Swap front and rear tyres round?

[-Leigh-]

At the moment, I have Yoko A359s all round. Now, my fronts have about 3mm left, and the rears about 5/6mm I'd say.

I thought about replacing the fronts, as I'd say they have about 6-8 weeks wear left in them, but they don't do them anymore.

I don't want odd pairs, so I thought about putting the rears on the front, and the fronts on the rear, and then when they have all worn even (ie all getting low together) then replacing all 4 with some others. I don't want to go and buy 4 now, cos I'll be wasting more than half the rear tyres.

Is this ok to do? I know really you should have the better tyres on the rear, but I want to get my moneys worth lol.

 

[DrR]

should always put the best tyres on the back, when the front 2 where out, put new ones on the back and the old back ones on the front.

 

[172blue]

^^ agreed, always have the best tyres on the back, not the front. So what you are saying makes perfect sense.

 

[-Leigh-]

should always put the best tyres on the back, when the front 2 where out, put new ones on the back and the old back ones on the front.

Ha, yeah that's what I meant, lol, best tyres on the back.

So, will I just have to take it steady if I swap em round? Buying just 2 new ones isn't an option really.

 

[DrR]

Why is it not an option? Just means the back end of your car will have less grip.

 

[-Leigh-]

Well I either have to buy 4 or none at all.

If I buy two, it will look stupid due to the way the A359s sit on the rim, as they don't sit level with the lip of the rim.

 

[Shorty434]

The Avons are similar to the yokos in that respect. Just find a similar tyre...

 

[Daniel]

your worried how your tyres look over safety??!

Remind me never to get in your car! lol

 

[Brett]

this may be a stupid question but why do the best tires go on the back? because its more likely to lose grip on the back?

 

[JR]

your worried how your tyres look over safety??!

Remind me never to get in your car! lol

lol

 

[Rich]

this may be a stupid question but why do the best tires go on the back? because its more likely to lose grip on the back?

Because understeer from the front is less likely to end in tears than oversteer from the back which is harder to correct - Hence the advice to have the best tyres on the rear.

 

[Brett]

thanks for clearing that up mate its ust that most people have the dodgy tires on the back but yeh if you lose the back your in trouble also its easyer to feel the understeer and correct it.

 

[len_beach]

You are reliving my life 1 month ago. I had 4x A539's which I thought were fantastic but the fronts were running a little low. I contemplated swapping the front to the rear as i have always done in the past.

A trip to a local tyre place with the better halfs 147 certainly enlightened me. I got chatting with the manager and he ended up showing me tyre testing DVD's direct from manufacturers which showed the effects of grip on the front with no grip at the rear and vice versa. It wasn't nice to see.

Basically, the front can be controlled almost infinitely with the brake, throttle and steering regardless of grip/tread level. The only side effect will be understeer. What control do you have over the rear? Practically none hence why you have the best tyres at the rear.

If you are in need of a replacement set of tyres, I have today received 4x Yoko' S-drives (A539 replacement supposedly) for £175 delivered. I can get more details if required.

 

[MarkCup]

Would only really be a problem in the wet though wouldn't it? And who drives on the limit of grip in the wet?

I know it seems the norm is to have the best tyres on the back, but the front tyres do the steering, braking, and carry 65%+ of the weight of the car - which is why I always have best tyres on the front.

A loose rear end is only a loose rear end if you provoke it or drive like a numpty.

 

[len_beach]

Would only really be a problem in the wet though wouldn't it? And who drives on the limit of grip in the wet?

I know it seems the norm is to have the best tyres on the back, but the front tyres do the steering, braking, and carry 65%+ of the weight of the car - which is why I always have best tyres on the front.

A loose rear end is only a loose rear end if you provoke it or drive like a numpty.

True. But we've all hit a corner too quickly and how many of us have the ability to bring things back into check? I'm used to tweaking things when the back end is moving around whilst avoiding braking mid corner but not everyone can do that without sounding arrogant.

The Clio is notoriously light at the back end. If you're new to the car, new driving driving or of quite low overall ability, why set yourself up for a fall?

I went with new tyres on the rear of the Alfa as I know Laura likes to press on every now and again. If she cocked up, I want to give her the best chance possible as she can't even park in a supermarket without hitting something.

 

[-Leigh-]

your worried how your tyres look over safety??!

Remind me never to get in your car! lol

Ha, if you ever saw my driving, where the tyres were positioned on the car would be the last thing on your mind.

And yes, I don't want my tyres looking stupid. I'd rather not drive it.

I have just got onto E tyres and they are replacing their stock of A359s with the S-Drives, and say they will be able to do 4xfitted for £215.60, which seems good to me, so I'm going to go with that. Shame I will waste 50% of the rear tyres.

Sorted.

 

[Ad]

sell the rears on fleebay or here?

 

[-Leigh-]

Ha, who'd want half worn tyres?

 

[-Leigh-]

Actually, I never thought like that, some people may want them for track or whatever.

How much would they be worth with 5/6mm tread then? £20 each?

 

[fuel_slut]

im just going to swap my tyres around tonight.

The only time it will affect my grip is in the wet where the tred on the rear will be less.

I can't see how it would affect the handling on the rear with a smaller tred in the dry?

Answer me that..