Tire placement question

Brand new tires on the front of fwd

Firstly because thats where the best grip needs to be and secondly because thats where (as a result) most wear should take place

 

Vote with your feet, if the merchant will won't do what you want. It's your car and your money. Just tell him "AMF". Same with elected politicians. I hope that this is of some use to someone. Jq.

 

I found an article on the internet (unluckily only in German) with test results from Michelin. Under critical driving conditions (breaking in curves when the tarmac is wet, aquaplaning etc.) cars with a rear drive are better controlled if they have the newer tires on the rear axle.

 

Motor Trend did some testing on this issue in the May 2004 edition. Result: Always put the new tires on the rear,whether fwd,rwd,or awd.

 

When I was young and poor I had a hot-rod Scirocco. And I has worn those front tires down pretty far by, uh, spirited driving. Not bald, but in the wear bars for sure. The rears were still in good shape though. So I swapped them. Made sense to have the tread in the front, right? A couple of days later my girlfrend and I are just cruising along and it is just barely raining, the road isn't really wet yet, just damp, and I'm not doing anything stupid - it was a rare moment, but they happened occasionally. There was the slightest bend in the road, you might not even notice it. It is a divided four-lane road with moderate traffic. I entered this slight bend and the back end of the car came around slowly and super smooth. My girlfriend was looking down, I think reading something in her lap. She didn't even notice the rotation. She only looked up after the first 360 because my hands were going crazy trying to steer the car into the skid. The second time around we'd slowed pretty well. We'd spun twice fully around, wound up pointing the right direction and if it weren't for the left turn pocket we would have spun over the double yellow into on-coming traffic. We stopped perfectly in the left turn lane facing the right way. I made a U-turn back home and we took her car.

So yeah, good tires in the rear.

 

OK - happy to learn but would appreciate any links to tests

 

Regardless of driven wheels - in an emergency (off the gas and maybe on the brakes) or at the limit in a turn (wet, a cat running out), you do not want the rear to step out. So put the better tire at the rear. This is precisely the reason why there is also brake pressure limiter at the back - you never ever want to lose traction in the rear before the front lets go. Your tire shop's advice is safe and industry standard. Also, if you have older and newer tires, always put the newer ones at the back.

 

Really screw with 'em and ask to put them kitty-corner.

 

That is what the M/T testers found: unexpected snap oversteer in the wet that even professional testers couldn't catch.

 

Tire Tech Information - Where to Install New Pairs of Tires?

Tirerack.com seems as good a place for the info as any.

Their take? Best tires on the back. Even they say it seems counter-intuitive, but say that's the way to go.

D

 

It was so smooth I'm not sure "snap" describes it. Knowing what I know now I'm sure I made it worse by letting off the gas and/or trying the brakes. Probably giving it some gas would have straightened it out. I certainly didn't have the knowledge or skill and I might not have had the time or the room. I would expect a professional driver in a controlled situation to be able to save it, interesting they couldn't. I would expect a civilian driver on a public road not expecting it, to spin - at least twice...