Cheapy tyres on front or rear of FWD car?
Discussion
A while ago I changed the front tyres to cheap wing-wang ones on a 2 litre 140hp FWD car.
All 4 wheels are off the car currently for refurb, when they come back am I better off putting the cheap ones on the front or back? The other 2 tyres are a good brand with plenty of tread also.
I'm most concerned about wet weather grip when cornering.
All 4 wheels are off the car currently for refurb, when they come back am I better off putting the cheap ones on the front or back? The other 2 tyres are a good brand with plenty of tread also.
I'm most concerned about wet weather grip when cornering.
EazyDuz said:
A while ago I changed the front tyres to cheap wing-wang ones on a 2 litre 140hp FWD car.
All 4 wheels are off the car currently for refurb, when they come back am I better off putting the cheap ones on the front or back? The other 2 tyres are a good brand with plenty of tread also.
I'm most concerned about wet weather grip when cornering.
If it's a light, sporty hatchback then probably rears or you'll just spin when you accelerate hard in the wet. Just be careful of lift off mid-corner.All 4 wheels are off the car currently for refurb, when they come back am I better off putting the cheap ones on the front or back? The other 2 tyres are a good brand with plenty of tread also.
I'm most concerned about wet weather grip when cornering.
If it's a lardy family saloon or MPV, on the fronts.
It also depends on how you drive. I had cheapo tyres on a 2 litre Golf Cabriolet, it didn't make any difference in the wet but then I didn't drive it like I was doing a time trial in Gran Turismo.
I think the prevailing wisdom is best tyres on the rear
Losing grip on the front end (especially on a FWD car) will generally see you understeer out of a corner, which is relatively easy to catch and correct. Losing grip on the rear will most likely have you swapping ends and going arse-first into the guard rail.
Losing grip on the front end (especially on a FWD car) will generally see you understeer out of a corner, which is relatively easy to catch and correct. Losing grip on the rear will most likely have you swapping ends and going arse-first into the guard rail.
Kenny Powers said:
Speaking broadly, I would think it would be safer to fit the cheap tyres to the front. Understeer is generally easier to deal with than oversteer in unexpected situations.
This is the logic always used, but it takes no account of the difference in likelihood of understeer or oversteer being induced, and behaves as if the two are equally likely.Since most cars, I gather, are set up to understeer first, I would prefer to put the best tyres on the front. You can always corner slowly if necessary, but in a wet road emergency stop situation, I'm almost completely certain you want the best tyres on the front in order to stop the car more quickly. To my mind, this trumps any concerns about oversteer (which is unlikely to occur unless you are being silly in the first place.)
There's also presumably not much guarantee that good rear tyres would be the difference between oversteering and not oversteering, given that oversteer occurrs when the weight of the car shifts on to the front wheels, and off the back, and given that tyres are designed to clear water off the road when moving forward, rather than sideways.
IANAVDE.
(I am not a vehicle dynamics engineer.)
Edited by Bennet on Wednesday 4th July 10:30
EazyDuz said:
JimSuperSix said:
You mentioned cheap tyres on PH, and worse still only 2 - brace yourself 
Shall I rustle the nest by saying rubber is rubber, cheap tyres are made in the same factory as premium brands, all the tyre tests are funded by name brands so they're biased etc etc 
Oversteer on a FWD car is easy to correct and control with a splash of throttle. Go too fast into a corner with rubbish tyres at front, and you're ploughing straight ahead with terrible understeer, that is not as easy to correct,as braking only makes it worse.
I always put the more worn / cheaper tyres at the back. It has provided one or two Colin McRae moments on flooded or snowy roads, but as I mentioned, bit of throttle brings it all under control.
I always put the more worn / cheaper tyres at the back. It has provided one or two Colin McRae moments on flooded or snowy roads, but as I mentioned, bit of throttle brings it all under control.
Nanook said:
How do you get oversteer though, on your FWD car?
More often than not, by understeering, then doing something silly.
But, you don't want understeer?
Have you heard of lift off oversteer? You go into a corner and lift off the throttle, causing a weight transfer forwards. resulting in the back end starting to pivot around the front. No understeer involved here, just physics.More often than not, by understeering, then doing something silly.
But, you don't want understeer?
Nanook said:
Just awful driving. Most people don't drive hard into a corner then step right off the throttle unless something has happened to spook them.
Usually understeer.
Or if you're driving around purposely trying to get your FWD car to oversteer, buy some decent tyres, or a more appropriate car.
Awful or not, there are plenty of situations when you might go hard into a corner and then need to lift off into it in everyday driving, like trying to catch the traffic lights, or gap in a roundabout, or simply by not knowing the road ahead. In such situations the last thing you want is your car to understeer into a hedge. If you had good tyres at the back and rubbish at the front, even if you lifted off you might still understeer ahead as the fronts won't have the grip. If your fronts were good and rears not as much, then there's more chance that the fronts will bite and you will go round the corner, even if the rear gets a bit loose. Usually understeer.
Or if you're driving around purposely trying to get your FWD car to oversteer, buy some decent tyres, or a more appropriate car.
It's all about taking an inherent shortcoming of FWD cars (understeer) and making it not as bad. Obviously the best solution is having good tyres all round, but in a situation where you had to choose, I believe good tyres at the front is safer.
Not to mention the front tyres do most of the braking, so you'd be further compromising safety by putting s
t rubber at the front.Edited by Salamura on Wednesday 4th July 11:07
Nanook said:
I disagree, there are not plenty of situations where you'll be experiencing oversteer, or understeer, during every day driving.
If there are, your observation, planning, spatial awareness, or something else, is badly off.
The vast majority of people will not deal with understeer or oversteer well at all. They'll panic, if they're understeering, they'll put on too much lock, if they're oversteering, they'll probably apply the brake, generally it's not going to end well.
Understeer is generally easier to deal with though.
I'm not saying such situations will occur at every corner, or even every day, but they do happen in normal driving for one reason or another. The front tyres do the power application, the steering, and most of the braking, how is it safer to have worse grip at the front?If there are, your observation, planning, spatial awareness, or something else, is badly off.
The vast majority of people will not deal with understeer or oversteer well at all. They'll panic, if they're understeering, they'll put on too much lock, if they're oversteering, they'll probably apply the brake, generally it's not going to end well.
Understeer is generally easier to deal with though.
EazyDuz said:
JimSuperSix said:
You mentioned cheap tyres on PH, and worse still only 2 - brace yourself
Shall I rustle the nest by saying rubber is rubber, cheap tyres are made in the same factory as premium brands, all the tyre tests are funded by name brands so they're biased etc etc Gassing Station | Suspension, Brakes & Tyres | Top of Page | What's New | My Stuff