New tyres on a fwd car, which first?
 

Our "new" car is running on four crap quality tyres.

Which do we change first to be sure of it remaining safe, fronts, or rears?

It's fwd, diesel with high torque.

TIA.

Put the best two of the four on the front, and the new on the back, safer to understeer than oversteer especially in a FWD............

front i would say, where all the power comes from so i would get some good ones.

check out camskill for some tyres, just need to find a garage to fit them then.

This ... 100% correct ^^^^

Best tyres on rear i'd say, understeer is alot safer than lift off oversteer in a fwd if your not used to it/expecting it!

You should put the best tyres on the driving wheels.
In your case on the front, your tyres have three main jobs to do, braking, steering and traction, you need the best treads for those functions.
If you encounter understeer in general use, then you are driving too fast for the conditions.

From the Michelin website:

http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/lear...tyre-care-tips

Getting some locally, Firestones, actually CHEAPER than Camskill once you figure in their delivery and getting them fitted.......

A mix of opinions here, as at tyre dealers.

I'll see what she says, we might buy all four yet......

I think I'd go with what Michelin say :thumb:

That was my opinion before I asked......

And it's the right one

Put the new tyres on the back.

The older ones on the front.

Remember that the new tyres on the back will take 200-300 miles of dry weather driving to remove the release agent etc.

The only exception to this, IMHO, is if the rears are almost new - i.e 6mm or more. Then I would be comfortable putting the new on the front.

I have seen many a FWD car crash in wet conditions on the track with almost brand new tyres on the front and just legal on the rear. Tends to be in the afternoons on track days, they wear out their fronts so swap them round in the pits at lunch - wet track - first flying lap and the back end goes.

Druids and Island at Oulton is a regular!!!

Oh and just to add - this issue is not just for FWD cars TBH.

Are they going to be winter tyres? :Suspiciou






:norty:

I would rather go with that, better to know you can stop and steer well if you need to. Not sure why the michelin site says that, seems a bit odd but then i am not a tyre expert.

As stated, put your new tyres on the back, the best two of your other four on the front.

Anyone with a serious involvement in motorsport will tell you this, as will any tyre fitter worth their salt.

Can anyone explain how having the new tyres on the rear can help with braking?
Seems very odd as the front brakes do 90% of the braking. Surely they have a much higher chance of locking up if the tyres are duff?
New tyres on the front would solve this?

You state that you aren't an expert, andyet you are also prepared to state that people who obviously are, are wrong :cuckoo:

The reason you put the new ones on the back is because a new tyre grips (a lot) better than an old one. This isn't just about tread depths, as tyres age, they naturally harden and become less grippy. And in terms of car control, it's always better to have more grip at the back than the front.

Tyre companies, and also race teams, test these sort of things exhaustively, they don't just say it because they can :rolleyes:

As stated already.

Regardless of driven wheels...it is advised that the best tyres ALWAYS go on the back axle...F1 has posted the science bit :thumb:

Not sure on the choice of Firestone, but likely to be better than some teflon coated chin-chongs.

FWIW Conti sport contact 3 is my favourite tyre for money vs grip compromise, followed by Michelin Primacy and Pilot sport 3.

New tyres on the front would indeed improve hard braking, in a straight line on a dry road, but in the real world,, the likelyhood is that the weight transfer will cause the older tyres on the rear to lose grip and lock up, not unlike pulling on the handbrake :eek:

Not that certain people have bothered to read it or if they have they think otherwise.. I mean, what would Michelin know about tyres? :lol1::lol1:

They have to say that because 99% of drivers are morons! Provided there was still good tread I'd fit the old/crap tyres to the rear and the higher quality ones to the front. I've got my new Leon FR TDI now and can't believe how easily the torque overcomes the fronts.

As for lift-off oversteer; this is a diesel (astra from memory?). I hardly think OP is going to be going daft pushing it about. Besides, if it's anything like the Leon it has a raft of electronics that sort sh*t out anyway. I deliberately provoked the crap out of mines in the wet last night to see how well these systems worked and was very surprised by how effective they are even when I was as good as trying to crash.

P.S. I came from a Saxo VTS 10-odd years ago. I don't fear lift-off in the slightest ;)

Also, lol at the comparison between a diesel runaround an motorsport. I missed the part where OP said he was going to be pushing his car to its limits.

As for garages/fitters/companies - they always have to assume the worst; dozy bint braking mid-bend in the wet, etc. If OP has any semblance of driver skill there is no need to worry about the rear tires unless they are <4mm.

No...I'm not a banker so I can't afford different types..........:D

And I'm not a "merchant banker" either........:lol1::lol1::lol1:

What we all need to remember here is that this car will be driven by my wife, in high heels.

She wouldn't know oversteer from an overgrown steer, and has already put one car upside down in a field due to lift off oversteer, I think, on a flooded road, uphill with water flowing down. Luckily, she walked away from it.....

This thread suddenly got a whole lot more interesting. :)

:thumb: I've let Michelin know :Whatever_

Hmm it seems we need a video to explain...

The problem I have with what Michelin say is that they are concentrating on laterial grip.
Has any considered braking? I would much rather put my good tyres on the front because of this reason. You can have fantastic tyres on the back but that will mean all of piss all if you need to do an emergency stop. Plus most cars have very little braking force on the rear anyway, so very unlikely that the rear will step out, especially on a front wheel drive car.

I see the logic behind what Michelin say, but I don't agree with it.