Should "good" tires be rotated to the front?

There's real life, and there are counter-examples. The video illustrates an uncommon counter-example.

Consider also the position of the tire experts, i.e. sellers and manufacturers:

Customer: "I got stuck in the snow yesterday. I was making a turn and the car understeered into a snow bank. My front tires are worn out, but the back ones are still good. Can I please have two new tires for the front?"

Tire Guy: "Well, we can sell you two new ones but we have to put them on the back."

Customer: "Why? I want the best tires on the front so I don't get stuck again."

Tire Guy: "Tests have proven that you may lose control if you are taking a turn at high speed through standing water, if you put new tires on the front."

Customer: "The hell with it, just sell me 4 tires then."

 

I'd be interested to see what Consumer Reports (or some other organization not interested in selling tires or advertisements for tires) thinks.

My google-fu did not find an opinion.

 

That is where my reasoning with vehicle weight distribution under brake dive conditions comes into play. Again this is assuming you are running reasonably threaded tires in the front. If they are so bald that they have subpar traction then they should be replaced anyway. That is definitely not a personal choice since your failure to maintain your vehicle in a safe running condition affects all of us.

 

AND ---- There ya' go

 

As opposed to oversteered into a snow bank?

It's a good thought. Please post up the info if you find it. I am pretty sure that the tire manufactures and retailers would be very careful about making recommendations where the safety of vehicles is concerned unless they were accurate. There are too many lawyers just waiting to take one of them down.

 

Interesting debate. Here the tire dealers want the new/best tires on the front. But I see the reasons for either.

-I- had them put on four new Nokian WRGIIs, two on the front and two on the rear. Tires are cheap compared to body damage or legal implications resulting from an accident. Not to mention death or injury!

 

This is exactly what every responsible driver should do. The whole debate is rather foolish. If either set of tires is so worn as to create a potential hazard with concern to under steer or oversteer when moved front or rear then both sets should be replaced instead of rotatated.

 

There's a big space in between 'told me something unsafe' and 'gave me the best information' particularly if your industry pours money into 'research' that tends to prove your case.

After all, 'everybody knows' cigarettes aren't safe and current research bears that out. However, that wasn't always the case.

 

I appreciate a good debate, especially when it involves a challenge to conventional wisdom. Clearly, this shows that F8L is recovering well from surgery. Kickin' nice person and takin' names!

 

Point taken. I just try not to assume the opposite stance just because I think everyone is out to get me.

Debate is good. Although I don't usually find any season to debate the likes of yourself as you are nearly always spot on accurate.

 

I tend to have a higher level of trust in a source that doesn't have a vested interest in a particular outcome. I get suspicious when an industry starts trotting out proof that what's best for them happens to be what's best for me too.

 

Appreciate the discussion, now I need 2 new tires for the front. The reason is you guys don't like plugs, and I've lost count of how many - two or three. I actually accept the argument that rear may be best location for new tires, may do that, but I do not recall for sure exactly where the plugs are - front I think.

 

You definitely should use an internal patch or internal patch/plug combo next time.

You can probably find your plugs if you take a careful look at the tread.

 

I don't have a dog in this discussion but....if your vehicle is front wheel drive, you should have the better ones in the front. These are your drive axles, more weight proportionally and you need grip for your steering for corrections. You should have equal tread for best which is why rotation is required. The fronts always wear faster. Any competent tire shop can tell you which ones have plugs. Patches are better if you are willing to pay the extra cost.

 

I like logic, but sometimes experiment proves it wrong. What sounds right isn't always right - 'counter intuitive' is the 50 cent word for it. Most of the reasons stated in these posts sound perfectly plausible, but the videos prove otherwise.

If you're a highly skilled driver who can slide either end of the vehicle at will, go ahead and do whatever you want with your tires. For the rest of us, and everyone else on the road, it's best to follow real-world results.

 

Concur.
That's why I pay no attention to vids showing non-Prius cars, already in extremis on a track somewhere. To me (and only me!) that's not the "real-world."
This is another of the world famous "six versus half dozen" arguments common to PC.
Yes....under certain lab (track) conditions I can see where you might want the best skins in the rear. Since I tend to always buy tires in fours it's a moot point for me.
The Prius is a somewhat underpowered fwd car...and it has TC and SC. I'm thinking that it miiiiiiight not be the first car on the block to have the rear wheels break loose in a corner, but hey....
I just use it on the street.

I'm also presuming that under conditions that helmetless drivers are likely to encounter in this car, maintaining helm control trumps trying to fight the evils of oversteer.
In my dumb old pickemuptruck????
I might put the better half of my rubber in the after-steering section, who knows?
For my car, for my driving habits, I'll respectfully listen to the cone squashers' theories, and acknowledge that under certain conditions they "might be right."

---on a track.

YMMV.

 

This thread reminded me of a specific night where I had the bright idea to drive home from the track on my ET Streets (street legal drag slicks with very little tread). I was driving just fine until I hit a section of road (perfectly straight) where the sprinklers in the median had wetted my side of the street. Instantly the nice person end of my Trans Am swung out and I was lucky that I saw it early enough to be prepared and I counter steered correctly just as the wet pavement ended so that I was able to regain control. Had there not been such a small patch or water I would have had no hope in hell of recovering. Since then I have had a healthy respect for sudden and unexpected oversteer.

 

In a 300BHP (++) front engine, rear wheel drive car, without traction or stability countermeasures......oversteer is something that you should have a pretty healthy respect for!
Yeah......If I were rolling like that, I believe I'd put the best rubber in the rear as well. On or off the track.

 

No doubt. lol

I know it's not apples to apples but I was reminded me of the incident and thought I would share.