winter tire up front
- Thread starter gerard
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The answer is yes and No. If your back tires have less tread than the front, they will begin to hydro plane first in rain and you can lose control before you know it. If you are putting them on for winter use only, and/or don't expect to drive in heavy rain conditions you will be fine.
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Originally Posted By: gerard
Is it safe?
In my opinion, no.
Having two winter tires up front will help the car accelerate on snow/ice, and it will give you a false sense of security. When it's time to turn, the back of the car will have significantly less snow traction and will make it very easy to spin the car around.
Would you feel safe walking in only one winter shoe?
Is it safe?
In my opinion, no.
Having two winter tires up front will help the car accelerate on snow/ice, and it will give you a false sense of security. When it's time to turn, the back of the car will have significantly less snow traction and will make it very easy to spin the car around.
Would you feel safe walking in only one winter shoe?
Quattro pete is exactly right,we had good snows on the front, and worn snows on the rear FWD car,one morning going to work with freshly fallen snow on the road i had to stop quickly at a stop light. Thank god no one was in the lanes beside me as before i could blink the car was facing 180 degrees the other way. put the good tires on the rear.
Originally Posted By: Quattro Pete
Originally Posted By: gerard
Is it safe?
In my opinion, no.
Having two winter tires up front will help the car accelerate on snow/ice, and it will give you a false sense of security. When it's time to turn, the back of the car will have significantly less snow traction and will make it very easy to spin the car around.
Would you feel safe walking in only one winter shoe?
+1
Originally Posted By: gerard
Is it safe?
In my opinion, no.
Having two winter tires up front will help the car accelerate on snow/ice, and it will give you a false sense of security. When it's time to turn, the back of the car will have significantly less snow traction and will make it very easy to spin the car around.
Would you feel safe walking in only one winter shoe?
+1
You are asmming that he has worn tires on the rear, if he has good tires, then that is not an issue. Snows on the front give far better braking on snow, give an extra margin of safety. Most cars have very weak braking in the rear and with FWD having the engine weight over the tires gived killer braking in winter. Very safe...
Gerard should clarify what tires will be used on the rear before any inteligent replies can be made.
Gerard should clarify what tires will be used on the rear before any inteligent replies can be made.
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Blue stream your are right, but the way he has asked this question i'm 95% sure he wants to run snows only on the front and summer or all seasons on the rear. Snows on the front do give much better braking but don"t forget the transfer of weight when the front end dips under braking.the rear end becomes very loose. This happens even on dry pavement, take your car and run it on a road course at a track, and you will know what i'm talking about.
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Originally Posted By: Bluestream
Gerard should clarify what tires will be used on the rear before any inteligent replies can be made.
From his post I gather that he will not be using winter tires on the rear.
The centrifugal forces acting on rear wheels are much higher, and as the other poster mentioned, during braking most of the weight gets transferred to the front, so it is very easy for the rear to become loose. All-season or summer tires do not provide good snow traction, so it'll be even easier to get the rear end loose.
I strongly suggest the OP runs 4 dedicated winter tires. Small price to pay for the added safety (yours and others on the roads).
Gerard should clarify what tires will be used on the rear before any inteligent replies can be made.
From his post I gather that he will not be using winter tires on the rear.
The centrifugal forces acting on rear wheels are much higher, and as the other poster mentioned, during braking most of the weight gets transferred to the front, so it is very easy for the rear to become loose. All-season or summer tires do not provide good snow traction, so it'll be even easier to get the rear end loose.
I strongly suggest the OP runs 4 dedicated winter tires. Small price to pay for the added safety (yours and others on the roads).
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2ObVLNHk-i4
about 3 mintues into the video shows you don't just install winter tires up front only!
about 3 mintues into the video shows you don't just install winter tires up front only!
Yes, I am aware of the centfifical forces on the rear and I agree that it can swing around, but that's part of driving a car on snow. You learn how to control, that and correct for it early on in your driving. I will take the increased braking, traction, and steering capabilty from the snows on the front, and I don't care what is said in the video. you need to have decent tires on the rear as well and not bald tires. I have been driving in winters for over 40 years and I know how to do it. Having said that it is dangerous to drive in RAIN with better tires on the front due to hydro-planing. That's why my snows come off as soon as the snow is gone. If I drive in rain during the winter, then common sense takes over and I slow down.
I guess for the average no-mind out there, do what the video says, and remember it when you hit a patch on snow and can't steer, or brake and hit something like a curb or another car!
I guess for the average no-mind out there, do what the video says, and remember it when you hit a patch on snow and can't steer, or brake and hit something like a curb or another car!
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I don't think anyone here is talking about bald tires,yes you can get buy with snows on the front and summer or all season tires on the rear, we all know you get better traction with snow tires. Most people here are saying for the average driver its better to run with snow tires on all four wheels. Also no amount of training is going to stop your fwd from spinning around in snow if you have to slam on the brakes in a panic situation, with snows on the front and lesser traction tires on the rear. Now with abs brakes things will improve.
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Take a look at this... http://www.tirerack.com/videos/index.jsp?video=22&tab=winter
Now imagine if it was the rear-end that wasn't doing its job. Ever heard of snap over-steer? Instead of going off nose first, as the car in the video does, you'll get to do it sideways. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not particularly anxious to wrap any of my vehicles around a tree. I suspect it just might hurt...
Now imagine if it was the rear-end that wasn't doing its job. Ever heard of snap over-steer? Instead of going off nose first, as the car in the video does, you'll get to do it sideways. I don't know about anyone else, but I'm not particularly anxious to wrap any of my vehicles around a tree. I suspect it just might hurt...
ABS won't help much, while ESP might to some small degree. One has to keep in mind that these systems only maximize the use of what traction is available. They can do nothing to increase it. Only your choice of tires will improve your vehicle's grip.
It's not that hard to decide whether another pair of winter tires are worth the cost. Just ask yourself, "Do these tires cost more than my insurance deductible?"
It's not that hard to decide whether another pair of winter tires are worth the cost. Just ask yourself, "Do these tires cost more than my insurance deductible?"
I used snow tires on the front only on fwd cars I owned for years before I got my 4x4 Silverado and never had a problem. Alot has to do with driver competance and common sense.
Been there and done that and never had that problem. I guess I was just lucky.
Yes, competance is key here. if you are an amateur you need to look at things differently. But keep in mind that most cars rear brakes do not apply evenly. One tire will lock up before the other. On snow it takes next to nothing to lock up a tire. So brakes that are fine on dry roads will lock up at different times on snow/ice. If you have two new snows on the rear and one tire locks up, you are going into a spin, This is less likely to happen with all-season tires in the rear as they will grab less.
The video was made in support Quebec's manditory snow tire law. The tire manufactuers love this law are are making a killing fitting all Quebec cars with snow tires. At no time did the video look at steering or traction with snows on the front. It was staged to make the point they wanted. I am a big supporter of snow on all fours, but a single mom or the guy off work may have trouble affording them when they need to pay rent or buy food
The video was made in support Quebec's manditory snow tire law. The tire manufactuers love this law are are making a killing fitting all Quebec cars with snow tires. At no time did the video look at steering or traction with snows on the front. It was staged to make the point they wanted. I am a big supporter of snow on all fours, but a single mom or the guy off work may have trouble affording them when they need to pay rent or buy food
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Originally Posted By: hemitom
we all know about competance and common sense, what they are trying to say here is in a emergency stop slamming on the brakes the rear end is going to come around with lesser traction tires on the rear.
The back end kicking out during braking is pretty easy to deal with, as you can simply let off the brakes for a moment before reapplying. With a decent ABS system, that shouldn't even be an issue anyway. The real danger is that you could be cornering and your back end will lose traction and suddenly swing around, putting you in a spin. If you countersteer and give it enough gas, you might be able to save it, depending on driver skill and how fast it comes around.
To me, it comes down to this: if you you will be driving on any road conditions where the front tires have more traction than the back (not including a minor difference in tread depth), you probably shouldn't do it. The bigger the difference in tread and compound, and the worse the road conditions, the more danger is involved in the judgment call you make.
One thing they ignore in the video's quest to promote the use of four winter tires is that the truck is still better off in winter with two winter tires in back and all-seasons in front than with four all-seasons.
we all know about competance and common sense, what they are trying to say here is in a emergency stop slamming on the brakes the rear end is going to come around with lesser traction tires on the rear.
The back end kicking out during braking is pretty easy to deal with, as you can simply let off the brakes for a moment before reapplying. With a decent ABS system, that shouldn't even be an issue anyway. The real danger is that you could be cornering and your back end will lose traction and suddenly swing around, putting you in a spin. If you countersteer and give it enough gas, you might be able to save it, depending on driver skill and how fast it comes around.
To me, it comes down to this: if you you will be driving on any road conditions where the front tires have more traction than the back (not including a minor difference in tread depth), you probably shouldn't do it. The bigger the difference in tread and compound, and the worse the road conditions, the more danger is involved in the judgment call you make.
One thing they ignore in the video's quest to promote the use of four winter tires is that the truck is still better off in winter with two winter tires in back and all-seasons in front than with four all-seasons.
I run 4 snow tires,and they work perfectly.
Little noisy on dry pavement.
Turn up the stereo.
Little noisy on dry pavement.
Turn up the stereo.
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