Replacing a tyre

[Dobby]

Basically I had a puncture on the sidewall of my tyre last night and I have to replace it, Not sure whether its best to replace both front tyres but Ive attached a picture of the other front wheels how the tread is still doing on that, if I only replace the one that needs doing is it better to put uneven tyres on the back?

 

[Darren92]

They'll be fine.

 

[pburv]

I'm sure they will be ok but if unsure put them on the back...

 

[veeeight]

Your "best" tyres should always go on the rears.

http://www.michelincertifiedcentre.co.uk/tyresafety/new-to-the-rear.aspx
http://www.goodyear.com/email/faq/care.html#q9
http://www.tyresafe.org/media-centre/latest-news/69-motorists-get-their-tyres-“back-to-front”
http://kumhotyre.co.uk/kumho-news/should-you-fit-new-tyres-to-the-front-or-rear/
http://www.btmauk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Replacing-car-tyres-important-information.pdf
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/car-tyres.html
https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-rotation

@Don76 is our resident tyre guru

 

[Satory]

Your "best" tyres should always go on the rears.

http://www.michelincertifiedcentre.co.uk/tyresafety/new-to-the-rear.aspx
http://www.goodyear.com/email/faq/care.html#q9
http://www.tyresafe.org/media-centre/latest-news/69-motorists-get-their-tyres-“back-to-front”
http://kumhotyre.co.uk/kumho-news/should-you-fit-new-tyres-to-the-front-or-rear/
http://www.btmauk.com/wp-content/uploads/2014/12/Replacing-car-tyres-important-information.pdf
http://www.theaa.com/motoring_advice/safety/car-tyres.html
https://www.kwik-fit.com/tyres/information/tyre-rotation

@Don76 is our resident tyre guru

You live and learn.

 

[Don76]

Yip. Always put the best tyres on the rear.

In the wet, if you lose grip on the rear but retain grip on the front - you'll be facing the wrong way pretty quickly. Or worse still you'll have left the road.

Lose grip on the front axel first and it's way easier to rescue.

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[Satory]

In the wet, if you lose grip on the rear but retain grip on the front - you'll be facing the wrong way pretty quickly.

I get the point but my experience differs. If I have good grip at the front then the car will go in the direction that the front wheels are pointing. The rear will bring itself in.

 

[Don76]

I get the point but my experience differs. If I have good grip at the front then the car will go in the direction that the front wheels are pointing. The rear will bring itself in.

Every tyre manufacturer in the world strongly advise new tyres to the rear.
New on the rear = understeer.
New on the front = oversteer.

In either scenario the typical drivers natural reaction is to lift off the accelerator. When facing understeer, lifting off corrects it. When facing oversteer lifting off makes things worse (a bit of power usually helps)

Understeer is not only easier to correct for Joe public, but it's also easier to detect as it's communicated through the steering wheel.

If it's really wet and the rears are below 3mm then they simply can't shift enough water and they aquaplane. Even Ken block would easily get caught out in this scenario

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[Satory]

Understeer is not only easier to correct for Joe public, but it's also easier to detect as it's communicated through the steering wheel.

I will be driving a S3 from next week so communication through the steering wheel probably not so relevant

Seriously though, I'm too old to want either under or over steer but if I have the choice I'll take option b. The worst scenario I can imagine, at least on a bend, is having strong rear grip and weak front grip. The steering wheel is connected to the fronts. Ymmv.

 

[veeeight]

As stated, every tyre manufacturer in the world advise new tyres to the rear.

Also:

1. It's more instinctive for a driver to lift off when under steering to bring it back into line, this is what the vast majority of the public would do when a car gets out of shape. Most (new) drivers would not know to steer in the opposite direction to counter an oversteer situation.

2. With the front crash safety and crumple zones, you have a better chance of sustaining less injuries going head on (understeer) than you have swiping sideways (oversteer) - safety.

All production cars have understeer inherently dialled into them. Even rear wheel drive production road cars.

 

[Satory]

With the front crash safety and crumple zones, you have a better chance of sustaining less injuries going head on (understeer) than you have swiping sideways (oversteer) - safety.

I'd just as soon not hit anything at all thanks very much, so give me lots of front wheel grip every time.

 

[Don76]

It's in the wet you need to consider. Worn tyres can't remove water like new tyres. If the front grips and the rear aquaplanes you're almost certainly going to spin uncontrollably.

Check out youtube, there's plenty of graphic demos from Michelin and the likes which depict what we're trying to say.

Sometimes you have to accept what the boffins and professionals tell you.

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