Tires: which ones should be at the front?

[ravelcop]

Hi guys,

i have this problem about my tires. two of my tires are not good anymore. i think both only have 5% of its grooves left, unlike the other two that still have 90% left. i'd like to ask advise from you guys if I should put the good ones infront or at the back since I'm still out of budget of buying replacement for the two. My ride is a pajero RWD and I use it just within the city. I rarely activate 4WD. Would realy appreciate your opinions. Thanks

[burjegol]

bro,

better to put your good tyres on the front. mahirap na kung biglang ma-flat ka sa harapan due to your tyre condition. isa pa, good front tyres helps in maneuvering and braking.

just my 2 cents.

[utk505]

in general rule always brand new tires at the back for RWD cars and it also applys for FWD , yan ang nabasa ko dati sa isang magazine

[blink21me]

IMO, good tires in the back + be careful drivng and don't do fast turn-ins... If you put the bad ones in the back instead, chances are you'll lose traction on uphills, you could swing the rear end on wet ~ possilby completely lose control if you hit a puddle, and that 5% will be down to 0% in no time...

[t2erns]

logically good tires must be at the front. pag na flat tire ka sa front mahirap steer unlike kung sa likod ma steer mo pa ang vehicle

[XTO]

better set of tire in front for me. flat tires at high speed can create
problems not only to steering but to damages once you sway to either
left or right. and worst head ons.

[niky]

If you have tires at 5% tread depth... you shouldn't be driving quickly, at all.

Bald tires in front will merely limit your ability to steer, but it won't make the car uncontrollable. Bald tires in the back will make it twitchy, and will lead to spins, sure, you can steer, but unless you're a rally driver, you're not going to have that much control, anyway. And, let's face it... we're not all Mikko Hirvonens at the wheel.

It's actually safer to place the bald tires in front... just drive much, much slower, and you'll be safe. There's lots of research to support this, it's just that "common-sense" and the general consensus amongst drivers have had us placing balds in the rear for a long time. Simply because the local tsupers and jeepney drivers drive tires all the way down to the belts.

I once had the tail on a car snap out on me unexpectedly in a turn. Not being the primary driver, I didn't know that the rear tires were actually nearly bald. That was scary. When you oversteer, you are bound to hit something with the side or rear of your car, which aren't built to withstand the same level of impact as that nice big pillow in front of the car (we call it the engine, engineers call it crash structure).

When you oversteer, you're in danger of hitting a vehicle on the other side of the road going in the opposite direction, at a good clip of speed. When you understeer (bald in front), you're (hopefully) braking in a straight line, heading for a curb (which will slow you down some more), and a wall, or some bushes. The wall will hurt, but your car is built more solidly for frontal impacts.

-----

The danger of a high-speed flat is terrible, yes, but, again, with bald tires... don't drive at highway speeds... EVER. I had a cousin almost die from high speeds on bald tires, and, yup, you guessed it... they were on the back.

[ravelcop]

Gee guys...thanks for your replies. noted them all. but i have to admit, i'm still confused because all of you made a good point about your opinions. I hope to get some more answers so I could finally make a decision. once again, thank you so much for those who replied :-)

[chris_d]

Good tires at the back, old ones in front.

[bling2k]

if its rwd you should put the good tires at the rear, if its fwd it should be in front. thats just me.

[dennis powell]

sabi mo, bihira mo lang ginagamit ang 4wd and lagi kang naka RWD,,,to tell you honestly kahit saan mo ilagay yung good tire ay ok lang ,pero tandaan mo as a rule of thumb, good tire should always be mounts at the front,,,,example: braking ability,remember that the braking ratio is 80/20,ibig sabihin 80% traction sa front and 20% sa rear,once you apply the brake, both front and rear ay sabay kakapit pero pag na reach na ng rear brake ang sinasabing 20% na kapit,magsashut off(close) ngayon yung tinatawag na proportioning valve(for rear) at mag oopen naman yung metering valve(for front)kaya ang lahat ng pressure(kapit)ay mapupunta sa front and dun magfucos yung 80% na kapit,kaya ang mangyyari ay ang lahat ng weight ng kotse mo ay magtatransfer ngayon sa front,so ibig sabihin mas mabigat ang weight ng front during braking situation,specially in panic situation,so ibig sabihin the better the tire thread at the front,more traction they have,the shorter the distance they stop,most specially in rainy day,,,,but if you have your bald tire mount in the front,during rainy day and in panic situation,bet me a cup of tea,its a 100% hydroplane,..im not scaring you,its true and trust me,,oh before i forget,the only disadvantage of that bald tire at the rear is that they keep spinning when you get stuck at the mud or snow,but since your car has 4WD,that will be fine.

[niky]

Uh... like I've posted above, the chances of losing control are much greater with bald rears.

That cousin who lost control on the highway was driving an SUV in the wet, with bald rears. A few bumps or even moderately hard braking on a set-up like this will cause fish-tailing and, very likely, a crash.

Bald fronts will limit braking, but only in the wet, and you will still stop. And, at least, you're hitting head-on, not sideways, or rolled-over, which are more dangerous.

I've seen lots of jeepneys get into accidents or near-accidents because of bald-rears. (including one that went end-over-end on the highway... never did find out what happened to those people) Simply put, it's nearly impossible to control a heavy vehicle once it starts rotating.

Having a fresh set in front will give you false confidence, as the vehicle still brakes somewhat normally in non-emergency situations, and it will still steer normally. (Bald fronts will steer, but will give in to "push" perceptibly earlier). That confidence goes when you're suddenly wrestling with the steering column after a simple lane change. (One of the scariest sights I've ever seen, a Jeepney fishtailing on a dry road, close to toppling over, at 30 km/h)

Whichever your choice, the message is clear: Don't drive quickly when you have bald tires.

[utk505]

tama si niky

[prysm_1]

sabi sa tirerack.com, michelin and goodyear

"when replacing only two tires put your best tires at the rear"

applicable din siguro ito sa atin.

[blink21me]

uhhhhh, I don't see why "might have a flat tire" case is worth worrying about. Yes it is true that you can stir the car better if the bad tires that were put in the rear go flat, but the question is, will it be flat??? Chances of it being, is only if you hit something that would cause the tire to be flat. Not because it's bad means it's going to be flat... Plus, if it the bad tires were put in the front and go flat, it doesn't mean that it's not safe to maneuver.

There is a much greater risk of putting bad tires in the rear. Doing so makes the vehicle more prone to oversteer. Do you know how to control the car if it happens to oversteer? Once the rear end twitches to the side I doubt you will remain calmed. What's the first thing you might do? Unless you have done some DE's during open track days, you would probably tend to put your foot off the gas pedal, which will make the vehicle oversteer more if not totally spin, and instead of counter-steering you would stir away from the direction the rear end is heading. Next thing you know the rear end of your vehicle swaps position with the front, or worse you go off a cliff or hit a pole or something...

...that said, if you put your bad tires in the front, the car is more prone to understeer, which is easily cured by going easier/lighter on the gas pedal (that's what average drivers would first do when the car behaves abnormally...) and by doing so you just re-gain the lost traction by the bad tires in the front.

About the weight distribution when braking comment. It is true, that's why my first suggestion was good tires in the rear + drive carefully...

_________________________________
OP, just replace all the bad tires...

[j_avonni]

I heard before that best tires should be placed in front. With this thread, there are conflicting opinions - whether at the front or rear.

Buti walang nag-suggest na all best tires to the left or right.

Now I got confused. It's good that all my tires have the same conditions.

[ravelcop]

sabi ng tire shop na pinagtanungan ko, its better to put the best tires at the front since front tires wear out faster. if that's the only basis, then i would rather put my best tires at the rear considering the dangers you mentioned. however, if the front tires are the ones that wear out faster, does it also mean na ito rin ang pinaka bugbog when it comes to driving through "lubak-lubak" roads and carrying loads? because that can also be a great risk of blowing your tires off other than just normal wear

[afrasay]

good tires (with the deeper groove) infront for traction and braking power either FWD or RWD. 5% thread belongs to the junkyard, this is for the safety of you, the motorist and the pedestrians around you. front tires usually wear out faster also because because this is were the full braking power is apply. Also front tires are subjected to more twist and turns.

[niky]

Actually, it goes like this: the front tires wear first, so you rotate the worn tires to the back so that the wear becomes even. This is the economical reason to have the fresher tires in front. But this is only if your tires still have 50% or more tread on them. If the tread is too shallow to resist aquaplaning... you should never put them in the back.

But... if you have tires that are dangerously worn... (like afrasay says: "belongs to the junkyard"), it's better to put them in front, as it's safer.

LIke we've said... di naman na basta "kalbo" sasabog (look at jeepneys... they may be uncontrollably dangerous because they're tires are bald, but they can still run ten trips or more a day on tires with the steel belts showing). If the tires are that bad already, don't use them... period.

[hagiber]

Put your best tires at the back... the reason is, if you get a front tire failure, you can still compensate with the steering and get some form of control. If you get a rear tire failure, there is no way for you to compensate.

Try to look for a fifthgear episode where they clearly explained and demonstrated what happens and what to do when a tire blows out (both front and back).. last year yata yun or two years ago...