 | Home > Wheels & Tyres > Which tyres wear faster... F or R? |
 
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| YOLO110 Member Since: 14 Feb 2015 Location: Perth Oz and Stansted UK Posts: 1645  
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Interested in feedback on this please... do I put a new spare plus a new tyre on the F or R axle?
I am thinking it would be logical that the F will wear quicker, given it is also steering... ... however! Cheers, Pete. YOLO... You Only Live Once... |
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5th Sep 2015 1:09pm |
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746 |
Always put the best pair of tyres on the axle doing the most work. That would be the front. They are driving, steering and braking... All the rears are doing is driving.
Edit: ok the rears are doing a little braking but nothing compared to the front.. |
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5th Sep 2015 1:20pm |
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| gilarion Member Since: 05 Dec 2013 Location: Wales Posts: 5111  
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New tyres on front. Front wheels need the best grip for steering and braking. For those who like Welsh Mountains and narrow boats have a look at my videos and photos at..
http://www.youtube.com/user/conwy1 |
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5th Sep 2015 1:24pm |
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| gazman Member Since: 17 Aug 2015 Location: Liverpool Posts: 652  
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New tyres always on the front. They do more work due to steering and more braking forces.
They also wear quicker than the rears. Make sure they are balanced if putting rear wheels on the front too. |
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5th Sep 2015 2:43pm |
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| tookaphotoof Member Since: 18 Mar 2013 Location: dordrecht Posts: 1279  
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After almost 80.000 km my tires have 7mm profile left. All around... 😳
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5th Sep 2015 4:26pm |
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| Lambley Member Since: 20 Apr 2013 Location: Mid Devon Posts: 1435 
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I do a 5 wheel rotation every 3k miles to make sure they all wear the same (I don't do many miles so it only needs doing every 6 to 8 months)
I'd stick the new ones on the front. |
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5th Sep 2015 7:54pm |
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| shaggydog Member Since: 12 Aug 2012 Location: Kent Posts: 3347 
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Very interesting.
I have just bought a new pair of tyres and was advised to put them on the rear as when your braking hard you want the back to grip better than the front otherwise the back tyres want to be at the front. Which I was sceptical about but then remember back to when I had use of my dads 206 before I had my 110 or current girlfriend to go and pick up my old girlfriend. He had just had brand new tyres put on the front and while going around a corner the back just completely let go and I did a 270 into a driveway (luckily). When I got home I asked about it and he rang the garage who then said they had put the tyres on the front as requested but usually they put them on the rear. And before anyone starts the "boy racer" thing - I've not raced anything in my life. In fact I'm possibly the least interested person in racing anything, apart from possibly truck racing. Just my 2c for what its worth Running Restoration Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/post323197.html#323197 Self confessed mileage hunter  |
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5th Sep 2015 8:11pm |
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| Lambley Member Since: 20 Apr 2013 Location: Mid Devon Posts: 1435
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Surely it's different though on a 2wd to a 4wd?
As a Defender permanent 4wd it's surely better to put the newer ones on the front as that's where some of the drive, most of the braking and all of the steering is done, I'm no expert though. |
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5th Sep 2015 8:16pm |
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| Birdy Member Since: 07 Oct 2011 Location: CĂ´te d'Azur Posts: 870  
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“Old-school” philosophy was to put ‘em on the front, nowadays we’re told to put them on the back: if the fronts lose grip you’ll plough straight on, if the rears go you’ll spin or roll over, especially in a truck. Personally, I rotate tyres and when they’ve all worn equally the naff one is used as a spare and I buy four new ones.
Peter |
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5th Sep 2015 8:18pm |
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| shaggydog Member Since: 12 Aug 2012 Location: Kent Posts: 3347
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Equally good points 
I too am no expert 
I suppose it makes sense to have the grip at the front, but then that just means you will loose grip at the rear which will cause a spin which is worse? Running Restoration Thread http://www.defender2.net/forum/post323197.html#323197 Self confessed mileage hunter |
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5th Sep 2015 8:24pm |
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| YOLO110 Member Since: 14 Feb 2015 Location: Perth Oz and Stansted UK Posts: 1645
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Thanks for the replies!
I don't believe the 'loss of control' or 'skid risk' is an issue as modern tyres retain the same 'grip' on the road throughout their entire life... (assuming they are not left on the wheel for 10 years or so as after this age the rubber can begin to harden/crack). This applies dry or wet but most recommend changing if the tread depth goes below 3mm (not the MOT min legal depth of 1.6mm) as the tyre will then have a reduced ability to 'clear water' which could be an aquaplaning hazard in the wet. Obviously 'off road', this may be a different story, especially in mud or sand where a deeper tread depth would certainly make a difference I would have thought. I was more curious about the wear rates, F or R... like others I would have thought F would wear more rapidly as they are simply 'doing more'... YOLO... You Only Live Once... |
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5th Sep 2015 10:39pm |
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| Rickydodah Member Since: 14 Jul 2014 Location: East Sussex Posts: 1091 |
As I said in an earlier post, the tyres with the best grip go to the rear. As someone eluded to it's the difference between understeer and oversteer. The last thing you want in any car is natural oversteer, particularly with a vehicle with a high centre of gravity. In an oversteer situation many cars will just spin out, increase the height of the CoG and it's going on its roof, something I don't wish to experience in a Defender with no cage. Anyone old enough on here who remembers when there were X-ply, bias belted and radial ply tyres it was an offence to have the worst performing tyres on the rear for this very reason. The only time it was allowed was with dual wheeled vehicles like lorries, in fact it's still a requirement for all steered axles and all driven axles to have the same tyre construction. So to recap....new tyres on rear...disregard this at your peril.
I started with nothing and still have most of it left! |
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5th Sep 2015 10:56pm |
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| Alien Member Since: 18 Jan 2015 Location: Bacchus Marsh Posts: 230
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I'd put the new ones on the rear on mine due to them doing more work than the front.
Most of the time it's close to being on the axle weight limits so they are doing more work. The following is how I see things... In a 2WD the new rubber is normally put the front for steering advantages. The best 2 then go to the rear to run out their life. A 4WD that has 2WD high(think anything with lockable front hubs) they are treated as above. There is a disadvantage to this though and that is when 4wd is selected. The different tyre diameters, front to rear can lead to extra tread wear on harder surfaces. On an 4WD that is normally AWD, like our Land Rovers you should keep an eye on wear and rotate as necessary. If 2 new tyres are put on at either end the different rolling diameter leads to excessive centre diff wear. On a Land Rover this is evidenced by the transfer box oil getting contaminated by brass from the gear shims. 
This picture was from the old D2 upon disassembly. I say go 4 new tyres, keep them rotated. The best 2 tyres go to spares,1 for daily driving and the 2nd for when going remote touring. Cheers, Kyle. |
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5th Sep 2015 11:12pm |
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| need4speed Member Since: 23 Nov 2012 Location: Kilmarnock Posts: 746 |
I agree with rotating after a period of time.
As for the comment about putting the best tyres on the rear that's just wrong, wrong, wrong.. Doesn't matter if it's 2WD or 4WD. Think about it. The only way the rears will want to overtake the front is if your entering a corner hard on the brakes like a rally driver - hardly the kind of driving a defender sees. Also, in these days of ABS the rears would never want to do that under normal breaking/conditions anyway. Whether it's 2WD or 4WD - best tyres should go where most of the work is happening. The front. |
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6th Sep 2015 9:32am |
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