I'm just about to buy two new tyres (to replace front ones).

I currently have the original bridgestone turanzos (?) on the back with about 4mm thread left. These aren't the best of tyres for grip but they have a good lifespan it seems.

So my question is, should I put the best tyres on the front or the rear, especially for the wet/cold winter months ahead?

I have a Jabba Rear ARB, rear spacers and front strut brace if that changes anything.

Thanks

Rear. they always say put new tyres on the rear.

Rear for me too. I'd rather run out of grip at the front first, rather than the back.

Steve

I'd say front, despite what others say, I'd rather have some tyres that can dissipate water on the steering wheels, especially this time of year!

Chris

Cheers for the opinions..... still not sure though :confused:

Anyone else?

Rear - understeer is better than snap oversteer, I speak from painful experience.

I'm with Chris - I'd rather have grip on the steering wheels and the ability to dissipate water rather than aquaplane when hitting a deep puddle.

(Those that saw my tyres at the Syston meet - they're still the same! :p )

That said if you're quite an erratic driver then put them on the rear to prevent snap oversteer if you lift whilst cornering hard.

Front. All your acceleration and most of your brakeing is on the front. And as winter is fast approaching I'd prefer having tyres that can deal with water.

Front. All your acceleration and most of your brakeing is on the front. And as winter is fast approaching I'd prefer having tyres that can deal with water.

I agree!!

Michelin advise putting new tyres on the back

Michelin car tyres company : new tyre

Personally I would rather have grip at the front as in bad weather I don't see myself pushing it to the extent that I would be losing grip at the back. I would rather have better braking ability.

Michelin advise putting new tyres on the back.

Dont trust them, they are French, did you see the Formula 1 race they messed up?

Just had 2 new tyres fitted to the front this morning, they will stay there untill after winter when they are nicely worn in and shift to the back so the ones that are half worn now can be worn out on the front and replaced.

AC;)

They must be better on the front as you then restore the grip of the driven wheels for steering etc, whats better to control a front wheel skid or a rear wheel skid ? obviously you can control the rear wheels loosing grip much better as you can steer around objects !

New tyres on the back until they have done a few hundred miles ,I was told that new tyres are soft and putting them on the front (FWD) wears them very quickly .Putting them on the back and warming them up a few times allows some of the chemicals from the moulding process to dissapate and the tyres to harden .

New tyres on the back until they have done a few hundred miles ,I was told that new tyres are soft and putting them on the front (FWD) wears them very quickly .Putting them on the back and warming them up a few times allows some of the chemicals from the moulding process to dissapate and the tyres to harden .

The tyre place this morning recommended leaving them on the front and scrubbing off all the release chemicals etc from the manufacturing process as quickly as possible, therefore getting the real grip from the tyre sooner than swapping new to the back.

AC :confused:

Rear every time.

If you loose grip at the front 99% of the time its recoverable unless you are going far too quickly !!

If you loose grip at the rear it often ends in an off. If the back of the car starts to break away the instinct is to try & slow down, as you do so even by just lifting off more weight is transmitted to the front wheels from the back so the back now has even less grip, if you are already loosing the rear it only gets worse.

For those who dont believe me find a big area of Tarmac or a very wide EMPTY roundabout in the wet & experiment. Try driving around fairly quickly but not on the limit & then experiment with full throttle then lifting off. With full throttle the car will tend not to want to corner & lifting off will redress the balance, When you suddenly lift off you will feel steerage getting better but the rear tending to want to step out.

Now were you travelling at a high speed & you lost front grip lifting off might save you, if you were loosing rear grip lift off & it all gets worse.

To add the young twit near Winchester who drove round me on a wide roundabout on Saturday in an old Escort thought he was doing really well, then it started to drift, he lifted went sideways & then shot up onto the roundabout as it all gripped again, thankfully he was past me before his little demonstration.

Think it's down to personnal preference .....being an old dinosaur who was brought up on RWD cars I always have the better tyres on the front ''''if the front goes you just hang on ...wiggle the steering about and wait until the speed has dropped so they grip again (anyone owned an Astra )......if the rear goes the steering does give you some control.....also as already mentioned wet weather grip.....and a new tyre is less likely to deflate/blowout unless damaged ...if it's going to do that I would much prefer it to happen to a rear tyre.

I know the tyre fitters will say they must go on the rear wheels but I have found that sales over suggestion always wins

Rear every time.

If you loose grip at the front 99% of the time its recoverable unless you are going far too quickly !!

If you loose grip at the rear it often ends in an off. If the back of the car starts to break away the instinct is to try & slow down, as you do so even by just lifting off more weight is transmitted to the front wheels from the back so the back now has even less grip, if you are already loosing the rear it only gets worse.

For those who dont believe me find a big area of Tarmac or a very wide EMPTY roundabout in the wet & experiment. Try driving around fairly quickly but not on the limit & then experiment with full throttle then lifting off. With full throttle the car will tend not to want to corner & lifting off will redress the balance, When you suddenly lift off you will feel steerage getting better but the rear tending to want to step out.

Now were you travelling at a high speed & you lost front grip lifting off might save you, if you were loosing rear grip lift off & it all gets worse.

To add the young twit near Winchester who drove round me on a wide roundabout on Saturday in an old Escort thought he was doing really well, then it started to drift, he lifted went sideways & then shot up onto the roundabout as it all gripped again, thankfully he was past me before his little demonstration.

But if I'm not driving on the limit, which I don't do 99% of the time, I'd rather have the extra grip and safety on the front where I need it.

And, personally speaking, I would rather go backwards into a wall than forwards, even with airbags etc.

on the front everytime, i'd like to have a lot of tread on the front to stop aquaplaning and the like, they will be nicely worn in after a few hundred miles/a week in my case aswell

Think it's down to personnal preference .....being an old dinosaur who was brought up on RWD cars I always have the better tyres on the front

Agreed. The only two prangs I've had have been when the front of a FWD car let go. My best tyres would be on the front.

Rear everytime. From experience!!! :eek:

Both the tyre manufacturers and iirc the Police both recommend new tyres to be fitted to the rear as they believe you are more likely to have a serious accident if you loose grip or tyre(s) on the rear axle over the front.

Also, old tyres will remove water from between the tyre and the road almost like brand new down to a tread depth of 3mm. From 3mm the stopping distance in the wet goes up exponentially.

Any tyre that has less than 3mm tread left is recommended to be replaced as it is considered worn to 90% of its life.

iirc VAG also stand by this policy.

Safe Driving

I got two tyres for the Scenic from Costco, asked for them on the front, they said no way and handed me a Brittish Tyre Association letter stating if only two tyres are being fitted they MUST go on the rear of the vehicle.

hmmmm... this is a tricky one! Essentially you have the choice. Stick the new ones on the front and risk oversteer or put them on the back and risk understear. I guess the choice you make depends to some extent on your driving style.

I'm more of a slower/sensible driver (ie. I've learnt that driving too fast is a very stupid thing to do...) so would put the new ones on the front. I think slower drivers are much more likely to get caught out with understeer in the wet than oversteer.

Its being suggested that new tyres go on the back for one very simple reason. Airbags. If you crash backwards, they don't help you really, thus more grip is suggested at the rear of the car. Understeer and lack of grip at the front will promote a front impact, airbags deploy, everyone is happy.

Id put them on the front myself. I hate being told what to do, especially when the old way works very well.

Its being suggested that new tyres go on the back for one very simple reason. Airbags. If you crash backwards, they don't help you really, thus more grip is suggested at the rear of the car. Understeer and lack of grip at the front will promote a front impact, airbags deploy, everyone is happy.

Id put them on the front myself. I hate being told what to do, especially when the old way works very well.

Why would you need airbags if you crash backwards? Surely because of the seat position and the headrest, airbags would not be required? Sounds like a bit of a silly argument to me!