New tires always go in front?

[Cujet]

The front tires move water out of the way for the rear tires.

I put the new ones on the front. And, no, I've never experienced any loss of traction at the rear due to this setup.

 

[bubbatime]

Originally Posted By: madRiver
Originally Posted By: Oldmoparguy1
Originally Posted By: Bottom_Feeder
On the front for me, thanks.

Same here. Never a doubt.


Does it even matter in the South where extreme slippery conditions(ice/snow/slush) are quite rare?


The recommendation is there more for heavy rain, standing water, and curves, so yes, it definitely applies in the south, and perhaps more importantly in the the south since we get HEAVY down pours that the rest of the country probably never really sees.

I used to investigate accidents as a police officer and many crashes were contributed to driving too fast around corners in the rain with a contributing factor of new-ish front tires and bald-ish rear tires. I always made it a point to point out the the now car-less person that if they had put the new tires on the back, they never would have crashed.

The tire companies, the installers, the tire stores ALL recommend that you install the new tires on the rear. They dont just pull these recommendations out of their rear end. The recommendations are there for a reason. Many lives can be saved each year if the stubborn person hadn't insisted that the new tires go on the front when the tire store insisted that the new tires go on the back.

 

[TallPaul]

I had researched this a few years back and recall the big issue was hydroplaning and that you wanted the front tires to be the set with less tread so they would hydroplane first. The reason being that you would notice it right away, where if the back tires hydroplane you would not necessarily notice until the vehicle began to turn sideways. I can see where that would be a problem. I had the front hydroplane on me once and immediately let up on the accelerator pedal and my steering came right back.

 

[KingCake]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
The front tires move water out of the way for the rear tires.

I put the new ones on the front. And, no, I've never experienced any loss of traction at the rear due to this setup.



Perhaps the dumbest thing i've ever read.

 

[Xeno]

Put in the back if you aren't confident in controlling a bit of oversteer. I personally put them in the front.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Anyone that puts new tires in the front should have their licence revoked. They should not be permitted to operate a motor vehicle unless and until they pass a college-level course in the physics of vehicular motion with at least a 3.5 GPA.

 

[TallPaul]

I also recall seeing that if a tire company puts the new tires on the front and a crash results they can be held liable. Apparently some attorneys have won in such cases.

 

[Cujet]

Originally Posted By: KingCake
Originally Posted By: Cujet
The front tires move water out of the way for the rear tires.

I put the new ones on the front. And, no, I've never experienced any loss of traction at the rear due to this setup.



Perhaps the dumbest thing i've ever read.


Glad I could help.

 

[Olas]

The safer and more commons answer, applicable to 99% of motorists, is to us new rubber on the back. Most people find understeer easier to deal with, and much less scary an oversteer.

My take on it is that in my car, most of the weight is over the front wheels and those fronts are responsible for driving, braking and steering.
The rears have very little weight on them, they never over rotate, they never under rotate, they might experience lateral slip once or twice a year, and their main purpose is to keep the back end of the car off the ground.

For the above reasons I prefer to have new rubber on the front.

 

[Kestas]

The fact that many people replace only two tires indicates how few people actually rotate their tires. Even rotating once half-way through the life of the tires is a big help.

 

[Traction]

I never had to worry about it, because after 46 years of driving, and owning 80 different cars, I have ALWAYS bought 4 tires at a time. And usually all 4 were worn the same, and if not, it was still 4 tires replaced together.

 

[Olas]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
The fact that many people replace only two tires indicates how few people actually rotate their tires. Even rotating once half-way through the life of the tires is a big help.


You can't always rotate, some tyres are directional and some are sided or handed.

 

[Nick1994]

This thread:

IMO: As long as your rear tires aren't bald, throw the new ones up front.

 

[Xeno]

Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Anyone that puts new tires in the front should have their licence revoked. They should not be permitted to operate a motor vehicle unless and until they pass a college-level course in the physics of vehicular motion with at least a 3.5 GPA.


I'm sure all the autocross and drifters out there need a physics course to properly handle a car, too.

 

[Jarlaxle]

Originally Posted By: Olas
Originally Posted By: Kestas
The fact that many people replace only two tires indicates how few people actually rotate their tires. Even rotating once half-way through the life of the tires is a big help.


You can't always rotate, some tyres are directional and some are sided or handed.


Or different sizes.

 

[CBR.worm]

Studies show the back is where they should go to prevent snap oversteer in slick conditions, but if you are aware of what you are doing - make your own choice.

 

[Nate1979]

Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
Studies show the back is where they should go to prevent snap oversteer in slick conditions, but if you are aware of what you are doing - make your own choice.


The problem is that most people, including on here vastly overestimate their driving ability.

 

[TallPaul]

Originally Posted By: Cujet
The front tires move water out of the way for the rear tires.


Actually, this would be very true if the car is moving in a straight path. The problem is that any curves will move the rear tires out of the path of the front tires. But I have seen where tire paths seem to stay on the road for a bit after a vehicle has passed. This may be only in a lighter rain though and in a heavy rain (the type where you are most likely to experience hydroplaning) all bets are off.

 

[emg]

Originally Posted By: CBR.worm
Studies show the back is where they should go to prevent snap oversteer in slick conditions, but if you are aware of what you are doing - make your own choice.


Yes. When I had my X1/9, I'd always put the new tires on the front, so I could slide the back around corners more easily.

Wouldn't do it on a FWD car, though.

 

[emg]

Originally Posted By: Kestas
The fact that many people replace only two tires indicates how few people actually rotate their tires. Even rotating once half-way through the life of the tires is a big help.


Rotation happens automatically when you replace two tires at a time, since the ones you're keeping get swapped to the other axle.

Well, assuming you do always put the new ones on either the front or rear, and don't just replace the ones that wore out.