New Tyres

[putnam]

Whats the general opinion on where to mount a pair of new tyres on an S60 with it being a front wheel drive car..?...the front or rear...?..or is there no hard and fast rule ?...

[SIAMBLUE]

Definitely on the drive wheels and the best you can afford too,

[imac]

You're actually meant to put them on the back for FWD cars, but I've put my new ones on the front anyway!

[GregE102]

Hi

Good question, but i once watched a promgam on C5 with Tiff N,dellboy or what ever his name is and after lots of tests they came to the conclusion its safer to have good tyers on the back, Don't ask me why i can't remember, but that was the result and bear in mind this was a couple of years ago now.

Greg

[timh30]

I think the theory is a tyre failure/blowout is easier to control on a front wheel rather than a rear wheel, as you can steer the front but not the rear. Hence from a risk point of view it is safer to put the newer tyres on the rear as this 'should' have a lower risk of failure than an older used tyre.

In reality I imagine the risk is far less than made out to be, but in the litigious society we live in, legally covering your ar*e is all that counts.

[I-S]

Always on the back, regardless of whether the car is FWD, RWD or 4WD (although in that case you should be replacing all four at once anyway...).

Reason is that a tyre with 4mm tread has rather less grip than one with 7-8mm tread in the wet.

Then it's a matter of what happens in an adverse situation: If you have more grip at the front than the back then the back will step out. If you have more grip at the back than the front then you'll understeer. You're more likely to come out better from the latter.

Now, if you buy one pair, put them on the back and move the old back tyres to the front and then 3000 miles later you replace the older pair then it doesn't really matter if you put them on the front because in 3000 miles you'll have worn the new rears so little that the difference is irrelevant. But if you've got 15000 mile old tyres on the back and worn out tyres on the front, move the backs to the front and new tyres on the back.

[A- W]

New tyres as others have said should go on the back, a couple of reasons,
1 - The first is that you dont want the back to step out because of lack of grip, obviously in certain conditions the back with let go if pushed which is very dangerous. You have good tyres on the back the car 'should' tend to understeer long before the spin. Then you only have to worry about lift off oversteer ;-)
2 - Also that you then wear the rears out on the front so that they dont perish over time. So therefore you are being economical with your tyres because your getting the best out of them.

Does that make sense?

[Hashluck]

Hidden away in most User Manuals Volvo state new tyres on rear (as do Saab).

[seany]

Originally Posted by GregE102

Hi

Good question, but i once watched a promgam on C5 with Tiff N,dellboy or what ever his name is and after lots of tests they came to the conclusion its safer to have good tyers on the back, Don't ask me why i can't remember, but that was the result and bear in mind this was a couple of years ago now.

Greg

Under braking manouvres, all the weight is transferred onto the front wheels, lightening the load on the rears, so a better rear tread depth means less chance of loss of traction/aquaplaning in wet conditions on the rear end .... it doesn't really make much difference in the dry tbh!

[putnam]

Well it looks like we have got a consensus....they go on the back....thanks to all who replied to my question...