two new tires... front or back?

[cptn janks]

my dad got two new tires on his car the other day. for some reason, the shop told him they should go on the front axle. he says they should go on the rear axle, and the tire manufacturers agree.

 

so if the manufacturer states put new tires on the rear, why do the shops disagree?

[87GT]

I thought it went "down front back and side to side??"

[cptn janks]

thats rotating the tires... and yeah, it goes across (right front to back left, vice versa) unless you have directional wheels/tires then you just go front to back.

 

but im talking about mounting two totally new tires.

[Clifford Automotive]

Maybe the front were wore too far???

 

Maybe they didnt know what they were doing???

[87GT]

thats rotating the tires... and yeah, it goes across (right front to back left, vice versa) unless you have directional wheels/tires then you just go front to back.

 

but im talking about mounting two totally new tires.

 

 

That was from a song

 

 

I would do what the manufacturer says, not what the shop says.

[cptn janks]

ohs.

 

i didnt recognize the song. sry

 

they ended up putting them on the front, but he switched them after he got home lol.

[Kevin R.]

We always put the new ones on the front if I remember correctly when I worked at NTB.

 

I guess because you steer with the front?

 

I looked up some articles, and it seems their only reasoning for going to the rear is because of hydroplaning.

 

EDIT: Yeah. All over the internet are articles from manufacturers telling you to put new on rear. But, in their defense, they do all say "recently tire manufacturers have said..." Might not be convincing yet, as years of habit and how it was done are hard to break.

[TurboRust]

in theory they want them on the rear because a fishtail is harder to control than the front end plowing. however they may have put his news on the front if the rear tires were worn in an odd way or cupped which could cause a bad vibe if on the front wheels, or could be a bent rim on one of the backs, but, I'm just guessing at those.

[nurkvinny]

Ok, I'll ask the obvious 2 questions... FWD or RWD, and which ones needed replaced?

[Buck531]

Should have went to Derek @ NTB and just got 4 tires for the price of two .

[neonkiller]

We always put the new ones on the front if I remember correctly when I worked at NTB.

 

I guess because you steer with the front?

 

I looked up some articles, and it seems their only reasoning for going to the rear is because of hydroplaning.

 

EDIT: Yeah. All over the internet are articles from manufacturers telling you to put new on rear. But, in their defense, they do all say "recently tire manufacturers have said..." Might not be convincing yet, as years of habit and how it was done are hard to break.

 

Incorrect on the first part correct on the second. You always want the tires with the most tread on the rear does not matter front or rear wheel drive.

 

Hydroplanning is increased with rain or snow and or hard turning you car will fish tail then prolly smash into somthing, I work at Disc Tire I tell people everyday to put them on the rear then they tell me i'm wrong... couple weeks later they come back in with a fucked up car and wanting to get new tires on the rear because they smashed there car into a divider cause they could not control there car in the rain...

 

Go ahead put em on the front so you can get maximum traction in the rain while taking off, But dont tell you i told you so.

[nurkvinny]

I sold tires for over 8 years. We put new tires on where the paying customer wanted them. Imagine that. As far as all the hydroplaning talk, I can see your point if - and only if - the rears are baby-ass smooth.

[TurboRust]

me personally, i'd rather have them on my drive wheels but I cant always do to a customers car what I would my own.

[AJ]

when replacing new tires you put the new on the back to brake them in since braking traction is not as good on a new tire then on a seasoned tire. this is what GM says to do and there reason why.

 

rotating tires is suposed to go rears straight to the front and the front cross and go to the back this way they make it all the way around the car for the most even wear and every 5th rotation they are back where they started.

[6 Speed S4]

me personally, i'd rather have them on my drive wheels but I cant always do to a customers car what I would my own.

+1

[BuckeyeGT]

Ok, I'll ask the obvious 2 questions... FWD or RWD, and which ones needed replaced?

 

seriously. put them on the drive axle.

[CobraKevin]

I sold tires for over 8 years. We put new tires on where the paying customer wanted them. Imagine that. As far as all the hydroplaning talk, I can see your point if - and only if - the rears are baby-ass smooth.

 

Gonna agree on this note. I think there are a number of different reasons to put better tires on either axle, regardless of drive. On my 'Stang, I preferred to have the better tires on the front during the winter to provide more stable stopping power in harsher weather and just deal with the fishtailing. Plus, when it's dry out, the less tread on the drive wheels the better.

 

On a FWD car, I almost always recommend the best tires be put on the front. Most of your braking and all of your power is coming from the front, so it only makes sense to have the best tires placed there.

 

As for rotations, we usually just go straight from front to back. There's less room for error when doing the work and for general purposes accomplishes the main goal - even wear on the tires. The Goodyear and Michelin books will tell you that FWD vehicles should have the fronts crossed to the rears and the rears move straight forward, and that RWD should be just the opposite. AWD vehicles should cross both fronts and rears to the other axle. This is all assuming non-directional tires. Even so, you could follow the same procedures, but it would involve dismounting and remounting tires.

 

-Kevin

[Bam]

Why not put one on the front and one on the back, problem solved, new tires on both ends. Voila! Where's my cookie bitches!?