My car will soon need 2 new tyres on the front.
Car is front wheel drive (with continental ecocontact tyres). Rear tyres are OK.
Should the new tyres be put on the front? or should I put the rear tyres on the front, and the new tyres on the rear?
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Strangely enough, I have exactly the same dilemma! My 2000 Vectra TD has Continental Eco Contacts all round, and after 30K miles both front tyres are worn down on the inside and outside of the tyre. They are always inflated to 33 psi so they have never been under-inflated as this type of wear is usually down to this. The rears however are like new! Therefore I could either swap the tyres from the front to the back and vice-versa, or replace the front tyres. I popped into Costco and I was informed that they will only put new tyres on the rear of a car, but I can always rotate the wheels myself.
It is a shame really as the front tyres have about 4mm left on the majority of the tyre, with only the sides wearing down. I think that I will replace just the front tyres with the Conti's or Michelin Energy in a thousand miles or so and not bother rotating the tyres round.
The reason some people say that the best tyres should be on the back is that if you lose the back end, there is little you can do to correct it, whilst understeer is easier to control.
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The fronts will have given about 20K, but there is a long way to go on the rear ( 10-15K at a guess). My tyres have worn down evenly across the tread. I have not had any rotation of my wheels.
Interestly enough according to the Mercedes service schedule, rotation is is part of the recommend service for all models "remove & install wheels, rotate but not where tyres are mixed" except the A class. www.assyst.miknik.co.uk/
Costco apparantly only fit to the rear, whilst ATS recommend fitting to the front. So there appears to be no hard or fast rule - one way or the other.
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IMHO it is a matter of preference as to whether you lose the front end or back end first.
Having been brought up on rear wheel drive I find rear wheel drift easier to cope with, modern drivers weaned on front wheel drive probably find the opposite!
Or preferably, don't lose either end !
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Standard advice is to put the new tyres on the back. But, as Brian points out, it really depends on what sort of handling you prefer.
HJ
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Personally i would always go for new tyres on the front as in braking they take most of the pressure and when u hit standing water the front tyres tend to clear most of the water for the rears to drag through
just my opinion dont shoot me
Dave
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This is an old thread, I've posted twice in the last couple of months. Martyn made a plea not to post old conversations earlier this weekend. Look back & read them!
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My view (for what it's worth) is that as most of us drive FWD vehicles, and their front tyres wear about 3 times as fast as the rear, it makes sense to swap them front to back every 10K or so, so that they all wear out together before the sidewalls crack too much.
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Driven had a piece about this a while back. Mike was driving a front-wheel drive car with worn tyres on the bac, he lifted off the throttle mid corner and the back end broke away.
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doug_r1 wrote:
>
> Driven had a piece about this a while back. Mike was driving
> a front-wheel drive car with worn tyres on the bac, he lifted
> off the throttle mid corner and the back end broke away.
Whereas anybody with a FWD car and a braincell would be maintaining
slight acceleration all the way through the corner.
In other word's if you're a f***witt put the new tyres on the front.
/john
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i saw that prog too and I saw a large poster from Michelin in a local tyre outlet saying the same thing. Put best on the back.
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I have had cars go into slides sideways ,lift off onto two wheels on one side, but not since having a rear wheel drive car ,have i ever had the back end break away, since having front wheel drive all i have everhad is loss of front wheel traction due to using more throttle than the conditions allow, put the new tyres on the driving wheels or get a Quattro ,i have nothing but praise for the traction this supplies on wet roads.
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nope! - new on the rear, always. Its all to do with how the car responds in a crisis not just everyday motoring. The last thing you want is the rear of the car doings its own thing when you are braking hard in an emergency. Anyone who has driven a rear wheel car will know the feeling of the rear breaking away under gentle acceleration on slippery roads. The same can happen to front wheel drive cars but only at the limits of traction. Ask the tyre manufacturers for their views if you do not believe me.
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