Tires on front wheel drive car

[Toyarzee]

I don't understand the controversy. I understand how the vehicle will act with bald tires in the rear, but that really only applies to when you're trying to throw the car around.

Let's put this in context. You drive up to the mountains and there's a chain advisory posted. You get out to put chains on your tires, and you put them on your drive wheels only. This is because that's how you're controlling the vehicle. Why on earth would you want to chose less traction from the tires that are supposed to be helping you brake and steer? Basic Google search articles support this as well. Am I missing something?

[Tcoat]

Originally Posted by PMPB

Seriously Tcoat? of all people, I thought you would have a reasonable answer.

I guess it depends if OP is taking the car to the track. If you're racing the FWD, the good tires on the front. If you actually need to drive it around a city, in conditions that might be bad, good tires at the back.

If the good tires are at the back, it puts a reasonable upper limit to how fast you can drive because the car will understeer like a pig if you actually try to push it. With the good tires at the front, snap oversteer will be the worst ever, and if you need to stop on snow/ice/standing water, you have a chance of at least going straight ahead, instead of crashing into everything and anything while spinning down the road.

Valid points but I would want the improved traction and drive accordingly I would not be trying the limits of "almost bald" tires regardless of placed on the front or rear.

[Toyarzee]

Originally Posted by mav1178

same logic as putting chains on a FWD: on the drive wheels.

-alex

Beat me to it while typing on phone. Thank you

[go_a_way1]

Should I put on good tires on the front or back of my FRS

[go_a_way1]

Questions for OP, Why do you own a FWD ??

[jawn]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Valid points but I would want the improved traction and drive accordingly I would not be trying the limits of "almost bald" tires regardless of placed on the front or rear.

Fair. However, if I'm taking a set of tires out of storage, and one pair has more tread than the other pair, the pair with more tread goes up front, every time.

The bald tires thing is a bit of a straw man, since I don't think anyone's actually condoning driving with bald tires. But if one pair is 8/32 and the other pair is 5/32, I know which way I'd rather be.

[DarkSunrise]

Really depends how bad you're talking about and what kind of conditions (street, track, snow, etc.), but if you're comfortable catching oversteer I'd put them in the back.

[totopo]

Originally Posted by DarkSunrise

Really depends how bad you're talking about and what kind of conditions (street, track, snow, etc.), but if you're comfortable catching oversteer I'd put them in the back.

How do you plan on catching oversteer in a FWD car? You have to mash gas. What if you don't have space on the outside? what if you aren't expecting it? what if you aren't in a low gear? you are screwed.

edit:
Members of Tire Rack team had the chance to experience this phenomenon at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds. Participants were allowed to drive around a large radius, wet curve in vehicles fitted with tires of different tread depths -- one vehicle with new tires on the rear and half-worn tires on the front and the other with the new tires in the front and half-worn tires on the rear.

It didn't take long for this hands-on experience to confirm that the "proving grounds" name for the facility was correct. The ability to sense and control predictable understeer with the new tires on the rear and the helplessness in trying to control the surprising oversteer with the new tires on the front was emphatically proven.

And even though our drivers had the advantage of knowing we were going to be challenged to maintain car control, spinouts became common during our laps in the car with the new tires on the front and the worn tires on the rear. Michelin advises us that almost every driver spins out at least once when participating in this demonstration!

Experiencing this phenomenon in the safe, controlled conditions of Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds rather than in traffic on an Interstate ramp in a rainstorm is definitely preferred!
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=52

Originally Posted by go_a_way1

Should I put on good tires on the front or back of my FRS

Always rear.

Originally Posted by Toyarzee

I don't understand the controversy. I understand how the vehicle will act with bald tires in the rear, but that really only applies to when you're trying to throw the car around.

Let's put this in context. You drive up to the mountains and there's a chain advisory posted. You get out to put chains on your tires, and you put them on your drive wheels only. This is because that's how you're controlling the vehicle. Why on earth would you want to chose less traction from the tires that are supposed to be helping you brake and steer? Basic Google search articles support this as well. Am I missing something?

Where are you looking? basically everything I have found says good tires always go on rear.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...20front%20rear

[PMPB]

Originally Posted by Tcoat

Valid points but I would want the improved traction and drive accordingly I would not be trying the limits of "almost bald" tires regardless of placed on the front or rear.

I agree, but with FD/FWD, you don't know how much traction you have at the rear until it's too late? At least with the bald tires are the front, if you're acceleration recklessly, the tires will just spin, and you plow through a turn.


For all those that answered 'you put chains in the drive wheels, therefore the front wheel', those conditions are horrendous, and you need the chains just to move. In those cases you're probably hyper-vigilant, and you're not going to be suddenly hitting the breaks suddenly because a dog ran out into the road.

[PMPB]

Originally Posted by totopo

How do you plan on catching oversteer in a FWD car? You have to mash gas. What if you don't have space on the outside? what if you aren't expecting it? what if you aren't in a low gear? you are screwed.

edit:
Members of Tire Rack team had the chance to experience this phenomenon at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds. Participants were allowed to drive around a large radius, wet curve in vehicles fitted with tires of different tread depths -- one vehicle with new tires on the rear and half-worn tires on the front and the other with the new tires in the front and half-worn tires on the rear.

It didn't take long for this hands-on experience to confirm that the "proving grounds" name for the facility was correct. The ability to sense and control predictable understeer with the new tires on the rear and the helplessness in trying to control the surprising oversteer with the new tires on the front was emphatically proven.

And even though our drivers had the advantage of knowing we were going to be challenged to maintain car control, spinouts became common during our laps in the car with the new tires on the front and the worn tires on the rear. Michelin advises us that almost every driver spins out at least once when participating in this demonstration!

Experiencing this phenomenon in the safe, controlled conditions of Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds rather than in traffic on an Interstate ramp in a rainstorm is definitely preferred!
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=52



Always rear.



Where are you looking? basically everything I have found says good tires always go on rear.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...20front%20rear

THERE IS SANITY IN THE WORLD!!!!

[Toyarzee]

Originally Posted by totopo

How do you plan on catching oversteer in a FWD car? You have to mash gas. What if you don't have space on the outside? what if you aren't expecting it? what if you aren't in a low gear? you are screwed.

edit:
Members of Tire Rack team had the chance to experience this phenomenon at Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds. Participants were allowed to drive around a large radius, wet curve in vehicles fitted with tires of different tread depths -- one vehicle with new tires on the rear and half-worn tires on the front and the other with the new tires in the front and half-worn tires on the rear.

It didn't take long for this hands-on experience to confirm that the "proving grounds" name for the facility was correct. The ability to sense and control predictable understeer with the new tires on the rear and the helplessness in trying to control the surprising oversteer with the new tires on the front was emphatically proven.

And even though our drivers had the advantage of knowing we were going to be challenged to maintain car control, spinouts became common during our laps in the car with the new tires on the front and the worn tires on the rear. Michelin advises us that almost every driver spins out at least once when participating in this demonstration!

Experiencing this phenomenon in the safe, controlled conditions of Michelin's Laurens Proving Grounds rather than in traffic on an Interstate ramp in a rainstorm is definitely preferred!
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=52



Always rear.



Where are you looking? basically everything I have found says good tires always go on rear.

https://www.google.com/webhp?sourcei...20front%20rear

I retract my statement and suppose I've been stuck under old school advice and reading dated and biased articles...? Tire rack, popular mechanics, etc all say the same thing.

Forgetting inclement weather for a minute, if you're driving down the freeway and everyone comes to a sudden stop, would you not be more likely to stop safely if you have sufficient traction up front?

[TheVoiceOfReason]

I knew this question was a trap. I should have researched before I voted.

[ichitaka05]

Originally Posted by jawn

I'd rather deal with oversteer in a FWD car than terminal understeer in a FWD car. Ergo, more grip in the front.

Originally Posted by Toyarzee

I retract my statement and suppose I've been stuck under old school advice and reading dated and biased articles...? Tire rack, popular mechanics, etc all say the same thing.

Forgetting inclement weather for a minute, if you're driving down the freeway and everyone comes to a sudden stop, would you not be more likely to stop safely if you have sufficient traction up front?

Modern car have ABS & TC to reduce this issue... but it can say the same thing with vice versa on wore down/older tires on the rear. Putting wore down/old tires on the rear and like you said, had to brake for sudden stop in freeway, rear tires can lock up and can cause a spin out (or butt first)... or worse in winter snow/black ice condition.

Again, modern car have ABS & TC to reduce this issue... but food for thought.

[Dave-ROR]

More grip in the rear. You don't worry about traction in general in this situation, you worry about hydroplaning and the rear is more likely to hydroplane (less weight) and more likely to come around on you while it's doing so. A buddy totaled his GS-R by thinking the opposite. Hydrplaned about 150 degrees before it regained traction, went backwards through a fence and sunk in a gator infested swamp (aka the Florida Everglades).