I've always rotated my tyres and in 16 years of driving never had an issue. I'm unsure why you would?

Just taken mine off and replaced with team Dynamics pro 1.2 with yoko parada. Unsure about grip yet one thing is for sure they are quieter than the ome tyres.

Old tyres worn on front to just over 2mm and rears have about 4mm but they have the old sawtooth effect.

Had falken on the fabia, not a bad tyre, and lasted well.

Hankooks all round,

Can't go wrong,

Some of you have got it wrong:

If only replacing two tyres......ALWAYS put new tyres on the rear and part worn on the front....ALWAYS

Some of you have got it wrong:

If only replacing two tyres......ALWAYS put new tyres on the rear and part worn on the front....ALWAYS

There's different schools of thought on this; I can see pros and cons of both. As above I rotate so invariably for a period I will have the tyres with most grip on the front (after swapping round) and I have never ever suffered from oversteer where I have not deliberately tried to induce it; even then it's a difficult thing to achieve in a front wheel drive car. Of course wet conditions make it more likely. Something like 70% of your braking is at the front wheels so in the wet it stands to reason your stopping distance is going to be less the better the grip on the tyres so there's an argument for newest tyres going on the front. This assumes the tyres on the rear have a reasonable amount of grip (otherwise they should be changed anyway); this being the case I really don't see the risk of oversteer being significantly increased under normal driving conditions.

It's an interesting debate and like most things, not black and white.

Edited 7 August, 201213 yr by Guest

Found this:

New tires should always be mounted on the rear (YES! THE BACK) of any vehicle. Here is why: When a vehicle encounters a loss of traction scenario on the front wheels, traction can easily be established by the average driver by.......................................... slowing down this is easily recoverable it is called Understeer When a vehicle encounters a loss of traction scenario on the rear wheels , the driver cannot compensate, effectively. This is called Oversteer, or "Fishtailing", and is not easily recoverable by the average driver. Therefore, the tires with the "best" tread should be mounted on the rear axle, to avoid possible life-threatening vehicle control problems Source(s): Institute for Automotive Service Excellence ASE Certified Service Consultant Motorist Assurance Program (MAP) Uniform Inspection Guidelines 15 years experience diagnosing automobile-related problems Rubber Manufacturing Association (RMA) Guidelines.

Having read that it still for me comes down to risk of oversteer vs risk of reduced braking ability.

There was a piece on one of the motoring shows a few years ago that did a test showing why you should always put the newer tyres on the back rather than the front. Basically it reduces oversteer but the results were an eye opener, all of the big tyre fitters always put the 2 new ones on the back so there must be something in it.

I remember that - it was Vicki Butler-Henderson on Fifth Gear. Here's the video

Found this:

New tires should always be mounted on the rear (YES! THE BACK) of any vehicle. Here is why: When a vehicle encounters a loss of traction scenario on the front wheels, traction can easily be established by the average driver by.......................................... slowing down this is easily recoverable it is called Understeer When a vehicle encounters a loss of traction scenario on the rear wheels , the driver cannot compensate, effectively. This is called Oversteer, or "Fishtailing", and is not easily recoverable by the average driver. Therefore, the tires with the "best" tread should be mounted on the rear axle, to avoid possible life-threatening vehicle control problems Source(s): Institute for Automotive Service Excellence ASE Certified Service Consultant Motorist Assurance Program (MAP) Uniform Inspection Guidelines 15 years experience diagnosing automobile-related problems Rubber Manufacturing Association (RMA) Guidelines.

Having read that it still for me comes down to risk of oversteer vs risk of reduced braking ability.

I rest my case

I'm confused what people are wrong? Nothing said has given evidence that rotating the tyres causes accidents and is unsafe.

I get the new tyres on the rear part though one could also argue that grip is less during the bedding in period there by could cause oversteer.

Personally I'm happy to continue rotation of tyres and replace all 4 at once.

Honestly - you lot really think its unsafe to put better tyres on the front than on the back, in case you find yourselves in a situation where you are suddenly on the verge of losing control and the back lets go before the front?

For most drivers, the only time they are on the verge of losing grip is in an emergency braking situation and for braking you obviously want more grip on the front.

Wrong!

I refer you to my earlier post #28

For most drivers, the only time they are on the verge of losing grip is in an emergency braking situation and for braking you obviously want more grip on the front.

In any braking situation the brakes act on the fronts and the rears with a bigger percentage of the force going to the front tyres. In an emergency braking situation there is still this split of force, however if you have loads more grip at the front and these don't lock up, the backs might. If the backs lock up in this scenario then you find yourself quickly going backwards very quickly.

Don't believe me? Get a toy Matchbox type car. Put a blob on bluetack on the sides at the back to stop rear wheels turning. Place car on a plank of wood or sheet of mdf etc and start to tilt. The car will run down and the back will slide around. Now try this with the fronts locked up.

Cant comment on tyre performance on skoda as i just got mine but i had continentals on my BMW and they lasted twice as long and the bridgestone tyres that came on the car. I changed to Goodyear Eagle F1's on a golf i had and noticed considerably worse fuel consumption as a result. The wet weather grip was amazing but i was easily getting 3-4mpg worse with them. Unfortunately i cant remember what tyre i had befor ethe F1's as i had this car a few years ago.

Ultimately it would depend on how hard you drive i.e on the limit of grip or not. If not then i doubt you would notice any slight reduction of ultimate perfromance for a semi-budget tyre like hankook or falkens compared to the big well known brands.

I normally just go to black circles.com and see whats on special offer and then google a review on them.

I am here to debunk some of this petrolhead nonsense. Why does anyone ever listen to Vicky Bulter Whotshername anyway?

In any braking situation the brakes act on the fronts and the rears with a bigger percentage of the force going to the front tyres. In an emergency braking situation there is still this split of force, however if you have loads more grip at the front and these don't lock up, the backs might. If the backs lock up in this scenario then you find yourself quickly going backwards very quickly.

Don't believe me? Get a toy Matchbox type car. Put a blob on bluetack on the sides at the back to stop rear wheels turning. Place car on a plank of wood or sheet of mdf etc and start to tilt. The car will run down and the back will slide around. Now try this with the fronts locked up.

But you're not driving a toy car, you're driving a road car with ABS and a chassis-stability programme.

OK sorry you may be driving a toy car. I was referring to "most drivers".

Edited 7 August, 201213 yr by TDIum

I am here to debunk some of this petrolhead nonsense. Why does anyone ever listen to Vicky Bulter Whotshername anyway?

But you're not driving a toy car, you're driving a road car with ABS and a chassis-stability programme.

OK sorry you may be driving a toy car. I was referring to "most drivers".

yada yada yada . . . .

Yes, but no but . . these are driving aids. You should not rely on driving aids. They are not infallible especially under lateral forces such as in a bend. You should rely on common sense and research of [professional] people that know better than you. You can put your tyres where you flaming well like, just don't go advising others to put them where they are not recommended

yada yada yada . . . .

Yes, but no but . . these are driving aids. You should not rely on driving aids. They are not infallible especially under lateral forces such as in a bend. You should rely on common sense and research of [professional] people that know better than you. You can put your tyres where you flaming well like, just don't go advising others to put them where they are not recommended

Right back at you, you patronising ****.

Play nicely people or you'll get your toys taken away. :-P

I'll post a report of the yoko's this weekend once I've done a bit of mileage on them.

Right back at you, you patronising ****.

Oh dear. I seem to have hit a nerve here. So terribly sorry old chap.

Play nice kids

I'm going to get all 4 done as I've always had matching tyres all round and it would bug me. Also I'd really like to get away from the Dunlops after reading on here since I've had the car, how rubbish they are. I would have to pay about £20 a corner for fitting so doing mail order, with the hassle of storing they tyres is not really worth it.

I have had new tyres placed on the back the last three times I've bought any. 2 new on the rear, best of the rest (usually rears) moved to the front. Then, when I require two more the "nearly new" rears move to the front and the brand new ones hit the rear again.

It'll be the same when I eventually need new tyres for my current car.

I have had new tyres placed on the back the last three times I've bought any. 2 new on the rear, best of the rest (usually rears) moved to the front. Then, when I require two more the "nearly new" rears move to the front and the brand new ones hit the rear again.

It'll be the same when I eventually need new tyres for my current car.

Correct

In a panic situation the first thing the average driver does even if he dosent brake is to lift off the power which transfers more of the vehicles weight to the front of the car. If you have lost control of the front you stand a very good chance of regaining some control as the front tyres have more weight on them inducing potentially more grip. If you have lost the rear you will then have less weight over the wheels meaning less grip. Its been proven time & time again & having personally witnessed 3 youngsters in hot hatches have huge slides on fast roundabouts lifting off having lost the rear, one ending up parked on top of the roundabout its all to easy to see whats happened. The average budding racing driver on here will of course just drop it down a gear, plant the loud pedal, loads of opposite lock & pull it neatly through the situation ( or have a bigger crash )

As for the theory of best tyres on the front for braking that may be true in a straight line on a perfect road (anyone seen one recently ?) but if you arent going straight or on an uneven road less rear grip will mean the back no longer following the front.

having personally witnessed 3 youngsters in hot hatches have huge slides on fast roundabouts lifting off having lost the rear, one ending up parked on top of the roundabout its all to easy to see whats happened.

Did you look to see if they had just fitted brand new unbraded tyre's to the rear with there old grippy branded tyes now on the front provided grip & feel, each situcation is different. .

Did you look to see if they had just fitted brand new unbraded tyre's to the rear with there old grippy branded tyes now on the front provided grip & feel, each situcation is different. .

Nope, just smiled as they all learnt a big lesson without hurting themselves & the one who ended up on the roundabout had minimal damage. It just illustrated that the average driver once he looses the rear end wont get it back so having decent rear grip makes that less likely. I would agree each situation is different & you cant generalise but also you cant beat the laws of physics, just work within them.

I had a good look at the rears and there is a little bit of 50p style wear on the insides. You can see and feel it, will putting them on the front even out the wear?

Mine had the saw tooth wear on the rears so swapped front to rear. After 8k the fronts now are even worn and the rears now have the sawtooth effect, and if that makes sense.

So yes it did even out the wear.