Put the best tyres on the front or (surprisingly) the rear?
Discussion
I have always put the best tyres on the front of any car I have owned, usually as a well matched pair. Often I cannot afford to replace 4 (or 5) tyres at once so I buy a new pair and put them on the front. Currently I am about to fit two new tyres using my local Kwik-Fit branch who have advised they now place best tyres on the rear as policy. They argued based on slip angles and the like under skid conditions. I will argue that front is best giving best steering precision, and stopping power. Has anyone else heard this "rear is best" argument and what is your opinion please?
LezLezLez said:
Has anyone else heard this "rear is best" argument
YesLezLezLez said:
what is your opinion please?
If your teenage son is driving the car, then put the new tyres on the back.
My last car (MG ZS V6) had bald rears for longer than I cared to admit. Chucking it into roundabouts sideways in the wet than planting your foot was hilarious after the first few terrifying times.
Not safe by any means, fronts wear quicker on a FWD but the backs are far more important (Depends whether you want the front washing out or extremely unpredictable oversteer.)
Not safe by any means, fronts wear quicker on a FWD but the backs are far more important (Depends whether you want the front washing out or extremely unpredictable oversteer.)
New on the rear, old rears on the front is the only way to get your moneys worth from the tread on FWD. Otherwise the tyre will perish long before it wears. I was in a car when a perished tyre with loads of tread popped on the back (of a Fiat Tipo) at motorway speeds. I learnt my lesson then!
caelite said:
the backs are far more important...
Yeah, let's not worry about the fronts; they only do 100% of the steering and the VAST majority of the braking. 
If you can't cope with oversteer and you're driving in such a manner as to cause the back end to step out then it doesn't matter which end the new tyres go on; you're going to crash sooner or later.
If you lose the front of a FWD car, which the majority of cars are these days, then generally speaking you just have to ease off the throttle and you'll regain control. If you lose the back then that requires an element of skill to be able to correct, a skill a lot of people just don't have. THAT is the only reason to fit new tyres to the back. Which brings us back to my first point.
Edited by Centurion07 on Thursday 21st January 18:05
Centurion07 said:
Yeah, let's not worry about the fronts; they only do 100% of the steering and the VAST majority of the braking.
If you can't cope with oversteer and you're driving in such a manner as to cause the back end to step out then it doesn't matter which end the new tyres go on; you're going to crash sooner or later.
If you lose the front of a FWD car, which the majority of cars are these days, then generally speaking you just have to ease off the throttle and you'll regain control. If you lose the back then that requires an element of skill to be able to correct, a skill a lot of people just don't have. THAT is the only reason to fit new tyres to the back. Which brings us back to my first point.
No offence, but you have no idea what you're talking about.If you can't cope with oversteer and you're driving in such a manner as to cause the back end to step out then it doesn't matter which end the new tyres go on; you're going to crash sooner or later.
If you lose the front of a FWD car, which the majority of cars are these days, then generally speaking you just have to ease off the throttle and you'll regain control. If you lose the back then that requires an element of skill to be able to correct, a skill a lot of people just don't have. THAT is the only reason to fit new tyres to the back. Which brings us back to my first point.
Edited by Centurion07 on Thursday 21st January 18:05
Give your brain a chance for a moment, and consider what steering the car actually means.
The car has a centre of gravity somewhere close to the middle of its wheel base. According to Isaac Newton, who knew a bit more about physics than you do, a body in motion will continue in motion at constant velocity until acted upon by an external force. Velocity involves both speed and direction. To make the car change direction, a force needs to act upon its mass.
I'm sure you're familiar with shopping trolleys which have 4 castoring wheels. Applying a lateral force to the front of a moving trolley only yaws the trolley. It points in a different direction but continues moving in the same direction it was already going. The external force to change the velocity of the trolley must act through its CofG. Ergo there must be an accelerative force applied through the front and rear wheels.
It is thus 100% wrong to think 100% of steering is performed by the front wheels.
People with poor ability to comprehend multi-faceted problems tend to think linearly and see the front tyres as most important. Those who actually know what they're talking about know that it is absolutely vital that the car is stable. No point in having good brakes at the front if your car swaps ends under braking or cornering...
Best standing water dispersion on the rear. Which isn't necessarily the same thing as the grippiest tyres in other situations.
If the back end aquaplanes, having control over the front is utterly meaningless because any attempt to use it to either steer or brake will cause the car to swap ends. At least if the rear wheels are on the ground, you maintain SOME braking force whilst keeping the car pointing forwards.
In practice on cars where I have the choice (ie where the tyres are all the same size front) I rotate the tyres front-to-back every few thousand miles and replace them all at once. Running different tyres in the summer and winter is a perfect time to do this.
If the back end aquaplanes, having control over the front is utterly meaningless because any attempt to use it to either steer or brake will cause the car to swap ends. At least if the rear wheels are on the ground, you maintain SOME braking force whilst keeping the car pointing forwards.
In practice on cars where I have the choice (ie where the tyres are all the same size front) I rotate the tyres front-to-back every few thousand miles and replace them all at once. Running different tyres in the summer and winter is a perfect time to do this.
Edited by kambites on Thursday 21st January 19:13
addz86 said:
I've always put the best on the front, nothing makes my arse clench faster than surprise understeer
Surprise oversteer will.I'm actually dismayed that this is even a discussion. It's been demonstrated fully by anyone who's opinion is worth listening to that stability outranks any other consideration.
The only reason not to put the best tyres on the is a death wish.
Very 50/50.
On the one hand I can see the argument from the Tyre Industry in that best tyres to the rear will prevent oversteer.
On the other hand having the best tread at the front will disperse standing water better and provide better directional stability and braking in our temperate climate.
I'm erring towards the latter although I'm not discounting the tyre industry theory altogether. Why?
(1) The vast majority of crashes are front end crashes where someone has ploughed into an object. There's no point having best tyres on the back if you've crashed into the car in front because of a lapse in concentration when you've braked heavily in the wet on the motorway.
(2) Apocalyptic oversteer accidents are far less common than front end crashes. in some respects it's better to have the engineered front end absorb the impact and have deployment of airbags. Conversely the better tyres on the rear could aid stability.
(3) I feel it's partly a marketing trick from the tyre industry. Over the life of a car more tyres are sold. The reasoning: You buy a new car with 4 new tyres. After 20k the fronts are worn and the rears only 20% worn. You follow accepted practice and put the 20% worn rears on the front and the new tyres on the rear. Your front tyres only last 16k because they are the 20% worn ones. So you need new tyres sooner ad infinitum.
On the one hand I can see the argument from the Tyre Industry in that best tyres to the rear will prevent oversteer.
On the other hand having the best tread at the front will disperse standing water better and provide better directional stability and braking in our temperate climate.
I'm erring towards the latter although I'm not discounting the tyre industry theory altogether. Why?
(1) The vast majority of crashes are front end crashes where someone has ploughed into an object. There's no point having best tyres on the back if you've crashed into the car in front because of a lapse in concentration when you've braked heavily in the wet on the motorway.
(2) Apocalyptic oversteer accidents are far less common than front end crashes. in some respects it's better to have the engineered front end absorb the impact and have deployment of airbags. Conversely the better tyres on the rear could aid stability.
(3) I feel it's partly a marketing trick from the tyre industry. Over the life of a car more tyres are sold. The reasoning: You buy a new car with 4 new tyres. After 20k the fronts are worn and the rears only 20% worn. You follow accepted practice and put the 20% worn rears on the front and the new tyres on the rear. Your front tyres only last 16k because they are the 20% worn ones. So you need new tyres sooner ad infinitum.
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