Cupped tires on front or rear?

Hey guys I recently just got my tires rotated and balanced and then found out my rear shocks were shot. So my rear tires are cupped and they rotated to the front… Im experiencing alot of shaking at lower speeds, like when I am coming to a stop. I was wondering if this was damaging to my vehicle( struts?).



The tire shop offered to rotate it to the rear, free of charge if that was what I wanted. What do you guys think… should I leave it in the front or rotate it to the rear.



I have gotten the shocks replaced and I am saving up money for a pair of tires, but for now I would would be thankful for any input.

If you can’t replace them, I’d put them on the rear so that they don’t interfere with steering.

I second that. They will be less noticeable on the rear.

Just wondering but at most car shops there is a poster that says “good” tires on the rear. What is that all about? something about fish tailing?

Thanks for all your answers but one question… If I were to leave it in the front, besides the danger in traction and steering and what not… Will it in anyway damage my vehicle?

No way to tell from my keyboard, I don’t know how bad it’s shaking, etc. Doubtful, but I don’t know. And yes, better tires normally go on the back to prevent skidding of the rear tires (fishtailing). This is an unusual situation, with the only good solution being new tires.

If they’re cupped bad enough to cause shaking they should be replaced.

The comments about putting “good tires on the rear” are alluding to tread. Typical FWD cars have about a 60/40 weight distribution, 60% in the front and 40% in the rear. Weight equals traction. Since the fronts have 50% more weight, they inherantly have better traction. Manufacturers recommend putting the best tires on the rear on the theory that they’ll have the best traction, and that’ll tend to offset the inherant advantage the front wheels have, thus preventing a tendency to spin out in less-than-optimum traction conditions. Tests have proven the theory to be right.

I would replace the cupped tires right now. Putting them on the rear will cause excessive wear to your new rear struts.

Also, if your rear struts were bad, the front struts will soon have the same problem if they are still the originals. If you still have the original struts in the front, you should get the front struts replaced as soon as you can afford it.

Alright so general consensus is I really need new tires asap.

Another question that I have is if I get two new tires, Would I be pretty much changing my tires two at a time for the rest of my vehicles life? Unless I purchase four altogether? When looking for tires of different brand what specifications should I be looking at too match with my two older but good condition tires.

I really appreciate all the help. I cannot thank you people enough!!

Probably not. The fronts generally wear faster than the rears. Put the new ones on thr front, and when the wear evens out you can begin rotating them.

I’ve posted a website www.carbibles.com that tells you what all the markings on the tires mean. If you get a different make, you’ll want to read the codes on your sidewall and match the codes on the new ones to your codes. If the tread pattern is similar and the codes all match the handling should be balanced. Just be sure to keep th ematching paor always on the same end of the car, as different makes will have some handling variation even with matching codes.