Acura CL - Tires go where...?

My car came with staggered wheels from the factory (different sizes front and rear), you can’t rotate them. I had a set of Michelin Pilot Sport A/S 3+'s last 16k miles. Then I got a new set of wheels that were the same size. Allowing me to rotate them, and another set of Pilot Sport A/S 3+'s to go on them. So far they’ve lasted about 34k miles and still have about ~35% tread left. I’ll likely end up getting around 40k-45k miles out of this set of tires. The wheels have about paid for themselves already, when you consider a set of these tires costs around $1100 OTD. So at least in my case the extra $ per year for tire rotations is peanuts compared to the the savings in tire life.

1 Like

Yup - I would so much rather completely lose the ability to steer because the front tires broke loose, than to have to control a slide if the rears break loose in a panic stop. Slamming head-on into something I could have avoided or turned into a glancing blow if I’d been stupid and put the good tires on the front, is such a small price to pay for making sure I’m complying with the “industry standard”.

I think you’re overestimating your ability to control a car where the back end has suddenly become the front end.

2 Likes

I think you’re overestimating the frequency with which I’ve had the back end of a vehicle unexpectedly become the front end, compared to the frequency with which I’ve lost steering on the front end.

That being said, my experience may not be representative of typical drivers. I grew up driving a rather peculiar pick up truck. It had a suspension designed for 11,000+ lbs, a drive train that let that pile merge into early '70s freeway traffic without anyone need to brake, wore super-singles in the rear, and I drove it around un-laden. The rear was /never/ attached to the ground. I’ve never had a vehicle flip end-for end that I didn’t intend to flip end for end, and I can flip 'em and flip 'em back at highway speeds. I want my steering tires planted. Everything else is optional.

Me thinks I don’t want to share the road with you .

3 Likes

Agree we need to know where Willray lives.

1 Like

maybe this is him. LOL
Car Doing Front Flips! Dump But Cool :wink: - YouTube

I kinda have to agree with him. I get it, I’d be arguing with an industry standard, tire experts, etc. So I won’t argue. I’m probably wrong. But I prefer the steering tires to stay planted. I rode dirt bikes for years. Slide the rear out and counter steer. I’d do that all day long and I developed a pretty good feel for it. But if the front tire ever pushes wide, you’re on your face.

I’m not a truck driver, but I don’t think they ever put recaps on the steer tires. I think that’s because they do not want a blowout on the front. Could be wrong.

Driving my wife’s old Camry in the rain, I hydroplaned once. Front wheel drive and we weren’t good about tire rotation back then. The front slid, and I did not like it. I feel like I’d have more control if the rear slid. We quickly bought 4 new tires after that, though.

So, I’m thinking that the experts are saying the rear is more apt to slide (which makes sense and I wouldn’t argue otherwise). But what I’m saying is, a rear slide is a whole lot more controllable than a front slide.

But, the main takeaway is keep decent tires on all 4 corners and avoid testing the theory.

1 Like

You’re taking that from your dirt bike days. I’ve slid a pickup on a gravel road, controllable. But on slick surfaces that’s not the case. I tried that out with my Jeep on an icy road, left it in RWD, once the slide started it was game over.

Not entirely…I mean, you’ve seen drift cars, right? I still think a rear slide is more controllable. I’ve done exactly as you did with a CJ5, though. Once you reach a certain point, you’re not going to be able to control either, I agree.

When the front tires slid on the Camry, I had zero steering. No chance at even thinking about having any control over it.

But, it doesn’t matter to me much. I buy tires in sets of 4, generally.

Yep. They run on dry pavement. And folks learning how to drift repeatedly spin out.

I understand that. But it is a controlled rear tire slide. Show me a controlled front tire slide. That’s all I’m saying. I’m not telling anyone where to put their new tires, though fwiw.

1 Like