who is wrong based and driving on frozen f'ing lakes. Not only that we have some saying dont listen to any advice going because this is a gamers board but yet they give advice anyway.

Well what a lad of crapola. Really.

Firstly lets hit the video again. It's purposeful made video where the cars were tested over and over again to find the sweet spot in speed and conditioning where one would depart dramatically and not the other. This was done solely for dramatic effect with to emphasize what would be in reality a non problem. Its also done on a flooded skid pan. There is also no mention of tyre condition (where they bald, barely legal, half tread etc). What a load of crap.

Like i said, who in their right mind would hit any flooded corner at 45 mph. If you do that, regardless of which are the best tyers in what position, you as a driver are an f'ing idiot and a hazard on the road.

I am talking about driving normally within the conditions of the road, not racing, not f'ing ice skating. I am talking about maximising tread wear of tyres whilst still ensuring safety.

As for the comment of driving on a frozen lake...... well matey, i say, if you have got your car on a frozen lake, then you already f'ked up and tyre rotation aint gonna help you. If you want to drive on frozen lakes, skidoos are far more suited than cars.

As for the comment about coming to a gamers board, but you can give in site because you restore cars, what a load of fling rubbish. I would hazard a guess that like me many here have generations of driving experience, and that does count, what a silly thing to say.

As for the comment that front wheel drive cars suck, well sir, you may be right in your own brain, but i can guarantee you sir that the industry would not flood the market with front wheel drive cars AND SPORT CARS if they where crap.

As for the comment regarding physics. Really, if i take your comment on face value then we would change our tyres after 1 mile of driving because there may be an imperceptible reduction of grip that can only be theorised by an estimating mathematical equation.

Lets be sensible here. I am not talking about keeping non legal or bald tyres. If there was SUCH a degradation of handling characteristics under normal driving between new and half tread tyres, then the law would not allow half tread tyres on front end of cars.

So, to surmise. As long as you are not racing, driving on frozen lakes, or rally driving on the backs of frogs, then you as a driver will notice no handling differences and can beconfident in the safety and legality of your vehicle as long as you DON'T DRIVEYOUR F'ING CAR INTO A FLOODED CORNER AT STUPID SPEEDS.

What a bunch of nonsensical replies fueled by a stupid video

But the professionals say the rear.


http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tiretech/techpage.jsp?techid=52


http://www.tirereview.com/always-install-two-new-tires-on-the-rear-axle/


http://www.cartest.ca/replace_tires_on_front_or_re.htm


http://www.ajforeignauto.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=155:is-it-dangerous-to-put-tires-with-the-most-tread-on-the-front-wheels&catid=7:faqs&Itemid=84


http://community.cartalk.com/discussion/2285322/best-tires-on-front-or-rear



http://blog.nwautos.com/2009/03/are_new_tires_best_in_front_or_back.html


http://blog.allstate.com/new-tires-rear/


https://answers.yahoo.com/question/index?qid=20091207005238AAC97pG


http://www.philly.com/philly/business/cars/Should_2_new_tires_go_on_front_or_rear.html

Maybe Australia doesn't have many corners and it never rains...lol.

Where I'm from we have a lot of esses on country roads and there have been times, even at relatively lower speeds than mach, that I've been surprised by water on the roads. I keep good tires on my cars anyway, but I definitely don't like the feel of my back end breaking loose at any time (other than when I might want to).

The best advice is to regularly rotate your tires in the first place to even the wear at all times.

Personal preference, I replace all 4 at the same time. Rotating them on schedule.
Never replacing 2 tires will avoid this issue.