Tire Rotation, two new tires

[thescreensavers]

We had two new tires put on a Sonata, which went onto the rear. (4k Miles ago)

I rotate the tires every oil change but, with two new tires, I'm not sure if I should put the newer tires on the front axle.

The Original two tires have 32k on them, and have decent amount of tread.


What do you guys think? Just follow a normal tire rotation?

 

[WyrTwister]

At one time it was said of radials , do not swap them side to side . Do not know if that is still true ?

Honestly , unless a tire is wearing abnormally , I never rotate them . If so , time to get alignment checked anyway .

On our FWD vehicles , the fronts seem to wear out 2 to 1 , compared to the rears . I just replace them by twos , as needed .

I prefer it that way . Only have to come up with the cash for 2 new tires at a time , in stead of 4 at a time .

But , back to your question . Do you drive a lot on slick roads ? If not , I would tell you to go ahead and rotate them front to back .

 

[knerml]

There are two schools of thought for FWD vehicle new tire placement, if not replacing all 4 at one time:
1. Put new tires on front, because of of faster wear rate and traction
2. Michelin suggests putting new tires on rear, to keep the car from oversteering (spinning)

Regardless, if you do rotate, suggest rotating them front to back and not switching sides.

 

[Kira]

I heard a third school of thought regarding purchasing 2 new tires.

Put the new pair on the back axle; old ones up front.
In the event of an older tire failing, you'll have more control of your vehicle because you have the steering wheel in your hands.

I like the #2 above.

 

[berniedd]

How old are the two original tires? If they are older than 4 years, I'd keep them at the front so they would be 6 or so years when they are worn out and need to be replaced. If they are less than 3 years old, I'd rotate but only front to back.

 

[Sayjac]

Originally Posted by knerml
…...2. Michelin suggests putting new tires on rear, to keep the car from oversteering (spinning)…..
Add Tire Rack and Discount Tire to that recommendation.

To topic, in this case I would not rotate the tires. Just drive it. Then when time for front replacement, rear to front. New in rear.

 

[geeman789]

Costco where I live WILL NOT install two new tires on the front, period. Why ... ?

Because installing the new tires on the front will give those front tires more grip in deep water and / or snow. And possibly, in a worst case scenario ( heavy rain, high speed corner, icy highway) lead to oversteer / or a spin. And most drivers don't do oversteer very well ... and they tend to sue when they crash ! The automotive rule of thumb is that understeer is the driver's fault, you were going too fast for conditions. Oversteer is the car's fault ... not the drivers ! We all know that isn't the case in every situation, but tire installers don't want to ever have the finger pointed at them in a crash lawsuit.

Assuming the replacement two tires are identical to, or very similar to the ones being replaced, the crucial variable is how worn the rear tires actually are. At the wear bar rear tires with new fronts is potentially dangerous in the wet. 1/2 tread or more on the rears, less of an issue.

I once put two new premium winter tires on the front of a FWD car with 1/2+ worn high performance all seasons on the rear ... huge mis-match in snow / ice traction. I found the car to be " sort of fun ... think DRIFT mode " at low city speeds, but un-driveable at highway speed. One 100 mile highway drive on a snowy, cold winter day, where my top speed was maybe 40 mph (everyone else 60+ ), and nearly spinning off the road like 50 times, led to the purchase of matching rear tires. Lesson learned !

 

[CapriRacer]

Originally Posted by WyrTwister
At one time it was said of radials , do not swap them side to side . Do not know if that is still true ? ……..


That is no longer true. In the early days of steel belted tires, the thought was, because the adhesion of the rubber to the wire wasn't very good, a separation would develop on one side of the wire - and to reduce the risk that the separation would go completely around the wire - it was argued - the direction of rotation shouldn't be changed.

Personally, I think that was all a bunch of hokum to begin with, but certainly, wire to rubber adhesion has greatly improved and those kinds of failure rarely occur.

Originally Posted by thescreensavers
We had two new tires put on a Sonata, which went onto the rear. (4k Miles ago)

I rotate the tires every oil change but, with two new tires, I'm not sure if I should put the newer tires on the front axle.

The Original two tires have 32k on them, and have decent amount of tread.


What do you guys think? Just follow a normal tire rotation?


I would think that if you rotated tires regularly, then you shouldn't have a significant difference in wear between fronts and the rears - and that your old tires should be ready for replacement.

If this in not the case, then DO NOT rotate tires.

In order to reduce the risk of losing traction on the rear and spinning out, the best tires need to go on the rear. Losing traction on the front is recoverable once you slow down - not so on the rear.

 

[thescreensavers]

Originally all tires are from Mid 2016, One tire had gotten damaged and separated internally.

It caused a very bad vibration and pull, spinning the wheel off the ground you could see the defect, so we had to replace two tires.


Thanks CapriRacer, I was leaning towards leaving the tires as is.

 

[doyall]

Originally Posted by CapriRacer
Originally Posted by WyrTwister
At one time it was said of radials , do not swap them side to side . Do not know if that is still true ? ……..


That is no longer true. ...


Rotation recommendation in my '18 F-150 Owner's Manual: