2 new tyres...put on the front or back ?

[latestarter]

I am getting an extra spare for my up coming trip, which will give me two new tyres.
I was going to put these on the front of the vehicle, and keep the current fronts for the spares. They are probably at 70%

Towing camper @ 1500kg and loaded vehicle.

Is this the right way to go ?

[Aaron Schubert]

In general, yes. Your front brakes do much more braking than the rears. However, it's not going to be the end of the world, and you will probably be rotating them in 10k anyway.

Aaron

[edz]

As with any new tire, Also take it easy when braking and cornering especially in wet weather ,   for the first 100 k's or so to get the  rubber roughed up and remove the new tire oily slime .

[latestarter]

Thanks chaps.

Yeah will be rotating the wheels to try and in them down consistently .... Will probably see the faithfull old girl out

[Bird]

I'd have thought the rear would do more work driving and all the weight on it would be better off..

but also depends how worn your other tyres are.

[scblack]

I would always put the best tyres on front. Then your steering is working with best tread, particularly in wet conditions.

[AllanK]

Did the same recently before going on a trip.

Two new ones on the front.
Old ones off the front onto the rear (assuming the are better then the current rear).
Old rears as the spares.

This should mean the tyres with the lesser tread/more wear are on as spares where they belong hoping not to have to use them until possibly the next rotation.

[HKB Electronics]

I used to always put the news on the front as you assume they do most of the work, keep in
mind though that if you loose the back end the car will spin around.

Just now I have gone through the exercise of rotating the wheels the wheels on my prado, tyres
fitted where Coopers St Max, they have done around 30000Kms and half of this was on goat tracks,
gravel and sand.

On inspecting the tires, van (Vista XL) little damage tread probably down about 1/4, car fronts, little
damage again tread down about 1/4. Car rears, some chipping more wear and tear to tread blocks
tread depth down about a 1/4.

So in my particular case the rears are doing more work so I be more inclined to put the new on the rear and
the rears to the front to extend their life.

[paul.o]

As above, new ones on the front. That's where your braking and steering happens when you do it in a hurry.

[NewieCamper]

I say new on front. It's where the steering and most of the braking happens.

[Jeepers Creepers]

Best foot forward.

[HKB Electronics]

For curiosity I check a few tire company websites, the consensus is:

"Intuition suggests that since the front tires wore out first and because there is still about half of the tread remaining on the rear tires, the new tires should be installed on the front axle. This will provide more wet and wintry traction; and by the time the front tires have worn out for the second time, the rear tires will be worn out, too. However, in this case, intuition isn't right...and following it can be downright dangerous.

"When tires are replaced in pairs...the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front."
When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front. New tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning."

[edz]

[quote
When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front. New tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning."
[/quote]

This bit, I dont get the reasoning behind,, Sooo its OK to lose control of the Front end IE : steerage too aquaplaning and supposedly the back end wont step out and thats  um err  safer ... Mmm interesting ... No thanks
I'll stick to being able to steer and throttle  my way out of it,   if and when the back end decides to ever break loose .

[Merts]

I'm a bit surprised that this is even an issue. I've always regularly rotated sets of tyres, and I replace them in sets (of 4 or 5 depending on the vehicle).
IMHO, if you're changing them two at a time, you are doing it wrong.

[MrCruza]

Test also suggest it's easier to control a car with a front tyre blowout than a rear tyre blowout. Therefore the newies should be on the rear. Yeah I know, I didn't believe it either ..

[kylarama]

When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front. New tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning."


This bit, I dont get the reasoning behind,, Sooo its OK to lose control of the Front end IE : steerage too aquaplaning and supposedly the back end wont step out and thats  um err  safer ... Mmm interesting ... No thanks
I'll stick to being able to steer and throttle  my way out of it,   if and when the back end decides to ever break loose .

If someone (not saying that you) has little faith in their worn, yet still roadworthy tyres, I'd be replacing the entire set.


Personally I've only ever replaced sets, never 2 only. Even if there is still a bit of usable tread left on an axle.



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[lincolnland]

my 5 cents worth, and only passing on what i was trained in during the defensive driver courses ive done, trainers always advise new boots on the bum as past a certain angle (cant remember how many degrees) if the back steps out, theres no bringing it back. this was also taught in the heavy truck training. our work fleet of rangers and hiluxs regularly get only 2 tyres replaced at a time as the weight in the back wears the rears at about a 2:1 ratio. so i always insist on new tyres on the back both for better traction off road but also bc they wear quicker. just what works for me and my crews. cheers

[HKB Electronics]

It is about maintaining control of the car, if the back looses traction it will swing around and you end up spinning or facing the wrong way, try pulling on the hand brake and locking
the rear wheels the back will come around.

It is therefore good for the back to have good transaction to be able to maintain control, hence load proportioning valves, and ABS etc. In a braking situation
ABS should overcome the poorer rear traction if the fronts are better then the rears by preventing the rear wheels locking, in a hydroplaning situation though where your
simply driving down the road and the back starts hydroplaning and you hit the brakes you've got a serious problem.

[latestarter]

Interesting how a thread can develop.
Firstly... (Merts) ...I'm not doing anything wrong... I rotate my wheels about every 10k and wear them down at a point where I change 4 corners at once. No ... I haven't rotated my spare but that was a conscience decision. I chuck the spare when it was past its used by.

The situation I'm in now is that I have two spares and in this situation I will rotate them and try and wear 6 tyres down at a consistent rate in order I get good value from my hard earned.

The reason my situation changed is that the vehicle has alloys as standard but a steel spare. I have chucked the steel rim spare and got two alloys for spares that makes a 6 wheel rotation a no brainer.

My only question really was whether to put the new tyres on the front or rear. They're on the front and I thank everyone for their input.

17 work days and we are off on our half lap......happy days 😀

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

It is about maintaining control of the car, if the back looses traction it will swing around and you end up spinning or facing the wrong way, try pulling on the hand brake and locking the rear wheels the back will come around.

It is therefore good for the back to have good transaction to be able to maintain control, hence load proportioning valves, and ABS etc. In a braking situation
ABS should overcome the poorer rear traction if the fronts are better then the rears by preventing the rear wheels locking, in a hydroplaning situation though where your
simply driving down the road and the back starts hydroplaning and you hit the brakes you've got a serious problem.

The back is usually hydroplaning long after the front, unless your travelling backwards.
The rear tyres move the vehicle along and carry some of the weight, it's the front that steers and does a majority of the braking in most vehicles.
In the front wheel drive vehicles, the rear wheels most work is carrying the weight of/in the vehicle.

In the past I had to enforce the reasoning of mixed tyre types on the same vehicle.
It was steel/rag radials in front and then you fitted biased ply tyres or cross plies on the back.
The understeer situation was way less desirable or controllable than oversteer, as explained to us at the time.

[HKB Electronics]

I believe the tyre companies where referring to having worn tires on the rear when they indicated they could aquaplane before the front.

Anyway OPis happy with what he has done.

[Cruiser 105Tvan]

No probs HKB.
Bald tyres on a wet day are good fun to watch/play with.
Just no good when unexpected things happen on a wet road in traffic.

[prodigyrf]

Might have changed a bit with much better tubeless tyres than the good old days with tubes when you always put the new pair on the front to avoid blowouts and less chance of punctures. That's right, we didn't have power steering either so new tyres up front were the next best thing 

[Craig Tomkinson]

Hi All, When I am broke I always put two new tires on the front of my 4wd and put the old front to the back, It stems back to the old days of no power steering in Landrovers and Toyota's, I have got a flat on both types of 4wds without power steering and gone bush both times lucky I was only going 35 miles an hour and it was flat open country and I could pull up. I have got flats on the back and nothing happened, So thats why I still put the new tires on the front when money is tight, Putting 4 new ones on the 80 series today, Craig

[bully]

Big call saying someone is doing something wrong. Everyone's situation and set up is different. A bit hard to coment on someone's situation if you don't know the whole story.
70% worn tyres and 2 new tyres will not make any difference in braking and handling where you put them.
Personally I would put them on the back as you are off on a bit trip and the only constant will be weight in the back of the vehicle. Braking and steering will be dramatically reduced due to long distance driving instead of stop start in town.
Have a great trip.