That's the correct way to do it. Tire shops generally will only install a pair of winter tires on the back. You're also supposed to use new tires on the rear axle if you don't replace all 4. Yeah you lose some steering and braking, but the vehicle will be much, much more stable. Better tires on the back than the front result in understeer, good tires in front result in oversteer. Oversteer is much more difficult to control and more dangerous.
Who has their winter tires on already?
- Thread starter Corollaman
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Yes very true BUT that is also with same tire type, preferably brand and model (4 all seasons, 4 winter, 4 summer). Many tire places won't put the new or more tread tires on the front due to this. I think Costco is 3-4/32" max difference unless you sign the liability waiver.
For winter tires all the manufacturers (and tire places) say 4 tires due to the large difference in overall traction. Even my '83 Honda Civic had that in the owners manual.
From Tirerack-
Why can't I use only two winter tires?
If you were to put winter tires on only the front or rear of your vehicle, you would create a vehicle with a split personality.Leading automobile manufacturers such as BMW, Mercedes-Benz, Honda, Nissan and Toyota recommend in their owner's manuals that you install four winter tires for winter driving. By installing four winter tires, you maintain the most balanced and controlled handling possible in all winter driving conditions. It is imperative to keep the same level of traction at all four corners of the car; otherwise, the full benefits of ABS or traction control systems will be lost.
We tested mixed vs. matched tires on vehicles in the winter. Here are the results.
I do the same with our Silverado, two winter tires on the rear. If I were driving it a lot I'd go ahead and have them on all four but during the winter the truck isn't driven much. I've owned four rear wheel drive trucks over the years and on everyone of them it's been just two winter tires on the rear.
I put on the snows this weekend after a bit of snow the night before and it was good as I could do some comparison testing on the driveway. Unsurprisingly the snows at 9/32 really did work alot better than the all seasons with 6/32 tread.
Wish you a full recovery .
I just drive the truck to the dump and can wait for clear weather. But I spun it out on blown snow that was pretty much as thick on the road as a layer of paint. Buying two new winter tires used up that heap's budget.
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When I was a teenager I drove VW Rabbit. One winter I put some beefy snow tires in the front, thinking that's all I needed since it was just a tiny little FWD car.
I often drove like a moron back then, racing thru it's 4 gears while trying to use up every last drop of it's 40-some-odd horsepower (or whatever it had).
Well, it caught up to me a few times when I would end up doing a complete 360, completely by surprise while going around a curve. When that happens, it happens fast, and there's almost nothing you can do except for hang on and wait (and hope) for your car to point forward again, when you can then give it some gas and try to steer it ahead again.
I would have never believed it was even possible to get over-steer in a little FWD vehicle, but you can if there's enough of a difference in traction between the fronts and the backs.
I often drove like a moron back then, racing thru it's 4 gears while trying to use up every last drop of it's 40-some-odd horsepower (or whatever it had).
Well, it caught up to me a few times when I would end up doing a complete 360, completely by surprise while going around a curve. When that happens, it happens fast, and there's almost nothing you can do except for hang on and wait (and hope) for your car to point forward again, when you can then give it some gas and try to steer it ahead again.
I would have never believed it was even possible to get over-steer in a little FWD vehicle, but you can if there's enough of a difference in traction between the fronts and the backs.
A talented driver can make ANY car oversteer, though I'm not surprised at all your rabbit did with winter tires on the fronts only.
No snow tires here but I am thinking about buying a pair of warm boots just in case.
FWD cars will snap oversteer all the time in track conditions with good tires all round(ask me how I know lol). Static weight distribution on them is so wonky, get too much weight off the back during cornering or transition on a stock alignment car will bite you very fast. Theres a reason so many great racers come from icy climates, it teaches you at the limit car control without the track fees.
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Same for me. I live in an area that snows heavily but theres only 1-2 drives a winter where I ever feel wanting for snow tires, and I just drive slow then. Never had a problem or even a particularly close call. If I had kids or snow tires had any kind of dry road durability I might consider them.
where i live , winter tires are mandatory from 1st december to march 15. police make checks all the time. i had mine already on my car on october 21. we already had a very intense blizzard 2 days ago. i have the newer michelin x ice snow tires. they performed very well during the blizzard.
I did that in my '83 Civic. Not driving stupid just driving a little under speed limit. I posted on that. Shop had recommended 4 and said to check manual. Dad never did so I didn't either. 1-2 weeks later I was back at shop buying the other 2.
When it starts to slide most people let off the gas or hit the brake. That transfers more weight to front making that worse.
Budgets prevail. If no need to go out, not a concern. I'd rather get stuck early, not moving to say my vehicle is not equipped correctly than not be able to stop or turn. As somebody once told me "4WD is great as it gets you in trouble faster and further away from help"
Yes, key is to keep the gas on, but that's an issue if the fronts can't provide more traction either... you'll take a wider and widening trajectory but hopefully keep the car pointed the correct way. If the corner comes to an end soon enough you'll be ok.
It's an issue in the rain with my winter tyres, on low grip surfaces. I guess it's good butt cheek exercise...
I know what a Winter tire is and just being a bit sarcastic, being in Florida. Flotation tires? Now that's funny.
Good one.Yes I know, same here. All good.I know what a Winter tire is and just being a bit sarcastic, being in Florida. Flotation tires? Now that's funny.
Agree. The beauty of FWD is that oversteer is quite easily gained control
of by just stomping onto the gas and of course adequately countersteer.
Breaking makes oversteer worse. However race track (high µ) and snow/ice
(low µ) are different. High µ makes for huge weight transfer while low µ
only little though it's still better to avoid breaking when your rear starts to
drift.
.
Not all FWD will snap oversteer. Some FWD cars will lift-off oversteer (snap oversteer) as their suspension, in particular was designed for it. The 7th gen Celica was particular good at this, especially in an empty parking lot racing the cones. My old Torsion beam rear suspension Golf won't snap oversteer, requires the application of the hand brake to get the rear end around.
The Fins, are particularly good at this due to their extensive driver training needed to get a license. See Top Gear's episode with Mika Häkkinen "training" James May for an amateur race that also has a declared vehicle value limit.
Get better soon BigJohn. I had a collapsed lung at 19 years old in 2009. I was in the hospital for over a week and needed surgery, definitely not a fun thing to go through. I just remember watching countless hours of the History channel as that was the only TV station they had.
