mixing tyres???

[IanJ]

More just so that the old ones get moved to the front to wear them out before they age and become unsafe. Quite surprising how many garages do not rotate them when replacing tyres.

Real reason is snap oversteer in poor conditions - having the best tyres on the rear prevents this, I agree lots of garages don't bother when they should

[vexorg]

That means you always have older part worn tyres on the front, and it can be argued you need more grip on the front for a fwd car, especially on with cars 200+ bhp.

[vr55vxr]

That means you always have older part worn tyres on the front, and it can be argued you need more grip on the front for a fwd car, especially on with cars 200+ bhp.

As above best tyres should on the rear, if you lose traction on the front you can recover it - if rear wheels breaks traction it is only going one place , swapping ends with the front of the car.

[vexorg]

Yes, but the chance of the rear breaking away is very low compared to the grip and traction needed by the front. You really have to be pushing hard for the back end to step out.

The last car I had had cheap tyres all round when I bought it, pulling away and braking was a nightmare in the wet. I changed the front two first for very good tyres and the car was very safe. Only once when pushing a bit too hard on a bend (slip road) in the wet did the rear let go when the cheap tyres were still on the rear (not a fun situation I'll admit, and "kind of" controllable).

[w20adm]

I just have new vreds all round

[w20adm]

17,000 miles inner shoulder on factory contis 2

beware guys... check your tyres as my fronts are cracked down to the nylon...

A couple of mine have ended up like that before!! Quite unnerving really innit.

[Minismithy90]

My old 'Stones RE050A's ended up like that on my previous car, was shocked.

Sent from my D6503 using Tapatalk

[robertshephard]

That means you always have older part worn tyres on the front, and it can be argued you need more grip on the front for a fwd car, especially on with cars 200+ bhp.

No. The reason for fitting the new tyres to the back is that if you get into a rear wheel skid it is almost impossible to get out of it. A front wheel skid is much easier, hence always fit new tyres to the back. As Ian said, this is industry recommended. It is also what we did for road rallies in the dim past!

[u33db]

hence always fit new tyres to the back.

Nobody is going to pay to have their tyres swapped back-to-front everytime they need a new tyre, and no proper garage is going to invest the time to do so when they could be making more money doing other bigger work.

It may well be recommended but its not practical for the masses.

You also need to factor in that while on a new car its great theory, if you buy a used car more often than not the rears are bald and/or ancient - its simply not safe to swap rubber like that to the front and be washing out in every corner just to "do what the industry recommends"

Point is its really judgement call;

- If your the type of person who keeps their car on good rubber all the times then swap away.
- If you're the type of person who runs their car on a budget or has bought a car that's been run on a budget make a judgement call.

Its NOT black and white.

[vexorg]

No. The reason for fitting the new tyres to the back is that if you get into a rear wheel skid it is almost impossible to get out of it. A front wheel skid is much easier, hence always fit new tyres to the back. As Ian said, this is industry recommended. It is also what we did for road rallies in the dim past!

Yes, I understand what's being said, I just think the chance of a rear letting go is tiny for the day-to-day driver, compared to poorer tyres on the front that need better grip for braking and pulling away, or cornering with over 200bhp being pushed through them.

And it's not impossible to get out of, just slightly buttock clenching when it does go

[w20adm]

I'll bet 95% of drivers will not do and not even know about swapping tyres.

[IanJ]

Yes, I understand what's being said, I just think the chance of a rear letting go is tiny for the day-to-day driver, compared to poorer tyres on the front that need better grip for braking and pulling away, or cornering with over 200bhp being pushed through them.

And it's not impossible to get out of, just slightly buttock clenching when it does go

Take it you didn't watch the episode of 5th gear when they demonstrated it then with VBH - it's snap oversteer, there's no chance for recovery as the rear has overtaken the front - you are a passenger at that point.

[u33db]

Because the like of 5G and TG never over exaggerate anything.

Yawn.

[insanejim69]

Because the like of 5G and TG never over exaggerate anything.

Yawn.

Agreed !! The 2 most un-factual programs on the planet. 5th gear was such an acted fake show, TG is just an entertainment show that happens to have cars in it.

James

[reidy388]

Probably not very constructive to this post but my experience of snap oversteer was

Understeer > Lift Off (BIG MISTAKE) > Rear end overtakes front > Tree