Hi
I am having two new tyres fitted this afternoon (R reg. Mondeo) front and rear passenger side. I don't know why these have worn more than the driver?s side, but they are only just legal. As I am driving to Sunny Wales on Saturday, I wanted to get them done. Could it be the tracking which is causing uneven wear and should I get the tracking checked when I get the tyres fitted?
Also, the new tyres are not exactly the same as the existing ones (Currently Continental sport contact, new ones Continental eco contact). Should I ask for the new tyres to be put on the front?
Probably obvious answers, but unfortunately, not to me!
Thanks in advance
Matt.
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Matt
I did see something on a motoring prog recently (the one that isn't T*p G**r) saying that you should put the better pair of tyres on the rear of the car. This was regardless of whether it was front or rear wheel drive. The reasoning was that a rear end breakaway is more dangerous that a front one. Please do not take this as gospel but check it! Some one else will reply and, I hope, confirm what I say. I had 2 tyres fitted recently and the fitters confirmed what I have said above and did a change around of the existing tyres to achieve the right effect
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Dear Perky and Matt (killing 2 birds with one stone)
With half a million miles motoring under my belt I would rather have a rear-end breakaway than a front end every time. May be due to having been brought up on rear wheel drive cars.
Abnormal wear on the front could be tracking, in my experience not so excessive rear wear. One of the trade experts will doubtless shoot me down or give a technical answer. However, it could be Milton Keynes syndrome as it is on the left side only!
Regards
Brian
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I reckon your front and rear alignment is way out. Micheldever Tyres will fix this properly for £60. Get your tyres from them too and the saving will help pay for the re-alignment.
HJ
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There is a thread a couple of weeks earlier about where to find Micheldever Tyres and their affiliates. Co-incidentally, the company is owned by the Todd family (no relation).
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Matt's question was why did his nearside tyres wear more quickly than the others?
It's easy
I constantly have to point this out to our customers.
Which way do you go round a roundabout? Think about it, you are hammering your nearside tyres every time you use a roundabout (and those horrible mini-roundabouts that seem to be popping up everywhere) I'm sure many of us enter some roundabouts at 45-50mph - think of the forces acting upon the outer shoulder of the nearside front tyre.
This neatly explains the increased nearside (esp. front) tyre wear.
Rgds
David
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I suggest that unless you habitually turn right on your roundabouts, you may well put more stress on your offside tyres than the nearside. Your entry speed (45-50 you suggest) will usually be while turning half-left and braking, followed by the turn round the r-about (slowing down) then another left turn while accelerating out. The total wear should roughly balance out.
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i've got another theory. how many people take right hand bends faster than left hand ones? i reckon most people go quicker around a right hand bend, as they'd rather go on a farming mission through the hedge, than hit a vehicle coming the other way. hence they carry more speed around right hand bends.
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David L is right. The majority of larger, front wheel drive, PAS and town/commuting use cars I see take off the outer edge of the nearside front tyre way before any of the others. Up to 5/10,000 miles early in some cases.
David
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David
The one key bit of info. we don't have is how much greater wear the tyre have on the worst worn side. I'd suggest if it's even over the tread, and not more than a mm or two it's not a tracking problem. If it is uneven wear, then I'd suspect tracking rather than unequal cornering speeds. I've certainly found that tyres can show uneven wear rates, usually the nearside front wearing more than the offside, but only by 1mm over the life of the tyre.
regards
John
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Brian said "With half a million miles motoring under my belt I would rather have a rear-end breakaway than a front end every time. May be due to having been brought up on rear wheel drive cars"
A rear end break away in a front wheel drive car is very different to a rear end slide in a rear wheel drive car. You have some control through the driven rear wheels in the latter. A front wheel drive car with better tyres on the front than rear can be become dangerously unstable under cornering or heavy braking and cause a virtually uncontrollable spin. All demonstrated on top gear some months ago.
Moral is, keep the best tyres on the back on both front and rear wheel drive cars.
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