Originally Posted By: Jarlaxle
Originally Posted By: d00df00d
Never in my life would I put the better tires on the rear axle. Even on my car, which is rear-wheel drive and more prone to oversteer than 99.9% of (stock) cars on the road.
It blows my mind that all tire shops recommend putting the better tires on the rear axle. Yes, you reduce the chance of oversteer. You also sacrifice braking distances and the ability to steer in bad conditions. Who on earth would think that's a good idea?
That's especially true given that oversteer is essentially nonexistent for virtually all cars on the road, even in bad conditions with badly mismatched tires. Almost all cars are front-wheel drive or all-wheel drive, which are inherently understeer-prone; virtually all cars, even if they're rear-wheel drive, are set up to do nothing but understeer unless they're deliberately and severely provoked. Even in the extremely rare cases when oversteer does happen, it's little more than a tiny squirm -- maybe enough to make the driver pucker, but not enough to cause an accident -- and it can almost always be compensated for by the driver.
By contrast: Braking distances are always important and a lot less forgiving. Bad tire choice always compromises braking, and when you can't stop in time, there's no way around it.
The only explanation I can imagine for the "new tires in the back" rule is that the tiny chance of a little squirm in the rear end feels worse to the everyday driver than the prospect of not being able to stop in time. I get that, but... sorry, it's stupid.
New tires in FRONT for me, always. I've only violated this rule once -- with my old car, which had staggered wheel sizes for its winter wheels and didn't permit tire rotation.
This post is the single strongest argument I have ever seen for making anyone who wants a licence to operate any motor vehicle pass a college-level course in the physics of vehicular motion before getting one! The ignorance is just STUNNING.
I had a tire replaced with a prorated road hazard warranty. I've got an AWD Subaru, and the said it was within the recommended size difference for a new tire. However, they knee-jerk recommended that the new one should go to the back. I pointed out that it would just increase the difference in tire wear since the fronts wear faster. They did what I asked, but it was clear that they went through their checklist.
If they really feel this, then why don't tire places recommend that rotations not be done in FWD or AWD cars?