Front or Rear?
After reading the thread re tread depth, I noticed some members saying they swapped tyres front to rear to get even wear.
Yesterday my sister's car needed two rear tyres and she asked the fitter to put the new ones on the front and move the front ones with 4mm of tread onto the back.
The fitter said he would do it if she insisted but he recommended that she put the new ones at the rear, even though it is a front wheel drive Mondeo.
I have always put the deepest treads on the front, my logic being that when towing, I need all the grip I can get at the front.
What is your opinion please?
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I’m inclined to agree with you, Nevers. Front tyres on FWD cars wear fastest so I think it makes sense to even out the wear by having the better tyres on the driving wheels.
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Kumho say new ones on rear:
http://kumhotyre.co.uk/kumho-news/should-you-fit-new-tyres-to-the-front-or-rear/
AA say best/new ones on rear:
https://www.theaa.com/driving-advice/safety/car-tyres
Kwik Fit say best on rear:
https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-rotation
Pretty conclusive unless results lower down say different or you don't trust any of them as "fake news"?
Edit: beaten to it by about 5 seconds...
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Thanks for the links Metheven and Doug, an interesting theory.
I understand their logic but would think that when towing you need more grip on the drive wheels.
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I agree that probably these tests are cars driven solo, but if the correct noseweight is upheld regarding the cars axle/suspension limits then there should be minimal scrabbling of the front drive.
I have seen towing vehicles with the rear suspension down and a big gap at the front between tyre and wheel arch, in which case I would need all the tread I could get
including a prayer or two.Also a caravan that gets a sway on would also need maximum grip of the rear axle wheels, especially on a wet surface and/or in windy conditions.
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Oops, that must have been my sister.
Just kidding sis.
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Michelin recommend new tyres to the rear whether front or rear wheel drive. I agree with the comments above though & given the choice would have the new tyres fitted to the front on the basis that if the front of the car goes where I was it to, the rear has to follow. Costco will only fit new tyres to the rear ..... assuming same size front & rear.
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Think it really depends on the vehicle.
Nissan recommend that the tyres are swapped same-side back to front every three to five thousand miles, to even out the wear so that the circumferences of the tyres stays the same. This is to ensure that when four-wheel drive is engaged, the risk of transmission “windup” is reduced. The Navara doesn’t have a central differential with slip. This means that drive to the back and front is evenly split at 50/50. Unequal sizes could result in either one set driving the others forcibly inducing wear or damage to the drivetrain.
My original tyres have now nearly completed thirty five thousand miles and 1mm above the wear bars in the treads and about to be replaced. Not bad for a set of tyres. Could never achieve that with the car.
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Like many others, I was always told to fit the new tyres to the front, this advice remained the same whether or not the car was front wheel drive. I don't know what has changed to alter that.
Luckily my Merc ML wears its tyres at exactly the same rate front and rear and to the same profile. You couldn't tell front from rear.
But of course the big disadvantage is that you are always saddled with buying 4 tyres at once!
I would like to hear the official reason for the changed advice to fit new tyres to the rear.
TF
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The rear tyres on a front wheel drive car will wear out far more slowly than the front ones.
Therefore if you keep fitting the new tyres to the front, you will be left with rear tyres that may have more than the legal tread limit but become quite physically old ......
I therefore fit the new tyres to the rear and move the rear tyres to the front, allowing them in turn to wear and so get replaced....
This is what we also do with a large fleet at work....
And for what it's worth this lifted from the AA website....
"New tyres to the front or back?
Check your handbook first but if it doesn’t give any specific advice then, whether your car’s front-wheel drive or rear-wheel drive the best/newest tyres should be on the back.Making sure you have your best tyres on the back will favour ‘understeer’ rather than ‘oversteer’ when grip is limited such as in very wet or cold conditions.
Understeer – the car tends to go straight on even though you’re turning the wheel.
Oversteer – the back end breaks free and the car is likely to spin.
Tyres with deeper tread grooves are less likely to puncture too and it's more difficult to control a car with a damaged rear tyre than one with a damaged front tyre".1 -
I have always thought that power steering caused premature wear to the front and have found this to be the case on my vehicles (rear wheel drive and 4x4) I have always asked the garage to diagonally swap them because of this to get maximum and even wear. It has worked for me. Don’t know about extra wear due to wheel spin on front wheel drive but think it would not do as much damage as the wiping motion of steering, unless badly driven. Don’t understand why new tyres should go on the rear.
Ken
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Other than the Prime Minister making an official announcement in parliament 'TF', you might have to make do with Kumho, Michelin, The AA and KWIK-Fit to name a few. I suppose with greater understanding and technology thinking changes, but its still a debatable choice.
Like you my tyres wear evenly (4x4) and I am never in that situation where I have to purchase two, but I personally think the change to the rear is advantageous only in adverse conditions.
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Be mindful of swapping diagonally, as a lot of tyres are directional and fitting them to the opposite side will have the running backwards.
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That’s a very good point John and well made. My Freelander came with Goodyear Wranglers that are non- directional and I replaced them at 37000 swapping them around. Goodyear recommend non directional for this purpose. I don’t know how it affects these new pressure sensors though!
Ken
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There are also asymmetrical tyres, I found this out when researching why OUTSIDE was written on the tyre wall
see here
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Initially you would assume that the tyres with deeper tread would be better on the front. The front tyres do most of the work, cornering, braking, dispersal of water and for the majority of cars also acceleration. However the vast majority of the tyre industry insist that the deeper treads should be on the rear. The reason being less weight and if rear tread is inferior to front tread, then rear end breakaway is a lethal combination. I used to teach on a skid pan. We always used rear wheel drive cars which replicated rear breakaway and my students loved every minute of it. Let them go on the pan with a front wheel drive car and they would be bored after 10 minutes and come off the pan. All tyres were smooth, no tread. IMO best treads at the rear. You are entitled to disagree, it is your car, your tyres and your risk assessment.
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My Hyundai dealer recommended that I change all four tyres at the same time to avoid "wind-up" issues on my old Tucson. Shame they didn't recommend regular swapping around to maintain even wear in the first place. Given the choice I'd always put new tyres on the front, that's where the steering happens!
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