New tires best in front or rear?

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Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: Cujet

Here in South Florida, with the heavy rains and near zero corners, just high speed highways, it's considerably safer to have the new tires on the front. As they move the standing water away from the rear tires that have less tread, leading to a good overall result. Loss of steering due to hydroplaining bald front tires while at speed on the highway is unrecoverable.


Thanks!

I said the same thing about SE TX. The deeper tread on front evacuates a path through the layer of water on the road, allowing the rear tires with less tread to travel in the same cleared path.

I wish more people could realize not all advice fits all circumstances.


Are you aware that the track (width between tires on the same axle) is different front to rear? I've tried to find vehicles where that was not true to no avail. Because of that, there isn't a path completely cleared by the front tires (snow and water). There is always some snow/water in the path.

Not to mention that it makes using a string to do an alignment more difficult.
 
Originally Posted By: Traction
Having driven many cars at the limit, whether dirt track racing, karting, autocrossing, or everyday driving, there is a HUGE difference at the limit with a FWD car even with 4 matching tires. A FWD car is extremely difficult to recover from in an over- steer condition, compared to a RWD in which you would usually run the best tires in the rear. It's much more instinctive to counter-steer with a RWD, but with a FWD, all H311 breaks loose.


Which is my point. Very likely Tom drive a FWD car. 100% steering, 100% motive traction and 80% braking - all going on in front. He has rain and some snow. He's cautious, he won't be going fast, so if the rear brakes loose, it'll be slow slide to the side.

As long as he is rolling along, all the needs of mountain country mean best traction in steering, going, and stopping ... That ain't happening on the back.

This is NOT an ex police Crown Vic
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I get the skid pad with water flowing across. That's like a lightly flooded roadway. So maybe you should be driving 20 MPH in those conditions. Now, Tom lives in the mountains, so what if we had 6" of mud on the road and a FWD car. Where do you want the most tread now? Or going up a wet muddy road to get to the pavement? Or coming out the driveway at 10 MPH with 6" of new snow?

Skid pads are great demos of surprises on pavement. Other than that, they are kinda useless ... I don't live in a skip pad world. I drive on dirt 40% of the time. He may too. Sheeted water on asphalt is not all that common. But mud may be ...

I dunno, Tom needs to supply more info about how and where he drives ...
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Originally Posted By: gfh77665
Originally Posted By: Cujet

Here in South Florida, with the heavy rains and near zero corners, just high speed highways, it's considerably safer to have the new tires on the front. As they move the standing water away from the rear tires that have less tread, leading to a good overall result. Loss of steering due to hydroplaining bald front tires while at speed on the highway is unrecoverable.


Thanks!

I said the same thing about SE TX. The deeper tread on front evacuates a path through the layer of water on the road, allowing the rear tires with less tread to travel in the same cleared path.

I wish more people could realize not all advice fits all circumstances.


I make no claims that new tires on the front is better. Only that it works very well for me. My turbocharged S2000 goes through rear tires like crazy. Sometimes as few as 8000 miles. So I get to experience the joy of low rear tread in heavy rains with regularity. It's a non issue. However, when the fronts have low tread, the car hydroplanes immediately, at very low speeds.

One other point, FWD cars do not have 50/50 weight distribution. So the additional weight over the bald front tires helps in wet conditions.

Remember, we have exceedingly few corners in South Florida. Nearly all high speed roads are effectively straight. We turn at intersections, at low speed.
 
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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno


I dunno, Tom needs to supply more info about how and where he drives ...
smile.gif



My car is a 2008 Nissan Altima automatic FWD with 16" rims, and my wife's car (also needs two new tires) is a 2003 Mitsubishi Eclipse stick FWD with 17" rims. She is a bit heavier on the gas than me.

In our area we have lots of hills and few straight lines. Primary roads are paved curvy mountain roads with speed limits of 55 mph (means we do 60+!). Also lots of private drives that are long curvy gravel lanes. Our drive is only 500' long and paved but sharply curved and steeply uphill. We get about 45" of rain per year, and maybe 2-5 snows in winter. If we have snow, or anticipate muddy or rough roads when visiting friends, we take our Toyota Tacoma 4WD pick-up truck.

So the two passenger cars that each need two tires will generally see hills and curves on paved roads at slow to moderately high speeds.

Tom
 
If your good tires have at least 5 mil of tread and are all seasons then I would mount them in the rear and put the new ones in the front. The following year it may be wise to rotate them front to back.
 
OK, now we know that Tom does not live near, or on, a skid pad. And the roads he drives are not flat, so lots of drainage. Also lots of gravel drives.

For up-hill wet traction I'd be looking at new on front. For downhill braking, same
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Originally Posted By: BrocLuno
OK, now we know that Tom does not live near, or on, a skid pad. And the roads he drives are not flat, so lots of drainage. Also lots of gravel drives.

For up-hill wet traction I'd be looking at new on front. For downhill braking, same
smile.gif


That's just great for you, but personally I have never worn out just 2 tires, and have never bought less than 4 in over 45 years of owning many different vehicles. It's 4 new tires for me every time, plus a winter set too. So, at least I have chance of getting out of the way of whatever else is on the road in any condition. You can't save any money in the ditch.
 
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Originally Posted By: CapriRacer

Are you aware that the track (width between tires on the same axle) is different front to rear? I've tried to find vehicles where that was not true to no avail. Because of that, there isn't a path completely cleared by the front tires (snow and water). There is always some snow/water in the path.


I have followed behind many vehicles while driving in the torrential rains of SETX. On our pancake flat, arrow straight roads, the rear tires follow almost exactly in the cleared path the front ones left. The momentary tracks in the rain are very easy to see.
 
Originally Posted By: Donald
Some places will only install them on the rear.


Most franchise will only install on the rear for liability reason.
 
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