Tires on front wheel drive car

[ZionsWrath]

Originally Posted by stugray

Thanks everyone for the comments.

It was a heated debate between myself and my son.
He drove my 99 Toy Solara until the front tires were nearly bald while the rears were still in good shape.
I told him to move the better tires up front and he argued with me.
He used to work at Discount Tire and they were told to ALWAYS put the better tires on the rear.

My point was that a FWD uses the front for braking, drive, and steering, and since the fronts are worn more quickly, they CLEARLY take the majority of the forces applied to the car or they wouldnt wear faster.

So after this thread, I can see the point.

It is the same as making sure that you ALWAYS have more front brake bias than rear, because you never want the rears to break loose before the fronts or you swap ends.

So we are just getting new tires all the way around.
However I dont think this is a black & white argument and "it depends".

I say that if you can guarantee that you will not get on the freeway,
keep your speed below lethal levels, and dont drive in the snow, then the better tires should be on the fronts.

My logic there is that 99% of the time the car would benefit from the better tires on the front, while 1% (panic braking) they would be better on the rears.

However it is that 1% that can kill you the fastest.

Thanks again

Well maybe you should ask him why he only agrees with his own logic 50% of the time?

Not rotating your tires and just letting the fronts wear out is silly if you actually drive in rain or snow. But I know this is how the general public run their cars.

So the root of the problem. Why did he bald his fronts while his rear are still in good working order? Doubly interesting if he works at a tire shop...

[Joakim3]

Originally Posted by totopo

Bad tires on rear. FWD cars are much more predictable, and understeer doesn't hurt you too much unless you are a complete reckless tard. You would be suprised at how you actually can oversteer in FWD cars, especially in bad conditions and bad weather. Over steer in FWD cars is really painful and hard to control unless you are prepared for it at on a track and ready to mash the gas.

Are you at a track? why don't you have 4 good tires.

Are you on the streets? Safety is more important. If you don't like the way the car drives, then rotate your tires more.

"When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front. New tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning."
http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete....jsp?techid=52

Really I am surprised some of the more mature drives who have posted still posted some boy-racer like though process.

I can affirm to this.... went around an off ramp a wee bit to enthuastically, stupidly let off the gas and half a second later lift-off oversteer was in full effect.

A shit ton of tire smoke, and a smelling torque converter later and I was back on my way home with very clenched butt cheeks. If you don't have an uber hot hatch with like +250ft/lb of torque you simply lack the power to pull the car out the turn, and you WILL crash.

In regards to the front vs. back tires... rear every time (assuming for some reason you don't buy tires in sets of 4?)

[rice_classic]

Originally Posted by pushrod

I think a person with a brain would not have shit tires on their car, whether it be on the front, the rear, or on one side.

So when you bought your 86, did you change your tires day 1?

[go_a_way1]

Well what if you put the worn tires on the left side and the good ones on the right side??? That way you have a 50/50 mix and you can still turn left good, you just have to be careful you dont slide up the corner on a right turn if you are going really fast??

[WolfpackS2k]

I'm shocked. Shocked that so many of you knuckleheads voted for "front tires".

Doing that is gonna eventually bite you in the ass.

Signed, someone that lifted on a semi-damp road mid-turn and almost spun the car around whilst driving home FROM the tire shop (and had them put the new tires on the front)

(and those rear tires weren't that bad - like 75% tread life left.

[86Tony]

^ My FWD car when i had bald tires in the rear i almost spun out in the hwy.

Sent from my SM-N920W8 using Tapatalk

[Special_K]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

I'm shocked. Shocked that so many of you knuckleheads voted for "front tires".

Doing that is gonna eventually bite you in the ass.

Signed, someone that lifted on a semi-damp road mid-turn and almost spun the car around whilst driving home FROM the tire shop (and had them put the new tires on the front)

(and those rear tires weren't that bad - like 75% tread life left.

Uhhh... Maybe... Don't lift if you have shit tires in the rear?

I understand your point, but the evidence you use is completely obvious.

"I'm shocked. SHOCKED that any of your would even consider driving on all seasons in the winter! That's going to end up biting you in the ass. Signed someone who went off the road trying to drive at 90mph in the snow with a fresh set of all seasons."

[MokSpeed]

Having your good tires in front are all fine and dandy until it rains. Just something to keep in mind. With that being said, if you have "bad tires" you should consider getting them replaced and not drive on them to begin with.

[WolfpackS2k]

Originally Posted by Special_K

Uhhh... Maybe... Don't lift if you have shit tires in the rear?

I understand your point, but the evidence you use is completely obvious.

"I'm shocked. SHOCKED that any of your would even consider driving on all seasons in the winter! That's going to end up biting you in the ass. Signed someone who went off the road trying to drive at 90mph in the snow with a fresh set of all seasons."

Sure, seems logical. But the first thing to enter your mind if you have to make an emergency maneuver to avoid a collision isn't going to be "oh be careful because your rear tires don't have as much grip". Not likely.

Granted in most cases you should almost never want to lift while changing directions at speed. And trying to equate it to all season tires in the winter is a bit of a stretch. Unless you live in a northern climate where it does snow a lot. Then yes you're an idiot for cheaping out and not snow tires.

[Special_K]

Originally Posted by WolfpackS2k

Sure, seems logical. But the first thing to enter your mind if you have to make an emergency maneuver to avoid a collision isn't going to be "oh be careful because your rear tires don't have as much grip". Not likely.

Granted in most cases you should almost never want to lift while changing directions at speed. And trying to equate it to all season tires in the winter is a bit of a stretch. Unless you live in a northern climate where it does snow a lot. Then yes you're an idiot for cheaping out and not snow tires.

Yea my analogy was shaky at best, pay me no mind. I do live where having a set of snow tires is needed though so I just went with it.

I'm mostly just surprised this thread has lasted this long. I also have no intention of ever owning a FWD again so I'm mostly just spewing bullshit.

[WolfpackS2k]

Hahaha

[fumanchu1]

no tires. I like to live dangerously.

[rice_classic]

FWD: Traction goes up front and driver must refrain from lifting.

End of lesson.

[Joakim3]

Originally Posted by rice_classic

FWD: Traction goes up front and driver must refrain from lifting.

End of lesson.

In a perfect world sure.... In the real world... no

You can still spin a car without lifting... If you have to do an emergency lane change or slam on the brakes the rear tires are going to break loose before the front simply due to load-transfer (something that would be made x100 times worse if you had new tires up front and shitty ones in the back).

I'd rather the car plow into the turn and still retain some control of the cars direction than oversteer in a FWD with zero hopes of recovering the slide short of pulling the e-brake, counter steering and saying a little prayer....... or crashing

Even though it's an old video... the principle remains the same (and this came from Michelin, who are arguably the last word in tire manufacturing)
http://blog.allstate.com/new-tires-rear/