Should new tyres go on the front or back of the car. They just put them on the front

[ubonr1971]

I have a high end luxury hybrid car 3 yrs old. 

 

A tyre on the front right side was faulty and the car shop ordered 2 new ones for me. He said its safer in the rain to have the 2 new ones put at the front and leave the old ones at the back. 

 

He said racing cars put the new ones at the rear. 

 

If you have any idea about this please advise. If you are only able to use google (same as me) as your source of info please do not bother to comment.

[Hummin]

4 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

I have a high end luxury hybrid car 3 yrs old. 

 

A tyre on the front right side was faulty and the car shop ordered 2 new ones for me. He said its safer in the rain to have the 2 new ones put at the front and leave the old ones at the back. 

 

He said racing cars put the new ones at the rear. 

 

If you have any idea about this please advise. If you are only able to use google (same as me) as your source of info please do not bother to comment.

Front or rear wheel drive? 

 

You put your new  tires on the drive wheels. 

[Hummin]

I googled, and it says always on the back! 

 

So, what do you want to do? 

 

I always put my better tires on my wheel drive, but I never wear my tires all the way down to minimum allowed tread depth either.

 

I also rotate my tires after 50 k or so, depending on tire quality how much uneven wearing. 

[ravip]

I am no expert on this subject. But, the internet shows something like this.

 

https://www.aa.co.nz/cars/ask-an-expert/faults-reliability-service-and-repair/show/710/

 

https://www.continental-tyres.co.uk/b2c/tyre-knowledge/braking-with-new-tyres/

 

https://www.uksaabs.co.uk/UKS/viewtopic.php?t=134198

 

 

[OneMoreFarang]

I know a woman who owned and run a truck company.

They used on every truck the best tires on the front axis, as far as I know mostly because of the steering.

 

 

[Hummin]

Rotating the tires from front to back after x Km, you end up changing all your tires at the same time. 

[couchpotato]

14 minutes ago, Hummin said:

Rotating the tires from front to back after x Km, you end up changing all your tires at the same time. 

Exactly. The most sensible and safest way to do.

[KhunLA]

You put your best tires on the front.  

 

Front or back, they will perform the same, front or rear drive.  As the same surface area is in contact with the road. New or not, no difference, unless you're running 'may pops'. 

 

Mechanic is correct, newer tires will disperse water better, deeper treads.

 

Main reason for best tires on the front, if you get a blow out, you want it to be in the rear.   Just play the percentages, newer, more tread, less wear/stress already, less chance of.

[Lacessit]

Best tires go on the front. I have yet to hear of a car that has its steering on the back wheels.

 

As KhunLA says, a blowout on a rear tire is far easier to control.

[ubonr1971]

1 hour ago, Lacessit said:

Best tires go on the front. I have yet to hear of a car that has its steering on the back wheels.

 

As KhunLA says, a blowout on a rear tire is far easier to control.

Re your first sentence.... what about when one selects 'AWD' where the hybrid battery steers the rear wheels and the petrol the front?

[CallumWK]

2 hours ago, Hummin said:

I also rotate my tires after 50 k or so,

 

You get 100k out of a set of tires? I'm lucky to get just over 50K

[Hummin]

4 minutes ago, CallumWK said:

 

You get 100k out of a set of tires? I'm lucky to get just over 50K

No, rotated the last stock ones at 50k, got 80k I think out of them. The ones I have now, better overall grip, but will not last as long. 

 

 

 

[MangoKorat]

It all depends on the condition of the existing rear tyres, your driving style and whether your car is front or rear wheel drive.  On the basis that its a front wheel drive - if your existing rear tyres are good, you might extend your overall tyre life by swapping the rears to the front and putting the new ones on the back. It used to be that when you swapped them you should do them diagonally but as most quality tyres are directional these days, that would be the wrong way to go.

 

To be honest, there's not much in it - prior to directional tyres I swapped them all the time, I don't these days. As someone's already pointed out, the better the tread depth, the better the water dispersal and its rainy season.

[CallumWK]

12 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

On the basis that its a front wheel drive - if your existing rear tyres are good, you might extend your overall tyre life by swapping the rears to the front and putting the new ones on the back.

 

And how would that extend the overall tyre life, knowing that front tyres wear out faster than rear tyres?

So swapping the existing tyres to the front will actually lower the overall tyre life.

[Lacessit]

1 hour ago, ubonr1971 said:

Re your first sentence.... what about when one selects 'AWD' where the hybrid battery steers the rear wheels and the petrol the front?

What about it? In most cars, AWD DRIVES all four wheels, steering stays at the front.

 

I have heard of exotic vehicles such as Porsches or Ferraris that have limited steering capacity on the rear wheels for increased manouevrability. Even in them, the main steering is still on the front wheels.

 

Fork lift trucks are a different beast, rear steering is to maximize mobility.

[MangoKorat]

4 hours ago, CallumWK said:

 

And how would that extend the overall tyre life, knowing that front tyres wear out faster than rear tyres?

So swapping the existing tyres to the front will actually lower the overall tyre life.

Because, disregarding legal limits which in my opinion are rarely safe in the wet - a pair of tyres that are close to the limit on the front will often do another few thousand miles on the back. A lot depends on driving style, if you're a hard driver then that wouldn't be sensible. If the OP has to pay someone to swap them, it may not be worth his while.

 

The above only applies to a front wheel drive.

[MangoKorat]

5 hours ago, Hummin said:

No, rotated the last stock ones at 50k, got 80k I think out of them. The ones I have now, better overall grip, but will not last as long. 

 

 

 

Jeez, my girlfriend must be correct - I drive too fast 😁.

 

I presume you're talking about KM not miles - in which case I rarely get close to 30k out my fronts. Mind you, after some pretty bad aquaplaning in Thailand, I tend to soft compound wet tyres.

 

Anyone looking for the same? I can thoroughly recommend Uniroyal Rainsport 5's.

[HauptmannUK]

The general advice to tyre fitting outlets is to put new tyres on the rear. This is because loss of grip at the rear has generally more serious consequences than loss of grip at the front.

For example, when turning into curve if a driver senses loss of front grip (understeer - can running wide) he will instinctively increase steering input and decelerate (weight transfer to front) - this will tighten the line of the car and correct the situation.

On the other hand if loss of grip at the rear occurs most drivers will instinctively decelerate, transfering weight to the front and exacerbating the situation, leading to loss of control/spin out.

Beware that on some cars with LSD's and certain types of AWD (e.g. MB) having tyres of even slightly different rolling radii can cause damage to the system.

Ideally stick with tyres of the exactly the same type/brand and rotate at every service to even out wear. When one or more tyres reaches the wear limit then replace all tyres.

[HauptmannUK]

16 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

 I can thoroughly recommend Uniroyal Rainsport 5's.

Uniroyals are a great tyre. They have a slightly soft sidewall and a softer rubber compound - very good grip in the wet but a somewhat shorter tyre life.

[G Rex]

7 hours ago, KhunLA said:

You put your best tires on the front.  

 

Front or back, they will perform the same, front or rear drive.  As the same surface area is in contact with the road. New or not, no difference, unless you're running 'may pops'. 

 

Mechanic is correct, newer tires will disperse water better, deeper treads.

 

Main reason for best tires on the front, if you get a blow out, you want it to be in the rear.   Just play the percentages, newer, more tread, less wear/stress already, less chance of.

 

Great explanation.   

In my case , I am a fairly hard driver, so I tend to wear the shoulders of my front wheels, so I rotate f-r every 10,000 k.  

The best tyres should be on the steering (ie front) wheels.

[Hummin]

37 minutes ago, MangoKorat said:

Jeez, my girlfriend must be correct - I drive too fast 😁.

 

I presume you're talking about KM not miles - in which case I rarely get close to 30k out my fronts. Mind you, after some pretty bad aquaplaning in Thailand, I tend to soft compound wet tyres.

 

Anyone looking for the same? I can thoroughly recommend Uniroyal Rainsport 5's.

Stock tires tends to have hard compound rubber, the tires I bought now as mentioned above will give less kilometer. 

[soi3eddie]

1 hour ago, HauptmannUK said:

The general advice to tyre fitting outlets is to put new tyres on the rear. This is because loss of grip at the rear has generally more serious consequences than loss of grip at the front.

 

About 90% of braking power/effect and 100% of steering is done on the front tires. After several million miles, and always putting new tires on the front, I will continue to do so. I would suggest, as a mechanic and professional driver, that steering and braking has the most serious consequences on control of a vehicle.

 

[Hummin]

Well the experts have concluded why rear tires is preferred. I will continue to rotate my tires and get decent longevity and change them out before reaching minimal tread depth for safety. 

[ubonr1971]

11 hours ago, Hummin said:

Well the experts have concluded why rear tires is preferred. I will continue to rotate my tires and get decent longevity and change them out before reaching minimal tread depth for safety. 

No. Most comments say the front is best for new tyres. I think one or so said the rear but I cant be bothered to scroll up and count. 

[Ralf001]

new tyres always go on the steer axle.

[Hummin]

7 minutes ago, ubonr1971 said:

No. Most comments say the front is best for new tyres. I think one or so said the rear but I cant be bothered to scroll up and count. 

Im talking about real experts. Google New tires front or back and look through all expert sites and see what you find!

 

just to sum it up and all the tire manufactures also says the same

 

If you are only replacing a pair of tyres, Michelin recommends that you have the new (or least worn) tyres fitted to the rear of the vehicle. This is for safety in difficult driving conditions, such as hard braking or cornering, especially on wet or slippery road surfaces.

https://thetiredigest.michelin.com/every-day-if-you-only-change-two-tires

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a3121/6-common-tire-myths-debunked-10031440/

 

and a couple of links above states the same! 

[Thailand]

Pretty much the most important part of a car as the only part of it in contact with the ground ( under normal circumstances).

 

New tyres on the front almost without exception, checked and balanced -all steering related. Check pressures once a week when you get fuel etc.

 

Tyres and brakes, almost as important.

 

[richard_smith237]

48 minutes ago, Thailand said:

Pretty much the most important part of a car as the only part of it in contact with the ground ( under normal circumstances).

 

New tyres on the front almost without exception, checked and balanced -all steering related. Check pressures once a week when you get fuel etc.

 

Tyres and brakes, almost as important.

 

 

Tracking too....     We recently had a flat at the front, the insides of the tyres wore down to the metal on the insides (outsides looked fine) - tracking had to be way off, luckily the flat happend while travelling slowly.

 

The car had only been serviced 3 months earlier. 

Formal complaint put into the dealership (senior level) who confirmed that tracking is not part of the servicing which surprised me (could be the same in the UK and elsewhere too).

 

They didn't even notice the excess tyre wear.

I should also have carried out checks but its easy to become complacent (so my own fault too), but I'd expect this to be noticed on service - I've placed too much trust in servicing.

 

 

 

[richard_smith237]

1 hour ago, Hummin said:

Im talking about real experts. Google New tires front or back and look through all expert sites and see what you find!

 

just to sum it up and all the tire manufactures also says the same

 

If you are only replacing a pair of tyres, Michelin recommends that you have the new (or least worn) tyres fitted to the rear of the vehicle. This is for safety in difficult driving conditions, such as hard braking or cornering, especially on wet or slippery road surfaces.

https://thetiredigest.michelin.com/every-day-if-you-only-change-two-tires

 

https://www.popularmechanics.com/cars/how-to/a3121/6-common-tire-myths-debunked-10031440/

 

and a couple of links above states the same! 

 

Very interesting... 

 

Though a driver driving a regular car on the road to such extremes that would encourage oversteer is likely to end up in a crash sooner or later, regardless of tyres.

 

IMO - as long as the tyres are all in good condition with sufficient tread etc, it should matter whether they are on the front or rear as we shouldn't be pushing the car to those limits of failure anyway. 

 

These accidents we read of - loss of control on wet road etc, those drivers were likely to loose control because they were too fast for conditions and / or tyre state was extremely poor.

 

 

 

 

 

[Hummin]

2 minutes ago, richard_smith237 said:

 

Very interesting... 

 

Though a driver driving a regular car on the road to such extremes that would encourage oversteer is likely to end up in a crash sooner or later, regardless of tyres.

 

IMO - as long as the tyres are all in good condition with sufficient tread etc, it should matter whether they are on the front or rear as we shouldn't be pushing the car to those limits of failure anyway. 

 

These accidents we read of - loss of control on wet road etc, those drivers were likely to loose control because they were too fast for conditions and / or tyre state was extremely poor.

 

 

 

 

 

Most drivers do not have proper training, and coming from a country who have all different conditions, and also been able to drive and play with cars and motorbikes since I managed to reach controlls have differnt instinctive reaction when something happens than someone who never had the chance to test the extreme limits of different wehircles. 

 

I prefer as said to rotate my tires, and change before critical wear apperas. I would also change older  tires than 4-5 years even not weared out depending on climate and sun exposure