Allegro Club International

[Colin T]

Well, I have finally replaced some of my car's tyres. I probably should have checked them more carefully and replaced some sooner, but it's done now.

Two were very old and had cracks in the bottom of the tread, and one was more recent but had a cut in the sidewall.

So I now have 3 new Goodyears, one Tigar (2008, 12,000 miles, been on the front) and one Barum (was the spare, virtually never used, full tread, looks perfect but from 2002).

I'm inclined to put 2 of the new Goodyears on the front, keep the Tigar and Barum on the back, and keep one new Goodyear as the spare.

Keeping he Tigur and Barum together makes sense to me - once the Tigur has worm down a bit, it'll be getting old and the Barum will be very old, so best replaced as a pair, so I'll then have a new matched pair in the future. Using just one of those and the remaining new Goodyear wold be too much of a age/wear mismatch, so in the future I'd probably have to replace just one, to go with the (then) partly worn (but currently new) Goodyear.

However, I have read differing things about where to put new pairs of tyres - some say on the front of a FWD car, some say on the back of all cars, and Goodyear's website says the back too.

Any recommendations folks?
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Hell has frozen over...... the car formally known as 'Heap' is back on the road!

[Paul-V]

Personally, I would put the new ones on the back, as most wear takes place on the front. Therefore, you will wear the older tyres out more quickly (they never seem to wear on the back!)

[M. Irvine]

Colin,

This is a very interesting question.

Tyresafe and other such organisations changed their minds about this a few years ago, and I can understand why they recommend the new tyres should be fitted on the back. They reason if the average driver gets into an understeer condition he/she automatically applies more lock and gets the car around the corner (if they are lucky), and this is a safer condition than oversteer when the back of the car runs wide whilst cornering.

I don't agree for these reasons:

1) As most of the braking is done by the front wheels, I suspect more drivers get into trouble not being able to stop and hitting the car in front, rather than going off the road, when surface water is present. In many cases the driver will then claim the brakes didn't work although he/she has skidded some distance before the impact.

2) I would prefer to have a matched pair of tyres on the front of a vehicle to help produce more even braking and a reduction in steering pull.

3) Older tyres are more likely to suffer a failure and having experienced both front and rear tyre blowouts in the past (both on Minis) I know which I prefer!

4) The loading on the front tyres on most cars is going to be higher than the rear, so the chance of a failure is reduced if the new tyres are on the front.

5) Due to the depth of tread present the steering is likely to be lighter with the new tyres.

At the end of the day it is your choice, but I know what I would do.

Merv.
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ALLEGRO = Agile, Lively, Legendary, Economical, Genial, Reliable & Outstanding.

[Dave Smart]

personally, i would buy another goodyear so you have 4 matching and put the best in as a spare, then you know all are new and good and then rotate the tyres(as long as they are not directional) every 12 months so you get the most out of them.

[Colin T]

Many thanks folks, I'm going to have another very close look at the remaining two tyres. I am sure they were fine but I'll check again. If they are OK then I'll swap about the new ones so that two are on the front and one is in the boot.

The chance of me having an oversteer moment in my little 1300 estate is pretty remote I think!
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Hell has frozen over...... the car formally known as 'Heap' is back on the road!

[Colin T]

Well, the 2008 Siguar and the very old Barum are OK for now, so have gone on the back, but will keep an eye on them - the Siguar being the worse of the two. The wear suggests I need to get the tracking done, or that speed cushions have taken their toll. As I haven't been going over many of the latter in this car I suspect the tracking needs attention. I'll also check the ride height too, in case that has an effect.

So the two brand new (well less than 100 miles now) Goodyears are on the front, with a third in the boot.
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Hell has frozen over...... the car formally known as 'Heap' is back on the road!