Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

[Slip Away]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

+1, The Impala is absolute junk in snow. No matter what tiresyou have on it. Best tires should be on front on a FWD car. Period. Only a cheapskate
insurance salesman would buy just two tires. Should always replace all four .

 

[Expidia]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

With tires being so expensive now I usually change them in pairs. Having to fork up $300 for two tires now hurts. I used to pay that for 4 Michilens only a few years ago! Each time I try and have the tire shop mount the new ones on the front they refuse ( I thought he said it was a NY State law or at least a requirement).

I was going to move them myself when I got home until I googled it and found the tire dealer was correct. Mount new ones on the rear!

YouTube

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

.................

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

+1, The Impala is absolute junk in snow. No matter what tiresyou have on it...

You must be doing something wrong, because they go great in the snow, with either the Uniroyals or the Goodyears that they came standard with from 2000-2005.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

on front wheel drive if you learn to use the brake pedal as well as the accelerator you will find it can be real fun and fast on snow and ice. by applying just a little brake with out taking your foot of the accelerator it acts like a crude traction control. once mastered find a large area you can play and learn to do it in corners using more throttle and dont worry where the back end of the car is going just keep the front pointing in the right direction.

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

on front wheel drive if you learn to use the brake pedal as well as the accelerator you will find it can be real fun and fast on snow and ice. by applying just a little brake with out taking your foot of the accelerator it acts like a crude traction control. once mastered find a large area you can play and learn to do it in corners using more throttle and dont worry where the back end of the car is going just keep the front pointing in the right direction.

Great advice! How to push it to the edge when driving on ice and snow. :facepalm:

By the way, how long have you lived in Florida?

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

Great advice! How to push it to the edge when driving on ice and snow. :facepalm:

By the way, how long have you lived in Florida?

11 years but im british so ive driven on black ice and fog like pea soup. on some winter mornings you get lucky and get the snow/ice and freezing fog as a bonus.

 

[rbh]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

11 years but im british so ive driven on black ice and fog like pea soup. on some winter mornings you get lucky and get the snow/ice and freezing fog as a bonus.

Does not sound much different than Vancouver BC in the winter.

 

[rivermouse]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

If you want a professional answer I will offer it to you.. You always put your best tires on the part of the car that has the most weight. If you are only putting on 2 new ones I assume the other 2 are in good shape. The 2 new ones in this case go on the front.

 

[Bamaman1]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

WalMart says to always put the new tires on the rear. I disagree.

FWD cars will wear out the front tires substantially longer than the rears if the tires are not rotated. Maybe twice as fast. Substantially more weight of a FWD car is on the front.

Put the new tires on the front.

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

WalMart says to always put the new tires on the rear. I disagree.

FWD cars will wear out the front tires substantially longer than the rears if the tires are not rotated. Maybe twice as fast. Substantially more weight of a FWD car is on the front.

Put the new tires on the front.

forget about the wear on the tires and the fact that the video looks like the car had 2 bald tires. also forget about the fact that most race drivers can upset the ballance of a car in a corner to get it to kick out for the cameras yet no signs of understeer from the one with bald front tires.
tires have a shelf/use life of 6 years from the date of manufacture so maybe if you put the hardly worn one's on the front and new on the rear then you would be able to get max life before the tire starts to show signs of age. i am about due for 2 front tires after 18k yet the backs look new so im proberly going to put them on the ???????.

 

[generator12]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

With all due respect to the tire changers in the shops mentioned above, and to those posters who disagree, I like the new ones on the front.

The only advantage I can see in putting the new ones on the rear is better drive traction (RWD). But I'm less concerned with the traction needed to go than I am with the traction needed to stop. My feeling has always been that:

1. The front tires carry the weight of the engine and most of the tranny weight. If there is a situation of stress (puncture/blowout, etc.) I'd rather have the front a little better protected against failure. I doubt that a sudden rear wheel failure holds quite as much potential for disaster.

2. When braking I'd rather have the tread where most of the braking pressure is, and that's the front. If I'm locking them up, I doubt that having good tread on the rear gives me much protection against the rear end swinging out, but in front it may help me avoid a skid. If the front wheels break loose in a skid, you're usually in much deeper trouble. Driving in cold weather environments exacerbates this concern.


Oh, this too; in well over fifty years of driving, I've hydroplaned once - and that was preventable had I been paying attention...!

 

[glenn property of pam]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

as a young lad i was always broke so a new tire was a remould and i ran the tires many times till they blew out. back then all my cars were front wheel drive and i can honestly say with experiance that i would rather blow a front tire than a rear. as long as you dont panic brake blowing a front is easy to control and the car will stay in its own lane and behave. i have no idea on rear wheel drive

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

If you want a professional answer I will offer it to you.. You always put your best tires on the part of the car that has the most weight. If you are only putting on 2 new ones I assume the other 2 are in good shape. The 2 new ones in this case go on the front.

We've already had professional answers, the new ones go on the back....or even better, replace all 4.....but thanks for your opinion.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

We've already had professional answers, the new ones go on the back

Meh - only on a RWD FWD they go in the Front

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

You must be doing something wrong, because they go great in the snow, with either the Uniroyals or the Goodyears that they came standard with from 2000-2005.

Not a chance Billy B. I've driven in snow longer than you have been alive. The difference is Peoria gets just under 7" of snow per month in the winter months. TC get's 20" to 30" per month.
You can ride a bicycle in a dusting of snow like you get, not so when there is more snow constantly.

 

[TilliamWe]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

Slip Away, you continue to slip away in whatever you drive, or wherever you drive it. I'll take an Impala any day of the week. Only time I ever got stuck in an Impala was when I unknowingly entered into a snow drift 2 feet deep, and the car got hung up.
You can look up snowfall facts on the net if you want, but driving in Central Illnois with its winds and drifts is every bit as bad as whatever you drive in. If you can't make an Impala handle in the snow, 40+ years of driving isn't going to make any difference.

I'm done with you.

 

[Slip Away]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

Still as pissy as ever aren't you Billy.

 

[oldjeep]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

Still as pissy as ever aren't you Billy.

He just posted his 3 favorite cars in another thread. I think that post pretty much disqualifies him from any discussion surrounding cars <ducking>

 

[Tim Frank]

Re: Two new tires - front or rear? (front wheel drive)

Originally Posted by Tim Frank
We've already had professional answers, the new ones go on the back...

Meh - only on a RWD FWD they go in the Front

You forgot...."or even better, replace all 4...."

This is almost as good as a "synthetic oil v regular" thread, or a fibreglass/tinny dust-up.