I've been replacing my tyres all wrong

Gomev

Gomev

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It's the eternal debate ... and there's no categoric correct answer despite what that article may espouse.

MY position is that the new tyres go on the driving wheels so as to give best chance of traction. On previous cars that would have been the front - on the MG4 it's the rear.
 
Interesting article.

But does it make any difference whether a vehicle is front- or rear-wheel drive?

I see @siteguru beat me to it! But I confess to believing what he says is correct, i.e. new tyres to the driving axle.

But, since the cars used for the article are, I think, front-wheel drive, maybe we've all (including tyre fitters) been getting this wrong, as @Gomev suggests.
 
I haven't read the article, but I'm going out on a limb and predicting that they say new tyres should go on the rear axle because people can't cope with a rear end slide - yes? That's a ?? generalisation. :)
 
Roldorf said:
New tyres should go on the drive wheels, those will be the most worn anyway.
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@siteguru and @Roldorf, why do you think that ? Is it an eternal debate or just something we've always believed/assumed to be correct ?

Reading that article made sense and the demos they did proved it. Maybe this is another case like EV adoption, there are some that just won't believe the evidence regardless, or is the tyre industry advice wrong ?
From the article for those who have not read it (it's not that long or arduous).

“The ones who get it wrong have a belief based on what they think are reasons related to the braking or traction of a vehicle,” he adds. “But industry advice is that it’s most important to keep the vehicle stable in a straight line, because that’s where the risk is greatest.”

In case you are wondering, that industry advice says new tyres, or those in the newest condition, should always be fitted at the rear of a vehicle, and not at the front. And for the vast majority of vehicles on the road, Michelin’s demonstration proves the evidence is clear cut. Having participated in the demo ourselves, we think it would be foolhardy to ignore the guidance. '

Edit - I have just Googled this and virtually all advice is that the new tyres go on the rear regardless.
As I said this is news to me as I was in the camp of putting them on the traction wheels but will now change my ways.
 
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So it was as I thought ... path of least risk is to prevent a rear end slide. In the same vein ... not having traction means you can't go anywhere, so that must be safer too. ;)
 
siteguru said:
So it was as I thought ... path of least risk is to prevent a rear end slide. In the same vein ... not having traction means you can't go anywhere, so that must be safer too. ;)
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It is as you thought.
Car is safer with new tyres on the rear even with worn tyres on the front.
I think I'm still able to learn and will go with the overwhelming industry advice as opposed to mine and apparently 50% of everyone else's long held views.
 
Gomev said:
It is as you thought.
Car is safer with new tyres on the rear even with worn tyres on the front.
I think I'm still able to learn and will go with the overwhelming industry advice as opposed to mine and apparently 50% of everyone else's long held views.
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Unless you have Chinese’s ditch finders on the rear
Had a car once double diamond on the back (new) and Good years (3mm) tread on the front
Came round a wet roundabout and lost traction on the rear end
The wheels were swapped within a week as the alloys were flaking
 
For what it's worth some random thoughts.
Front wheel drive, will go over steer with deceleration and under a steer with acceleration. So better traction on the front could increase both these effects..
Rear wheel drive is the opposite foot off gives under steer, foot down gives over steer. Oddly I think better traction on the back would still help.

Under brakes, it's anybodies guess, depends on how the braking force is proportioned front and rear.
 
With a FWD car better traction on the front should minimise understeer, albeit could accentuate oversteer.

Regardless of studies etc., I'm going to stick with what works for me. As it happens that now means best tyres on the rear. :)
 
Gomev said:
It is as you thought.
Car is safer with new tyres on the rear even with worn tyres on the front.
I think I'm still able to learn and will go with the overwhelming industry advice as opposed to mine and apparently 50% of everyone else's long held views.
Click to expand...
Speaking purely on a personal basis, I have to say that I am not still not 100% convinced by this “prioritise the rears” myself ?.
I can understand why tyre shops like it though !.
Bring the already part worn tyres to the front, then this will see you paying them another visit to them have them replaced in the not too distance future ?.
In regards to FWD cars, I personally still favour having new rubber fitted to the fronts myself.
The trailing rear wheels on a FWD drive have very little work to do and in most cases, don’t carry a lot of extra load / weight either.
Therefore it is not uncommon for the rear tyres to out last twice as long as the fronts.
Wheel ? rotation was called for on the service schedule over forty years ago and the VAG group still recommend a wheel rotation ( where possible ) every 5,000 miles even now on most models.
Low mileage user cases who do not rotate their wheels / tyres can result in the rear tyres being replaced prematurely with plenty of tread left on them.
Why - because increasing we are seeing tyres replaced early due to the side walls of tyres developing cracks / crazing caused by the rubber compound perishing and therefore
breaking down.
I have a friend who ran a MOT station for over thirty years ( until he recently retired ) and he reported that many more cars are failing prematurely now, due to the tyre walls breaking down.
Tyre compounds now incorporates more silicone in their make up and this maybe be a mitigating factor in their earlier demise.
Tyre shops love ? people who use silicone based tyre dressings on their tyres ? !.
If you have to use tyre dressing, ensure it is a water based product and not a solvent based product ( as so many are ).
My wife has a low milage Fiat 500 that she absolutely loves.
It is about six years old and has only covered 10,000 miles.
The tyres still had at least 50% of their original tyre tread left, but at the last MOT all four tyres had to replaced due to side wall cracking.
At six years old I have no complaints though and yes the wheels where rotated every 12 months regardless.
Rotation means you get maximum amount of value and milage from your tyres, but it does mean that you are replacing all four tyres at the same time, which is more expensive of course.
Personally I favour this, because if there is any aspect of the OEM tyres that I do not like or does not suit me, then I can replace all four at the same time.
I will not run with different manufacturers tyres ? on the same car !.
 
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I suspect, unless you drive the MG4 like an absolute hooligan (@Bricktop X PWR), the tyres will wear nearly evenly all round. The car has 50 50 weight distribution, the rears wear through acceleration and the fronts from cornering and braking. The choice about putting the new tyres on the front or back won't be available as all 4 will need replacing.
 
Au contraire @Ian Key !

My recent service reported all tyres at 7mm.
(I know! Me too!!)

And that includes the odd hooligan moment. (ahem)

At that rate these tyres will see me through to the 3 year point at which point a decision will need to be made.

Does she stay or does she go.
 
Had first MOT yesterday. All good, apart from 'yellow' warning on o/s rear tyre, only 5mm left!
Background, had n/s rear replaced last year due to blow out at 70mph. Both fronts replaced month before as nearly worn out, about 0.5mm left, so close to 2mm. And yes on front. Car has done 24000 miles

Bearing in mind in UK minimum is 1.6mm, tyre has done 24k and lost 2mm. My reckoning is it should last about another 4-5 years on the rear. Fronts will have to be replaced by then aswell.
 
Ian Key said:
Thanks @Bricktop X PWR that confirms my suspicion that the tyres will wear more or less evenly anyway so no need to swap them round as they will all need replacing at the same time.
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I still can't tell the difference between the wear on my fronts and rears.

I think I need to go on the @Bricktop X PWR Motoring Course and learn how to get them properly smoking!
 
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