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.