 | Home > Wheels & Tyres > Which tyres wear faster... F or R? |
 
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746  |
Do what you like. I don't care who you *claim* to have worked with, what you say smacks against convention. I say again the tyres that do most of the work should get the best tyres. If it was rear wheel steer then yes put the best tyres on the rear
Maybe there should be a poll on this seeing as it's a safety issue? |
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6th Sep 2015 9:58am |
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| camelman Member Since: 27 Feb 2013 Location: Peak District Posts: 3384 
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having read the thread with interest and initially being undecided, found a few articles from the tyre manufactures which recommend new tyres on the rear:
BF Goodrich state: http://www.bfgoodrich.co.uk/gb/advice/Find...your-tyres Some guidance on changing tyres: always change your tyres in twos or fours: it is essential that the tyres on a single axle are absolutely identical: same brand, same tread pattern, same dimensions, same ratings (speed and load); Always try to use the dimensions approved by the vehicle manufacturer (keep modifications to a minimum, or seek professional assistance); always fit the newest tyres to the rear axle to reduce losses of grip, whether it is a two or four-wheel-drive vehicle or rear or front-wheel-drive vehicle. Grip losses are very difficult to control at the rear. kumho state: There is a lot of confusion as to which axle the new pair of tyres should be fitted. With a vehicle that has same size and fitment of tyre on the front and rear axle, the easiest (and some might think most logical) thing to do would be to just replace the front tyres. After all, they are going to wear quickest again so it makes sense to put the tyres with most tread on the front so that they last longer. For reasons of safety this is the wrong thing to do http://kumhotyre.co.uk/kumho-news/should-y...t-or-rear/ http://www.tyresafe.org/tyre-safety/frequently-asked-questions http://www.michelin.co.uk/tyres/learn-shar...e-tips[/u]  |
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6th Sep 2015 11:05am |
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746 |
Actually that quote you took from BF Goodrich is wrong as well. Saying that grip losses are hard to control at the rear is fair enough, but they are even harder to control from the front. When you lock the rear, you still have steering input available. If you lock the front you have nothing.
For example oversteer can be controlled most of the time very easily by a competent driver. Under steer, while still controllable by a competent driver is more difficult. It's a similar thing on a motorbike. Lock up the rear and it's no big deal really if your a half decent rider. Lock up the front though and your going straight to the scene of the accident..... |
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6th Sep 2015 11:14am |
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| shaggydog Member Since: 12 Aug 2012 Location: Kent Posts: 3347 
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For me I never look at what the tyres are doing in ideal situation, its what happens when someone pulls out of a side road in front of me on a cruddy road surface when its just me in the 110.
I know from experience that if I brake very hard the nose dips, lots of weight on the front wheels (spare on the bonnet too remember) with disk brakes at the front, the rear has hardly any weight over it just the fuel tank and is on drum brakes - I know which one is going to grip better. In that situation the front slows down drastically, the rear doesn't slow down as fast- it starts to slide out! Dangerous as its a high centre of gravity and the risk of rolling over or getting a tank slapper are very high- dangerous. Yes Abs may help but I don't have it so its irrelevant. So you need the most grip on the wheels which have the least grip- the rears! I agree that ideally yes you should change 4 tyres at a time- but not everyone has £520 to spend at the end of the month on 4 new tyres. Each to there own though, what works for you works for you! Running Restoration Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/post323197.html#323197 Self confessed mileage hunter  |
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6th Sep 2015 11:34am |
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746 |
Shaggydog your thinking about it all wrong. By your own admission you have correctly stated that when you brake heavily all the weight goes to front.
So tell me. What do you think will happen if you have the worst tyres on the front where all the weight, braking, and steering input is all happening at the same time? |
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6th Sep 2015 11:38am |
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| Retroanaconda Member Since: 04 Jan 2012 Location: Scotland Posts: 2688 
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If your tyres are wearing unevenly enough to need to change a front set but not the back (or vice versa) then there's probably something wrong with your Land Rover... or you're driving it like a tool.
Front tyres do wear out first on these cars, as one would expect since they do steering and the bulk of the braking etc. however the difference on mine has only ever been minimal - a mm or two in depth difference. So not enough to be worth just changing one set in my opinion. It's not like on a 2WD car where one set will wear out much faster than the others. I recently changed the tyres on mine, Continental Cross-Contact in 235 flavour. Front tyres wore out after 30,000 odd miles and the rears were not far enough behind to be bothered about keeping. I put the spare onto the front N/S (slight tracking issue caused that one to be illegal) and limped them on for another 3,000 miles while I saved for a set of BFG ATs which went on last week. The old tyres had about 1.5 - 1.8 mm left on the fronts and maybe 2.0 - 2.5 mm on the rear. |
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6th Sep 2015 11:42am |
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| shaggydog Member Since: 12 Aug 2012 Location: Kent Posts: 3347
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They grip?
Its not like your running bald tyres at the front and brand new at the back, if your tyres are in a good legal condition they should perform as well as if the front and rear are the same surely? So by increasing the grip at the rear is only going to increase your rear stability rather than increase its instability? In a defender if you brake hard and try and steer your asking for trouble whatever the condition of your tyres. Running Restoration Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/post323197.html#323197 Self confessed mileage hunter |
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6th Sep 2015 11:54am |
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| Alien Member Since: 18 Jan 2015 Location: Bacchus Marsh Posts: 230 
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I agree that new tyres are usually fitted the front first by most dealers. To clarify why I would go rear on mine.... When on most trips I tow a Tvan which when attached only gives me 50Kg(110Lb) to spare on the rear axle weight limit. The rear tyres run up to 60PSI once warm , fronts go to 48PSI so the rears on mine are doing it harder. When on the dirt I'd rather the front under steer slightly than the rear over steer with the trailer pushing causing a jack knife situation. I could drive slower but there is no fun in that 
The wife drives a little Swift and it is very light in the tail with only a driver and no luggage. I asked for 2 new tyres to go onto the rear as the fronts where 75% and it tends to wear out rears first. Yep the rotated and new on front as it's "what we recommend" Cheers, Kyle. Last edited by Alien on 6th Sep 2015 12:26pm. Edited 2 times in total |
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6th Sep 2015 11:58am |
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746 |
Yes in your case Kyle I would agree with your reasoning.
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6th Sep 2015 12:14pm |
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746 |
No. They won't grip. What will likely happen if you have crap tyres on the front is that they will lock too easily, meaning that the ABS kicks in way too early and you will probably under steer off the side of the road as a result.. But hey if you want to put that to the test, by all means be my guest.. |
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6th Sep 2015 12:16pm |
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| Rickydodah Member Since: 14 Jul 2014 Location: East Sussex Posts: 1091 |
As it takes a man to admit when they are wrong I'd like to apologise for anything misleading that I have posted. It is however factual information and not based on personal theory. It is the concenus of tyre manufacturers worldwide who have far more expertise in tyre construction and behaviour than I.  I started with nothing and still have most of it left!Last edited by Rickydodah on 18th Oct 2015 6:43pm. Edited 1 time in total |
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6th Sep 2015 12:21pm |
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746 |
No apologies needed
But over 23 years of driving/racing cars, 4x4's and motorbikes has taught me that you can get away with letting the tail get a little wayward (hence drifting?) but you really don't want the front not doing what it's told.. |
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6th Sep 2015 12:35pm |
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| Birdy Member Since: 07 Oct 2011 Location: Côte d'Azur Posts: 871  
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So, now that’s all been settled, to go back to the question of “Which pair of tyres will wear out first?” I’m afraid I can’t really help - being a “Rotator”, I replace mine four at a time (it means I don’t sell a vehicle with an old tyre that’s never been used, I don’t have to worry about matching or finding a tyre that’s become obsolete, and I can upgrade with no problem).
BUT, I have found some strange differences with pad wear. Defender(s) are the only vehicles I’ve owned which have gone through more rear pads than fronts. No pulling to one side, no lock-ups, I was told by my mechanic (rightly or wrongly) that it was a consequence of the compensating mechanism. Possibly affecting tyre wear? Peter |
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6th Sep 2015 1:22pm |
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746 |
Retroanaconda above is correct. Provided everything is as it should be, the fronts will wear marginally more quickly under normal circumstances..
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6th Sep 2015 1:27pm |
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