Replacing 2 tires on a front wheel drive car?

Question

I just purchased 2 tires because one of my rear tires was flat and not repairable. My car is front wheel drive and when I asked the tire center about putting the new tires on the front, he abruptly said "It's best to keep them on the back" with no explanation. I've always thought the best tires should be on the front in a front-wheel drive vehicle. Am I wrong?

Answer 1

I work in the tire industry. It is my job to be an "expert" on tires. As an expert, I can say, with absolute certaintly, that new tires, when replaced as a pair should ALWAYS be mounted on the REAR AXLE, even on a front wheel drive vehicle.

Especially on a front wheel drive vehicle.

This is a proven SCIENTIFIC FACT, verified through actual testing.

As the poster earlier indicated, Michelin Tire Co. recommends this. Bridgestone/Firestone has recommended this since at least April of 2003. The industry group for all the major manufacturers - the Rubber Manufacturers of America (RMA) recommends this. Any responsible, reputable tire dealer will also recommend the same thing. Many of them state this policy on their web sites (IIRC; Discount Tire and Costco are good examples).

Mounting tires on the front axle because the car is FWD is the old way to do it, not the right way. The only logic behind it is "straight-line" traction in snow and tire wear issues. Vehicle STABILITY, which is provided by the rear axle, was completely and wrongly ignored.

Loss of traction at the rear of the car, especially on a FWD car can result in sudden "snap" oversteer - a condition where the car wants to swap ends. You can see what I am talking about at the Michelin web site;

http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip6.html

Take special note of the part of this film where 2 identical cars are set out on a wet road simultaneously. Both are travelling the same speed (45 mph) - hardly excessive speed for driving in the rain under most conditions. 1 car has two new tires on the rear axle and two tires that are 1/2 worn (ie: still "good") in the front. The other car is the opposite, with brand new tires on the front, half-worn tires in the back. At 45mph the car with new tires on the front suddenly spins out of control with little or no warning, the car with new tires on the rear is moving along in complete control at the same speed.

Nuff said.

Oversteer is both extremely dangerous and very difficult for even an experienced race car driver to recover from, let alone the average soccer-mom or Joe-sixpack. I know because it has happened to me on the road (and I am an experience race driver). Let's just say I will never put just 2 snow tires on a car again! I've also confirmed this on a wet handling track under controlled conditions in a test conducted by one of the major tire manufacturers - conditions just like those in the Michelin video.

If any of you non-tire experts who are recommending 2 new tires be mounted to the front can do better than this, I'd like to see it.

Of course whenever possible all 4 tires should be replaced at the same time and rotated regularly. They will last longer and provide uniform traction and performance.

PS

To DodgeMan - If you want to keep your shop I suggest you start following this policy religiously. I know for a fact that lawsuits have been filed and won because a shop put 2 new tires on the front axle and the customer later had an accident because of it. Given the directives of the major tire manufacturers and the RMA, if you do this and get sued, you will lose.

Answer 2

I just watched the Michelin tire sales commercial about replacing two tires and was pretty entertained. If I have a car with four tires wearing normally, the front tires on a front wheel drive car (which do the twisting and turning) will wear out first by a significant margin. By changing the front tires only, I will get double the life from a set of rear tires. Since when I have to buy tires, I not only buy the tread (the part that wears out), but the side wall, the bead, and (of course) the taxes, balancing and valve stems) It makes sense to keep the rear tires on the rear AS LONG AS THEY ARE SAFE. If not, the tire dealer should warrantee them like any other tire.

The tire commercial seems to indicate that fleeing a police pursuit can be hazardous with bad tires. The commercial does not indicate what condition the other tires, the driver, or the fear of fleeing the police had to do related to the accident. In other words, Michelin recommends that if you feel you are going to get into a police pursuit, be sure you have new tires. This kind of commercial is called FUD (fear, uncertainty and doubt) and is used to sell a product, not as a scientific test. As the commercial states, both drivers are professional drivers, on a closed course under exact conditions. Meaning the blue car driver was putting the car into a drift to film a commercial to sell tires.

The tire commercial DOES bring up a good point: If you are driving too fast, on wet pavement, the car might skid. Even with new tires, the cars in the commercial may lose control. With the lower traction tires on the front, the front wheels will break away and the car will not continue around the curve, and will slam into the guard rail (not with a professional driver tho)

So basically, according to Michelin, replace all four tires every 5,000 miles, stay out of the rain. And don't run from the Police.

*sigh*

Answer 3

Replacing Tires

Answer 4

Replacing Two Tires

Answer 5

My mechanic, who works for a person who is a former champion race car driver and owns the serv. ctr. and speed shop, just told me he would put the new on the front. My car is front wheel drive and the front tires are in bad need of replacement. However, Walmart has a poster saying if the worn out tires are in front then put new tires on back and bring the semi-old up front. I m still confused. I believe my mechanic knows what he is doing, yet a national retailer like Walmart would (I hope) also. HELP!

Answer 6

This Site Might Help You.

RE:
Replacing 2 tires on a front wheel drive car?
I just purchased 2 tires because one of my rear tires was flat and not repairable. My car is front wheel drive and when I asked the tire center about putting the new tires on the front, he abruptly said "It's best to keep them on the back" with no explanation. I've always...

Answer 7

Two new tires should be mounted on the Rear
The worn rear tires have less tread and lower hydroplaning resistance, so they can lose their grip on wet roads and allow the rear to swing around–out of control. New Tires Mounted on the Rear

Deeper tread with greater hydroplaning resistance help new tires grip wet roads. The driver can steer to compensate for the lower wet traction of the worn front tires and safely maintain control.

Michelin Says New Rubber Should Always Go On Back Axle
Michelin Explains That, When Replacing Two Tires at a Time, the General Rule May Surprise You (and Be Kinder to Your Pocketbook!) LAURENS, S.C., Nov. 9 -- Today at its proving grounds in Laurens, S.C., Michelin settled an age-old question about where to mount the tires when replacing only two at a time. The answer is: the new rubber goes on the rear axle, never on the front! To some people, that seems really weird, given phrases like ``put your best foot forward,'' but in the case of tires, vehicle safety dictates a more demure approach. Michelin says this general rule of thumb for replacing two tires at a time is the same for passenger cars, light trucks and SUVs. The rule includes all drive systems: front- wheel, rear-wheel, all-wheel and four-wheel drive alike.
When only two tires are going to be replaced, Michelin has always recommended that the new tires go on the rear. ``The new tires will grip the road more effectively and evacuate standing water more efficiently than the worn tires,'' said Ron Margadonna, Technical Marketing Manager with Michelin. This becomes especially important when traveling and braking on wet surfaces. In such situations, if the front tires have more tread than the rear, the rear will lose their grip and begin hydroplaning first, creating a very difficult situation for even a seasoned driver to control.
``This is far less likely to occur when the new tires are mounted on the rear,'' said Margadonna. ``If there is any loss of control from hydroplaning of the front tires, the driver is more likely to feel it in the steering wheel early enough to make the necessary corrections in speed and/or steering to remain in control of the car.''
If you follow the tire rotation recommendations in your vehicle owner's manual, chances are you will always end up with all four tires wearing evenly and therefore ready for replacement at the same time. Many motorists, however, don't remember to follow the recommendation. If not rotated regularly, the front tires on front wheel drive vehicles will tend to wear faster. When that happens, Michelin recommends rotating the rear tires forward and putting the new tires on the rear axle. At the next rotation interval, rotate the front and rear tires side to side, this will help ensure even wear. ``When it comes time to replace the front tires, just go back to the pattern of removing the worn tires on the front axle, move the rear tires to the front and put the new tires on the rear, '' said Margadonna. ``And if cost is a factor, replacing tires in sets of two may be easier on the family budget.''

Link to this page: http://www.theautochannel.com/

Answer 8

You say you had a flat back tire. What were you going to replace that with if you put the two new ones on the front. It is a legal requirement to have matching tires on either set of wheels, except in emergencies.

Answer 9

Yes and no, it depends on your goal. Yes putting the new tires on the front would be best if having the best traction is what you want. On the other hand replacing the front tires and not just the back ideally would require a front end alignment if not a rebalancing of the partially worn front tires. Just swapping the front tires without verifying the alignment could mean the tires wear unevenly and wear out sooner if not cause additional problems such as improper rear tire wear.

Just replacing the back tires in this case sounds like it saves money in the long run, not to mention time.

Answer 10

yes and no. Tire shops are in the business to sell tires, and many times if you went to one of those big chains, ie. sears, pepboys etc.etc they work on "tire enhancement dollars" meaning they make money for selling 4 tires 4 balances 4 everything. if you go in to buy 2 tires you are like a second class citizen.
Back to the answer. Many people do not realize that the trailing tires(rear tires) of a front wheel drive vehicle are very important. they provide stability and control for the rear of the car in wet and snowy conditions. bald tires in the rear in a rain/snow storm can potentially mean loss of control in the rear of the vehicle. There is no way to "Steer" out of that situation. If the bald tires are on the front and you loose traction you can steer to correct that situation.