Did you know

[camaro_speedemon]

That RWD cars get better traction by putting the good tires on the front wheels. So THAT'S what I've been doing wrong all these years. Someone tell James that he's putting his slicks on the wrong wheels!!

Well, this is according to the guy at goodyear when my wife went to have our 2 new tires installed.

Jenn: I want the new tires put on the back of the car.
Douchebag: Why do you want to do that?
Jenn: Because it's a RWD car.
Douchebag: Yea, but you'll get better traction if you put your good tires up front.
Jenn: What? How is that possible? RWD means the REAR wheels drive the car.
Douchebag: Because, the front tires need the most traction.
Jenn: Just put the new tires on the rear.
Douchebag: Ok, but I really advice against doing that, but if that's what you want.

After they take the tires off
Douchebag: You need new rotors (Which is BIG BS, the car only has 45k miles on it, and the rotors are fine, other then being slightly warped)
Jenn: We have brembo rotors and hawk pads sitting in my living room that I'm putting on this saturday.
Douchebag: It's really not safe to do it yourself, you should have someone else put them on.
Jenn: Why?
Douchebag: It's better to have a profession do it, you might screw up.
Jenn: Well, considering that you think a RWD car drives with the front wheels, I'd rather you not touch my car more then neccissary.

I can't be too mad, the idiot forgot to charge her the $3 a tire to rotate the tires.

[StrtRacer98]

That is awesome....

and be careful because rotors are so hard to change... haha

what an idiot.

[vanbibber]

[img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

ill remember to do that when i go to the track.

[loser]

Originally posted by vanbibber:
[img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

ill remember to do that when i go to the track.

bibby you idiot, if you had the good tires up front you probally would have ran a mid 13, not a 14 flat. silly lt1 owners.


how is it possible to be so stupid? i never understood how people in dealerships and places like that could be so stupid sometimes.

[95FirebirdConvertible]

Yeah, I believe new tires should always go in the front.

[camaro_speedemon]

Originally posted by 95FirebirdConvertible:
Yeah, I believe new tires should always go in the front.

Uhhh....why? I can't tell if you're being sarcastic.

But if you're not, putting the new tires on the back would be beneficial 1) there new, so more grip will be given to my drive tires 2) rotating the back tires to the front will extend the life of the tires currently in the back (hence why we rotate tires).

[95fbirdkid]

well i could see needing them up front for turning traction

idk, i always buy my tires in 4's

[StrtRacer98]

x2 uhhh.... why?

[nikon]

it's not for traction, it's for safety, it IS recomended to put new tires up front, mainly for wet weather driving, this way the new tires SHOULD be able to keep you from hydroplaning better than your old ones, RWD or FWD...but ya he went about it the wrong way or no one explained why its recommended to be done that way.

[vanbibber]

Originally posted by loser:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by vanbibber:
[img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img]

ill remember to do that when i go to the track.

bibby you idiot, if you had the good tires up front you probally would have ran a mid 13, not a 14 flat. silly lt1 owners.
</font>[/QUOTE][img]graemlins/rofl.gif[/img] [img]tongue.gif[/img] we'll see in two weeks.

[camaro_speedemon]

Originally posted by nikon:
it's not for traction, it's for safety, it IS recomended to put new tires up front, mainly for wet weather driving, this way the new tires SHOULD be able to keep you from hydroplaning better than your old ones, RWD or FWD...but ya he went about it the wrong way or no one explained why its recommended to be done that way.

Ok, I can see that if I had bald tires in the back, but my back tires only have about 5k miles on them.

I had an unrepairable whole in my tires in december and didn't have all the money to replace all 4 tires.

[nikon]

Originally posted by camaro_speedemon:
</font><blockquote>quote:</font><hr />Originally posted by nikon:
it's not for traction, it's for safety, it IS recomended to put new tires up front, mainly for wet weather driving, this way the new tires SHOULD be able to keep you from hydroplaning better than your old ones, RWD or FWD...but ya he went about it the wrong way or no one explained why its recommended to be done that way.

Ok, I can see that if I had bald tires in the back, but my back tires only have about 5k miles on them.

I had an unrepairable whole in my tires in december and didn't have all the money to replace all 4 tires. </font>[/QUOTE]even so, the new tires (in theory) will perform better that the used/slightly used tires....

but this is interesting pulled it from goodyears website and something else thats interesting...from what Ive seen them show better front tires up front, but apparently they're changing that???

When buying just two new tires, should they be put on the front or rear?
When radial tires are used with bias or bias belted tires on the same car, the radials must always be placed on the rear axle. Never mix radial and bias-ply tires on the same axle. When you select a pair of replacement tires in the same size and construction as those on the car, we recommend you put them on the rear axle. A single new tire should be paired on the rear axle with the tire having the most tread depth of the other three.

It's best tires on the rear, no exceptions
Helps back end to keep running true
Makers urge this in shop manuals
Feb. 18, 2006. 01:00 AM
JOHN MAHLER
TIRETALK

Q One comment you adamantly made was "no matter what, best tires always, always, always go on the back of a vehicle. No exceptions."

If this were the case, then tires should never, never, never be rotated, but only replaced in pairs. As you know, all front tires wear faster (except for maybe high-performance sports cars or dragsters) so it is almost impossible to start with a set of four new tires, provide recommended maintenance with regular tire rotations and have the best ones on the back.

My other issue is the feeling of safety by having better tires on the front of the vehicle where the steering and most of the braking is done. With ABS and other anti-skid technologies available in today's modern vehicles, I question whether your comment is totally accurate.

Jerry Gelata, GTA

AThe "best tires on rear" is not my idea: every tire manufacturer now makes that instruction in their tire reference books. Some even advise the retailer to decline the installation if the client does not agree. But this incorrect installation still continues among some tire shops.

The problem is, there are too many dealers out there who don't read the installation manuals and service bulletins. After all, they're the "professionals" who have been doing installations for years. Another problem is anyone with a wheel wrench and a car jack can open a tire shop, no training required and suddenly, they are a "tire professional." I'm not slamming the many good shops out there, but there are way too many bad ones still in business.

As for tire rotation, if it is done frequently, the difference in wear on the tires will be minimal. If you rotate tires every 5,000 to 8,000 km, all four tires will wear fairly evenly. Most good shops will rotate tires for free (if you bought them there) and so it is half an hour out of your day. It is cheap insurance. With regular rotation, you'll be buying tires in fours, not twos.

As for "feeling" safer, feeling is not the same as "being" safer. In the worst case scenario of a crash, crash analysts agree that a straightforward bang is the best of a bad case. With a straight single impact, the car can use all of its safety features (energy absorbing crumple zones, seatbelts and airbags) to protect you. A car with good rear grip will usually understeer into a straight crash.

A car with better front grip is a car that will spin. A spinning car will not hit cleanly and stop. Its crumple zones will not absorb the maximum energy they can, in a glancing blow. The car may spin enough before impact to not use any of its crumple zones. A spinning car usually ricochets off the first strike and has several impacts before stopping. Your airbag is only good for the first impact.

After all, when things go wrong, almost all drivers take their foot off the gas, the rear of the car loses grip, and that is when things go really dreadfully wrong! So better tires on the rear, please.

QThe last time I had my 2001 Nissan Pathfinder in for a routine oil change and general once-over, the shop owner/technician noted it had been 12,000 km since my last tire rotation and I was due for a tire rotation and balance. I wasn't aware tires needed to be rebalanced through their lifetime.

I am curious what your comments might be. Am I being taken for a ride?

Randy Johnson, Toronto

ANo, your shop was not taking you for a ride. Here's why: tire rotation is important because even on a perfectly aligned vehicle, wear rates will differ with tire position. By rotating the tires according to the vehicle manufacturer's recommendation, you end up moving a tire from a "heavy wear" position to a lighter wear position. If this is done as often as your car company recommends, in theory, you should have all four tires wear out at the same time.

Rebalancing is also a good idea, not necessarily with every rotation, but certainly if tire wear is heavy or if you feel a vibration. Remember, a small tire weight of just a quarter of an ounce (7 grams) can smooth out a tire's ride. If a tire is worn unevenly along one edge, it is easy to lose a quarter ounce of rubber. Remember that tires like yours can weigh from 25 to 40 pounds (11 kg to 18 kg), and a quarter ounce of rubber can be gone in a flash.

QI recently blew a tire on my Honda Element and opted to replace the front tires as a pair. I left the rears as is for cost reasons. All four match, but the rears have about 30-35K on them — on a four-wheel-drive on-demand auto. Your Jan 7 article has me worried about potential damage.

John Woodward, Markham

AWith your AWD-on-demand system, there should be no mechanical issues if the tires have similar grip characteristics and are the correct size.

A similar grip characteristic is the key. You cannot mix winters and all-seasons.

Tread Bits

In a letter, a reader asked why the Star wants addresses with the questions submitted. He wondered whether we pass these addresses on to "marketing partners." The answer is a definitive No. Usually I am the only person to see the actual reader address; just the name of the town is in the copy the editors work with.

The Star though does have a policy of wanting to make sure that questions are from regular consumers, hence the need for the address.

I get a lot of letters asking for advice. Time does not permit personal answers. I try to choose questions that are of interest to more than just the letter writer: those are the ones that get published.

Letters that do not have contact address information, or are just signed "Fred" with no last name, or do not have return email addresses, or are signed "concerned about my tires" just cannot even be considered for a reply in the column.

Thanks to you readers for good interesting questions, for you are what keep the column of interest to others.