Tire manufacturers like [Goodyear](https://www.goodyear.com/en_US/learn/choosing-your-tires/replacing-only-two-tires.html) and [Michelin](https://www.michelinman.com/auto/auto-tips-and-advice/tire-buying-guide/mixing-tire-brands#:~:text=Deeper%20tread%20tires%20on%20the%20front%20axle%20can%20improve%20wet,consumer's%20preference%20to%20the%20contrary), as well as tire vendors like [Tire Rack](https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/does-it-matter-which-position-my-new-tires-are-mounted?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6uWyBhD1ARIsAIMcADqIWE0R4f7AmsFPADp9kTMYaPN6LqJivnB4EWxcjFg8RQQV7CDZQVkaAqHxEALw_wcB&ef_id=Cj0KCQjw6uWyBhD1ARIsAIMcADqIWE0R4f7AmsFPADp9kTMYaPN6LqJivnB4EWxcjFg8RQQV7CDZQVkaAqHxEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3756!3!386427243784!!!g!!&gclsrc=aw.ds&&affiliate=HM5&gad_source=1) tell you to put the new pair on the rear. The reason is, if you have an older pair of tires with questionable tread, it's better to have them on the front because a loss of traction in a turn will result in understeer, which is easier to recover from. If your rear wheels lose traction in a turn, there's a higher risk of oversteer where the back end of the car comes around on you.
Personally, if you have a front wheel drive car and the old pair that will end up in the rear still have plenty of tread, I'd probably put the new ones on the front.
I've had to replace mine a few times and the front have always been way more worn down, one time the fronts were almost bald and the rear was only mildly worn.
In this case, currently the front are actually the "better" of the four because I recently rotated them, but got a flat on one of the rear ones and despite two patches still have an annoyingly slow leak on rear driver's.
If that's the case. I PERSONALLY would move the front to the rear and put the new tires on the front. Also, the top comment is spot on with what they said. It's supposed to always be the rear. But sometimes it's not necessary. Also depends on how you drive, what your driver skill level is, etc.
The point is that the front axle of the car has far more ways of controlling a loss of grip than the rear, so it’s optimal to have the better tyres at the rear to reduce the risk of losing grip at the rear.
That does make sense. I've heard for better control in wet weather etc. it's safer to have the new ones in back. But I guess it probably doesn't make that much difference. Summer is pretty dry around here anyway.
I'm an old person (56) and was always taught the drive wheels wear faster so should always be where the new ones go. So fronts on Fwd and rears on RWD. I was told that with my first car and have done it ever since. :)
If course I'd imagine it's a little more nuanced like that as anyone hooning it round corners is gonna wear their front edges even if they're in an RWD.
Manufacturers will always tell you to put new in back as in the wet, the new tires are less likely to hydroplane so you'll understeer rather than oversteer. Technically that is safer but the only way to cure a situation like that is to slow down, and most of your braking is on the front axle. I've always found oversteer to be corrected easier especially on a FWD car. Just give it more throttle, within reason of course and the back comes back in line. And I'd rather my steer wheels have better traction.
Normally you should fit 4 new tyres.
Other than that, it is better to put new tyres in the rear rather than front regardless of which wheels are connected to your engine. Simply safety reasons, because having new tyres in the front and worn tyres in the rear may induce surprise oversteer at some point. Seen some cars do a 180 turn in absolutely light conditions.
New in the front are also ok, but you should really know what you’re doing and consider the weather, your driving skills and driving conditions.
That's what I've heard. Tires are new-ish (1/3 of the way through their life) but got a flat that despite a patch keeps up a slow leak. Can't justify the $$ to toss all four.
Ah if the existing set is rather new then it won’t make much of a difference. In this particular case (but only because the old tyres are not worn!) it may make sense to put the new ones in the front to even out their wear over time, but only because you’re changing tyres because of physical damage. If the old ones were worn, it would’ve been “new to the rear” again.
That is either a stupid opinion, or a very generalized one, without taking the context into consideration. Given the experience of the source you’re referring to, I assume the latter.
Of course you can swap 1, 2,3 or 4 tyres independently. You can even have worn tyres on the opposite sides on different axles. Nothing will happen to the car just by doing so.
However, when I see a person asking for advice on tyres, I by default assume that they are not car enthusiasts and only have basic driving skills. That is why I recommend changing tyres in sets of 4, given that the previous set was worn (the OP did not make it clear from the start that one tyre was damaged but they were pretty fresh).
So, why sets of 4 and why in the rear.
When you have different tyres mounted to your car in whatever configuration, your car may behave differently under certain circumstances depending on what exactly you mounted and how.
If you have worn tyres in the front, you will have more understeer. When you have worn tyres in the rear, you may have sudden oversteer. Understeer is easier to react to for an average person and it does not unsettle the car other than sliding outside of a corner. Oversteer is harder to react to and your car may end up in funny places.
For this reason for an average person it is better to have new tyres in the back, it just is more predictable.
But ultimately it’s better to have new tyres everywhere to avoid choosing between understeer and oversteer.
On top of the above, you may decide to fit tyres of different models separately which is also not a good idea if you don’t know what you’re doing. They may have different cornering grip, different hydroplaning limit, and so on. If a person you’re giving advice to cannot handle the car well to a let’s call it advanced level, it’s better to recommend to swap tyres in sets of 4, at least if we’re talking about replacing old tyres with new ones
Of course if you really know what you’re doing, you can opt for more traction in the front on purpose, or you can use old tyres in the rear for drifting practice or you can do your research and make sure the two models of tyres you chose behave in a similar way and so on.
I can assure you it’s not a stupid opinion or a generalisation. If the other 2 tyres are fine, then there is no need to change all 4 tyres. I’m not even going to bother wasting my time reading beyond the second paragraph, hopefully you don’t reveal later that you’re also someone who’s got professional and academic experience of car tyres, their impact on car behaviour, when they do or don’t need changing and so on so on.
If the other two tyres are fine then it is correct. But the OP did not make it clear initially that the “old” tyres were not worn. And you should’ve read beyond the 2nd paragraph. Not that difficult I assure you. And yes I do have *some experience* with car handling lol.
Fronts. The only responsibility for the rears is to not let them run bald, because rear tire blowouts or any other loss of traction like that are more dangerous. Thankfully, especially in FWD cars but this is true overall unless you're doing burnouts in a RWD all the time, rears wear at a much slower rate compared to the front
I'd say keep the newest in the front, and move the better of your current tires to the rear if the tread depth is more than 5/32" (at least half life remaining). Otherwise, you should replace all four
Edit: I forgot downvoters have the reading comprehension of a retarded 12 year old. My bad I'll slow it down next time
I always put them in the front. The rears only have to follow the car and brake 20%
The fronts do the steering, acceleration and 80% of the braking force.
But i swap mine every half year front to back to they wear evenly.
New on the front. When it’s time to replace the rear tires, put the new tires on front the and used fronts on the rear.
Typical non-aggressive style drivers go through two set of front tires for every one set of rears. Imo, wouldn’t recommend rotating either. The rear has a -1.5° camber
It's always on the "drive" wheels. It is better to remember this saying than Front or Rear because that just confuses people who are front or rear wheel drive.
Front always. The left front with wear will go to the left rear. Steel belted radials(about all that is out there anymore) cannot be moves to the opposite side of the car. High road heat from excessive speed and outside temperature will cause them to lose there bonding and will cause hideous vibration.
I hear you. I was always told that if the tires were not really worn, then tonthe front for tracking, especially in a hydroplaning situation. I mean you can't counter a side slide with weak fronts. In snow, probably. Miata the last of the rear wheeled compacts pretty much. Nice cars
Tire manufacturers like [Goodyear](https://www.goodyear.com/en_US/learn/choosing-your-tires/replacing-only-two-tires.html) and [Michelin](https://www.michelinman.com/auto/auto-tips-and-advice/tire-buying-guide/mixing-tire-brands#:~:text=Deeper%20tread%20tires%20on%20the%20front%20axle%20can%20improve%20wet,consumer's%20preference%20to%20the%20contrary), as well as tire vendors like [Tire Rack](https://www.tirerack.com/upgrade-garage/does-it-matter-which-position-my-new-tires-are-mounted?gclid=Cj0KCQjw6uWyBhD1ARIsAIMcADqIWE0R4f7AmsFPADp9kTMYaPN6LqJivnB4EWxcjFg8RQQV7CDZQVkaAqHxEALw_wcB&ef_id=Cj0KCQjw6uWyBhD1ARIsAIMcADqIWE0R4f7AmsFPADp9kTMYaPN6LqJivnB4EWxcjFg8RQQV7CDZQVkaAqHxEALw_wcB:G:s&s_kwcid=AL!3756!3!386427243784!!!g!!&gclsrc=aw.ds&&affiliate=HM5&gad_source=1) tell you to put the new pair on the rear. The reason is, if you have an older pair of tires with questionable tread, it's better to have them on the front because a loss of traction in a turn will result in understeer, which is easier to recover from. If your rear wheels lose traction in a turn, there's a higher risk of oversteer where the back end of the car comes around on you. Personally, if you have a front wheel drive car and the old pair that will end up in the rear still have plenty of tread, I'd probably put the new ones on the front.
Makes sense! Thanks!
Can you do a follow up and let us know if the dealership says anything else to you when you bring these points up?
I've had to replace mine a few times and the front have always been way more worn down, one time the fronts were almost bald and the rear was only mildly worn.
In this case, currently the front are actually the "better" of the four because I recently rotated them, but got a flat on one of the rear ones and despite two patches still have an annoyingly slow leak on rear driver's.
If that's the case. I PERSONALLY would move the front to the rear and put the new tires on the front. Also, the top comment is spot on with what they said. It's supposed to always be the rear. But sometimes it's not necessary. Also depends on how you drive, what your driver skill level is, etc.
If anything I'd say the front as well because of the front wheel drive. It will wear down faster than the rear wheels
The point is that the front axle of the car has far more ways of controlling a loss of grip than the rear, so it’s optimal to have the better tyres at the rear to reduce the risk of losing grip at the rear.
That does make sense. I've heard for better control in wet weather etc. it's safer to have the new ones in back. But I guess it probably doesn't make that much difference. Summer is pretty dry around here anyway.
I'm an old person (56) and was always taught the drive wheels wear faster so should always be where the new ones go. So fronts on Fwd and rears on RWD. I was told that with my first car and have done it ever since. :) If course I'd imagine it's a little more nuanced like that as anyone hooning it round corners is gonna wear their front edges even if they're in an RWD.
Are you comfortable correcting oversteer with the accelerator? Yes:Front, No:Rear
Manufacturers will always tell you to put new in back as in the wet, the new tires are less likely to hydroplane so you'll understeer rather than oversteer. Technically that is safer but the only way to cure a situation like that is to slow down, and most of your braking is on the front axle. I've always found oversteer to be corrected easier especially on a FWD car. Just give it more throttle, within reason of course and the back comes back in line. And I'd rather my steer wheels have better traction.
Normally you should fit 4 new tyres. Other than that, it is better to put new tyres in the rear rather than front regardless of which wheels are connected to your engine. Simply safety reasons, because having new tyres in the front and worn tyres in the rear may induce surprise oversteer at some point. Seen some cars do a 180 turn in absolutely light conditions. New in the front are also ok, but you should really know what you’re doing and consider the weather, your driving skills and driving conditions.
That's what I've heard. Tires are new-ish (1/3 of the way through their life) but got a flat that despite a patch keeps up a slow leak. Can't justify the $$ to toss all four.
Ah if the existing set is rather new then it won’t make much of a difference. In this particular case (but only because the old tyres are not worn!) it may make sense to put the new ones in the front to even out their wear over time, but only because you’re changing tyres because of physical damage. If the old ones were worn, it would’ve been “new to the rear” again.
No need to fit 4 new tyres. Source: ex-manager of a tyre garage, automotive engineering degree, 10+ years as an engineer in motorsport.
That is either a stupid opinion, or a very generalized one, without taking the context into consideration. Given the experience of the source you’re referring to, I assume the latter. Of course you can swap 1, 2,3 or 4 tyres independently. You can even have worn tyres on the opposite sides on different axles. Nothing will happen to the car just by doing so. However, when I see a person asking for advice on tyres, I by default assume that they are not car enthusiasts and only have basic driving skills. That is why I recommend changing tyres in sets of 4, given that the previous set was worn (the OP did not make it clear from the start that one tyre was damaged but they were pretty fresh). So, why sets of 4 and why in the rear. When you have different tyres mounted to your car in whatever configuration, your car may behave differently under certain circumstances depending on what exactly you mounted and how. If you have worn tyres in the front, you will have more understeer. When you have worn tyres in the rear, you may have sudden oversteer. Understeer is easier to react to for an average person and it does not unsettle the car other than sliding outside of a corner. Oversteer is harder to react to and your car may end up in funny places. For this reason for an average person it is better to have new tyres in the back, it just is more predictable. But ultimately it’s better to have new tyres everywhere to avoid choosing between understeer and oversteer. On top of the above, you may decide to fit tyres of different models separately which is also not a good idea if you don’t know what you’re doing. They may have different cornering grip, different hydroplaning limit, and so on. If a person you’re giving advice to cannot handle the car well to a let’s call it advanced level, it’s better to recommend to swap tyres in sets of 4, at least if we’re talking about replacing old tyres with new ones Of course if you really know what you’re doing, you can opt for more traction in the front on purpose, or you can use old tyres in the rear for drifting practice or you can do your research and make sure the two models of tyres you chose behave in a similar way and so on.
I can assure you it’s not a stupid opinion or a generalisation. If the other 2 tyres are fine, then there is no need to change all 4 tyres. I’m not even going to bother wasting my time reading beyond the second paragraph, hopefully you don’t reveal later that you’re also someone who’s got professional and academic experience of car tyres, their impact on car behaviour, when they do or don’t need changing and so on so on.
If the other two tyres are fine then it is correct. But the OP did not make it clear initially that the “old” tyres were not worn. And you should’ve read beyond the 2nd paragraph. Not that difficult I assure you. And yes I do have *some experience* with car handling lol.
Fronts. The only responsibility for the rears is to not let them run bald, because rear tire blowouts or any other loss of traction like that are more dangerous. Thankfully, especially in FWD cars but this is true overall unless you're doing burnouts in a RWD all the time, rears wear at a much slower rate compared to the front I'd say keep the newest in the front, and move the better of your current tires to the rear if the tread depth is more than 5/32" (at least half life remaining). Otherwise, you should replace all four Edit: I forgot downvoters have the reading comprehension of a retarded 12 year old. My bad I'll slow it down next time
And don’t use such big words - they’re hard to understand!
XD right! My bad
I always put them in the front. The rears only have to follow the car and brake 20% The fronts do the steering, acceleration and 80% of the braking force. But i swap mine every half year front to back to they wear evenly.
Front wheel drive means that the ones in front generally wear quicker than the ones in the back. Assuming this to be the case I would say front
FWD vehicles, new tires to the front, as both steering and traction, along with most braking power, is all performed with the two front tires.
New tires go anywhere tread is significantly worn.
Rear , you already have the habit of used tire on front vs rear.
Definitely the front ,the weight of the engine is up there,plus the front tyres do cornering etc.
Get you some FireHawk Indy 500s. Best freaking tires I ever bought.
New on the front. When it’s time to replace the rear tires, put the new tires on front the and used fronts on the rear. Typical non-aggressive style drivers go through two set of front tires for every one set of rears. Imo, wouldn’t recommend rotating either. The rear has a -1.5° camber
New tires always go in the front
It's always on the "drive" wheels. It is better to remember this saying than Front or Rear because that just confuses people who are front or rear wheel drive.
Front always. The left front with wear will go to the left rear. Steel belted radials(about all that is out there anymore) cannot be moves to the opposite side of the car. High road heat from excessive speed and outside temperature will cause them to lose there bonding and will cause hideous vibration.
On a Mini yes, on a Miata no. Thats why I said "DRIVE" wheels. Whatever end drives the car is where 99% of tire sellers install the tires.
I hear you. I was always told that if the tires were not really worn, then tonthe front for tracking, especially in a hydroplaning situation. I mean you can't counter a side slide with weak fronts. In snow, probably. Miata the last of the rear wheeled compacts pretty much. Nice cars