I recently noticed that my front tires are more worn than the rear. So I asked the mechanic to rotate them. Instead of rotating them, they tried to sell me two new front tires. “Why didn’t you rotate them?” I asked.
“Because you need the tires with the most tread on the back for safety.” he says.
Is this plausible?
Not only is it plausible but it is true. FWD or RWD you want the best tyres on the back. In an emergency situation you want the best control possible and that will be with the best tyres on the back so they keep the back from sliding around and you end up looking where you came from rather than were you are going.
Your message was a little confusing. However you always want the best tyres on the back!
This is true if you have a Volkswagon Beetle with the engine mounted in the rear. I guess.
Otherwise, it is BS.
In fact, it is BS, because, according to this logic, the rear tires would get rotated up front and the new tires put onto the rear wheels. Instead he wants you to buy two new front tires.
But that doesn’t mean your mechanic is entirely wrong. If your front tires are bald and your rear tires are the next thing to bald, it doesn’t do you much good to move the rears to the front and vice-versa. You need to replace two of them at least, and if so the front tires are most important. Be honest with yourself about the condition of your tires. Don’t be a miser with tires.
If they all have good tread, go ahead and rotate front to back. If not, buy at least two new tires and get them on the front.
And keep tires with good tread on all four wheels, always. You may want to stop suddenly in the rain someday, or stop on dry asphalt to prevent hitting a kid running after a ball. It’s just something you should not get cheap with.
When buying 2 tires, they will put them on the back, for the reasons given by JEM. I don’t agree with this for rotating tires, if the wear is not that different. If the fronts are nearly worn out, you need two new tires, which should go on the back.
The tires with better traction belong in the back. If the car loses traction in a turn, most drivers can keep the car under control if the front end loses traction first. Very few drivers can recover from the spin that will result if the back end loses traction first.
If they all have good tread, go ahead and rotate front to back. If not, buy at least two new tires and get them on the front.
NO! In an emergency situation you need the best tyres on the back. If in an emergency situation you have the best tyres on the front you will quickly find yourself looking where. Yea, if you are in snow or ice and trying to drive, you want the best tyres on the front and you are more likely to run into this situation, but it is not a safety issue.
The best tyres on the back in FWD and RWD.