Replacing Front Tires......

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I have Dunlop Signature II (195/60/15) on the rear (only about 6k on them) of my 03' Focus. Just purchased two more matching Dunlops, to replace the front (worn-out) tires.

Where should I place the new tires......front or rear?
 
Front, not a big deal, if not that worn in the rear. Bad thing is, when putting new tires on front, when rears are worn a substantial amount. The fronts will get there soon.
 
6k on the rear isn't a lot since front tires wear much faster, but it's time for a rotation anyway. So put the new tires on the back.

Are you getting them from the same place you got the rears?
 
Front. If you think it over you want to rotate when they're 2/32 different in diameter, and by putting new in front it will work down to 0/32 before going "the other way" and you can rotate them in, say, 12k.
 
Since current tire is only 6k new tire should be on front and the first rotation should be done at around 10-12k miles, after that rotate every 5-6k miles so all 4 tires will wear evenly.

Buying 4 tires at a time have these advantages: change brand and/or model, rebate is usually for 4 tires. If you buy 4 tires this weekend from DT/DTD you may get more than $100 rebate(s) from manufacture(s) and DT/DTD.
 
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Technically, the new tires should go on the rear. However, with only 6K on the rear of a front wheel drive car they probably don't have any noticeable wear yet. I'd probably just put them on the front. Some tire shops give you no choice, they put them on the rear no matter what.
 
Originally Posted By: KD0AXS
Some tire shops give you no choice, they put them on the rear no matter what.


Yup. ^ So you will not break loose the rear tires. Never had that happen on any front wheel drive car I drove, but that was what I was told by the tire guys. It kinda of forced me to buy a set of tires. Now I buy online. I taught them.
smile.gif


I had to replace one rear tire that hit something on the road. So I have 6,000 miles less on one tire and could not tell a difference in handling. I suspect you would not be able to tell much difference if you put them on the front or back.
 
I am a proponent of putting new on the rear but in this case I would put them up front since the "old" tires have such low mileage and presumably low wear, especially because they have been on the rear. Like othere have said, keep that arrangement for about 10k miles, rotate, and go 5k before rotating again, keep newer on the front for 10k again and then resume a normal rotation schedule.
 
for the sake of predictable handling: new tires go to the rear...

If the current rear ones are in better shape than the worn front ones, then by all means, swap them to the front.

So long as the rear ones have better traction (due to deeper threads, among a few other things), your emergency maneuvrability shall stay predictable.

http://www.ajforeignauto.com/index.php?option=com_content&view=article&id=155:is-it-dangerous-to-put-tires-with-the-most-tread-on-the-front-wheels&catid=7:faqs&Itemid=84

Q.
 
Yeah yeah yeah everyone says new tires on the rear.

I say new tires on the front AS LONG as the rear have good tread. If you put new on the rear then you'd never be able to rotate the tires since the now front tires are used with some wear will wear faster than the rear.

Those videos from the studies probably have BALD tires on the rear, not decently usable tires. Your rear tires are almost brand new. Leave them on the rear and let the front tires catch up to the wear level of the rear, then rotate.
 
Originally Posted By: Quest
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=8BEXJSnJqkQ
The problem with that video, is the person in the blue car PURPOSEFULLY cranked the steering wheel to the left to make the car spin out, which would have been alright if the person in the white car did the same thing. They didn't.

If half worn tires were dangerous, why is it that a car with half worn tires handles just fine in the rain? Wouldn't half worn tires be dangerous? Wouldn't the whole car just slide off the road in that demonstration?

BTW, sorry if the above sounds rude or I'm digging for an answer, it's just kind of hard to word it, and I'm asking honest questions.

My VW's owners manual says you can put new tires in the front or rear, doesn't matter as long as they're replaced in pairs.
 
on a FWD car

I'd put them on the front. 6k miles is barely worn.
in another 6k miles they will be aprox evenly worn then rotate.

the whole put new tires in the back thing is for replacing 2 tires when the other 2 are significantly worn.

Then of course you aren't allowed to rotate at all.

If you put the new on the rear and actually rotate the old tires @6k miles will have 3-4x the wear of the new tires.

Because on fwd car the front tires wear at least 2x as fast as the rear tires(at least on my fwd cars)
 
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Originally Posted By: slacktide_bitog
6k on the rear isn't a lot since front tires wear much faster, but it's time for a rotation anyway. So put the new tires on the back.

Are you getting them from the same place you got the rears?


+1
 
Drive a FWD car with better tires on front on icy roads and you'll get it.

Made the mistake of putting snow tires on the front of our first FWD car way back when..truly scary.

In this case won't matter and easy to get them evened up.
 
For those who don't believe new tires on the rear is a real thing - that the videos were rigged by having bald tires or the driver influenced the result:

The company I used to work for had a demonstration it ran every year. They equipped 3 identical vehicles with a) new tires, b) new tires on the rear, worn tires (4/32nd) on the front, and c) new tires on the front, worn tires on the rear.

We would have dealers drive each of these cars around a skid pad and through a section of the track that was flooded with water (we could control the depth!) Repeat: THEY drove the cars.

Vehicle A drove right through the water like it wasn't even there. Vehicle B lost control at the front, but the vehicle could be steered after it slowed down. But vehicle C ALWAYS spun out - on its own, without any input from the driver.

Complete disclosure: We specified the speed the dealers were supposed to drive around the skid pad - about 45 mph. That was just a bit uncomfortable - a bit higher than what an average person would drive.

The water depth was carefully controlled and we adjusted the depth to get the tires to hydroplane at exactly the right speed.

Some drivers would panic and slam on the brakes. They could make any of the vehicles spin out. Some drivers drove too slowly and none of the vehicles spun out.

But if done correctly, Vehicle C would spin out on its own, where the others didn't.

We ran HUNDREDS of people through that exercise. Lots of folks struggled to reorient their thinking based on what they experienced - it gave some headaches!

I hope this helps clear up that this is a real phenomenon and the recommendation is based on real information.
 
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CapriRacer: One of my biggest questions with the whole new tires front or rear is, what would be the outcome of a car driving on that track with all 4 tires at 4/32" of tread? Would it slide off the track or would it go through it fine?
 
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