tyre questions, please help!

[audi-tone]

Hey fellas, just replaced the front tyres on my car from eagle nct5's to bridgestone adrenalin re001's. very happy with them (got them for a great price (2nd hand but have about 85% tread))
Now im getting some for the back as they're rooted aswell! i've gone for some kumho ku31's (brilliant price again) but i'm unsure whether to put them on the front or the back? i know they'll need running in but should i run them in on the back for 4000km's then swap em to the front or jsut go straight on the front?!

cheers

[JustCruisn]

I doubt it really matters at all. Just keep tyres same on each side of the axle.
I'd put em on the back, because then you only need to remove 2 wheels.

[gavs]

If I was in your situation I'd put the newbies on the front to scrub them, then spend a weekend or so swapping them around front to back to see which perfom better to your liking

[Mr Messy]

A bit O/T but I'm a fan of the Bridgestone Adrenalines. I'm on my second set too.

[Treza360]

According to VW the tyres with the most tread and therefore grip should always go on the rear of the car. That way it will always be your front wheels that lose grip first and therefore you will get understeer as opposed to your rears losing grip and you getting unplanned and harder to control oversteer.
Cheers,
Trent

[audi-tone]

thanks fellas, decided i will put the ku31's on the front for maybe a month (scrub them in) then change em over, see how it goes. i'll be taking good care of these, rotating them every 5k anyway. hopefully they last a while.

[dainese]

According to VW the tyres with the most tread and therefore grip should always go on the rear of the car. That way it will always be your front wheels that lose grip first and therefore you will get understeer as opposed to your rears losing grip and you getting unplanned and harder to control oversteer.
Cheers,
Trent

i dont think that is ideal, or even true.

[Treza360]

i dont think that is ideal, or even true.

Ok just looked up the links when this was discussed ages back. Not VWs statement but tyre places and tyre manufacturers themselves. Think about my reasoning there and safety side of things. We're talking about different tyre makes here with different wear. Not a brand new set of 4 tyres that are being rotated regularly to allow for even wear.

Tire Rack
E-Tyres
Kleber Tyres
Michelin
Ace Tyres
TW Tyres

This was previously discussed here which is where some of the links above came from.

As fun as oversteer and power slides can be, snap oversteer when you're not expecting it is not so fun.

Cheers,
Trent

[dainese]

cool, thanks Trent

i will go through the rest of the links later.

but trust a tyre manufacturer to insist customers arrange tyres like that.

in either case the tyres should be in good condition and should be over the wear indicators.
The rear of a car would lift under heavy braking in ANY car.
dry grip differences would be almost the same, and wet grip differences will be inmost likely in extreme cases like, for a pair of tyres to be in BAD condition.

[Treza360]

Yeah. The levels of grip between front and rear will change though, especially if the wear and makes are different. Whichever end has the least grip will be the first to. Acceleration isn't the issue it's going around corners and potentially under braking that will cause dangerous situations.
Cheers,
Trent

[gavs]

Just to add to your point Trent, most vehicle manufacturers model the suspension and chassis geometry to have a tendancy to understeer as a safety factor as it's generally easier to control and to feel when it's happening, especially in a FWD car. I have driven my golf with the rear anti roll bar on it's firmest setting with the shocks also on their firmest and when the rear lets go, it only gives a hint of warning whereas the front end is much easier to know when it's loosing grip.

[No457 Snowy]

Just to add to your point Trent, most vehicle manufacturers model the suspension and chassis geometry to have a tendancy to understeer as a safety factor as it's generally easier to control and to feel when it's happening, especially in a FWD car. I have driven my golf with the rear anti roll bar on it's firmest setting with the shocks also on their firmest and when the rear lets go, it only gives a hint of warning whereas the front end is much easier to know when it's loosing grip.

Yeah, a car that's understeering when pushed hard, tends to feel very uncomfortable to the average driver as you can feel the front end start to plough, and this creates the urge to back off while still within safe limits. Like you said, if the rear bar is stiffened up too much, the balance shifts to oversteer and the rear end can snap around dangerously with little or no warning giving the average Joe driver no hope of catching it and maintaining control.


Snowy