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jim2225
New User
Feb 18, 2013, 10:54 AM
Post #1 of 13
(3626 views)
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GENERAL Tire wear
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I have an '06 Mazda 3 and at my age (78) I am past my hot-roding days but, I'm not a slow driver either. I have a general question about tire wear. My two front tires are evenly worn, but tread is at the point where in 6-9 months I will need new tires (judged by wear of front tires). My rear tires (same brand) have considerable more tread. They too are evenly worn.
Question: In general, when you have two tires with 1/4 life left and two tires with 1/2 life still left, where should the worn tires reside, front or back until buying new tires is a "must do."
Best tres in front or in rear?
Jim2225
Personal info deleted
(This post was edited by Hammer Time on Feb 18, 2013, 12:26 PM)
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 18, 2013, 12:27 PM
Post #2 of 13
(3608 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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That would be because the front tires are carrying the entire drivetrain and doing the steering to. The rears are just tagging along and carrying no weight. 3:1 ratio is normal. That's why you are supposed to rotate tires.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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jim2225
New User
Feb 18, 2013, 2:42 PM
Post #3 of 13
(3599 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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Okay, I understand more frequent rotation is needed. In general, though how would you answer the original question?
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 18, 2013, 3:14 PM
Post #4 of 13
(3594 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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I did answer your question.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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speed
User
Feb 18, 2013, 5:49 PM
Post #5 of 13
(3587 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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In general if its a front wheel drive car you want the best tires in front. On rear wheel drive cars you want the best in the rear for better traction or for better handling you would want the best in the front.
GM ASEP 26 SCC Milford ASE certified in Brakes and Electrical on Thursday April 5th 2012
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Tom Greenleaf
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 18, 2013, 7:02 PM
Post #6 of 13
(3579 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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Totally agree with "speed" on where the better tires go on FWDs vs RWDs vehicles. As HT said tires should be rotated often and I'll go on to say cross rotated if the tire type and sizes allow every other time.
Must be some low life expectancy tires to be down to 1/4 (if really so) no matter what in 6-9 months! Sidewall of tires are rated if you really believe it. It seems to be a good clue of what to expect for treadwear life, traction and temperature tolerance.
As HT just said. The fronts on FWDs are doing everything! All steering, most of the weight, all of the drive forces, perhaps 70% of the braking, much of the time etc.
Others may disagree but I would rotate tires on this every 3,000 miles. In general you buy tires for what you need the most. Traction, long life and price.
I don't know of one tire that does all perfectly at once so you choose what it important to you. Unfortunately you have to do the homework most of the time as tire sales are aggressive and places that do just that want to sell tires of course. No matter the price they should meet the specs of the vehicle,
T
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Sidom
Veteran
/ Moderator
Feb 18, 2013, 7:54 PM
Post #7 of 13
(3571 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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The answer would be....
That depends....
If you are talking safety.....Then you want your best tires in the rear.....When a tire blows out, you have no direct control of the rear and it would require you to counter steer with the frt wheels to bring the rear back into control. If a tire blows on the frt, it would be easier to bring it back under control since you have direct control of the frt........(Big rigs are differerent, with those you always want your best tires on the frt)
If you want the best handling,,,then you would want you best tires on the frt....for obvious reasons...
Most shops that install tires will put the new tires in the front because if the old worn tires have any issues at all, this will bring the customer right back....especially if an alignment was performed....
(This post was edited by Sidom on Feb 18, 2013, 7:54 PM)
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nickwarner
Veteran
/ Moderator
Feb 18, 2013, 10:04 PM
Post #8 of 13
(3557 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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I might disagree a bit with that Sidom just from personal experience. While certainly bad tires will bring a customer back to a shop due to a bad feeling in the wheel, it seems this man isn't feeling that. He simply has uneven wear because he hasn't rotated the tires properly. Being this is FWD, I'd put the good ones there. He doesn't have to deal with snow issues as he's just west of LA, but still those tires are in the best shape. Should they have been rotated? Absolutely. But leaving the thinner tires up front leads to the worry of a blowout. I've blown many a tire myself, and when its in the back of a FWD car it is apparent but manageable. Shakes the hell out of the car and the wheel pulls to that side a bit. But on a lightweight car like his blowing one on a steering axle at highway speed can throw the wheel out of your hand if you don't have a good grip on it. Used to have a Probe similar in weight to his car and blew the right front tire at 70mph. Damn near pulled me into a ditch. Had that been on the rear it would've been more manageable. This poster has stated he's getting up in years, and I imagine that while his mind is a wealth of knowledge he no longer has the spryness or strength he once did. He needs to have to most manageable scenario should he blow out a tire, so I would put the best on the front if this were in my shop.
With big rigs, the reason the best are in the front is thanks to FMVSS sec 121 which prohibits the use of re-capped tires on a steering axle and sets a minimum tread depth twice that required of a drive axle.
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Sidom
Veteran
/ Moderator
Feb 18, 2013, 11:40 PM
Post #9 of 13
(3555 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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Yea it's a loaded question.....That's why the answer really would be ....depends....
When tires blows....It can't range from barely noticeable, to very severe that can cause lose of control of the axle that the tire is on....
Regaining control of the rear requires more skill than the frt...It requires the correct amount to bring it back into control. If you oversteer then you start to fishtail..
A good example would be when a cop PITs (persuit intervention technique) a car in a chase. They always hit the rear of the car. If the front was harder to regain control once it was lost, they would PIT the frt end.....
Handling is the other side.....you get a tire with a radial pull, where does it go???....In the back.....What happens???? The pull goes away..... You do a rotate & they come back complaining, now my car shakes & never did before....Why???? cuz the rear tires were out of balance & they never felt it until you moved them to the frt......
yup......Depends.....Handling or safety
I just reread his question.....When he said "in general" I guess I was to "general"......Yea for that specific case, he will get most mileage out of them with the best tread in the frt....Desi already posted the specs as to why and with those tires & tread left, by the time they wear out....he'll probably be needing 4....all at the same time....
(This post was edited by Sidom on Feb 18, 2013, 11:51 PM)
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Feb 19, 2013, 4:09 AM
Post #10 of 13
(3539 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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Yep, the question was, why did the front tires wear so fast and that was answered in the first response.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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juncker
User
Jun 22, 2014, 2:32 PM
Post #12 of 13
(3163 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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The key for having a longer life of tires would be having a regular tire rotation, wheel alignment and camber set up.
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Hammer Time
Ultimate Carjunky
/ Moderator
Jun 22, 2014, 2:37 PM
Post #13 of 13
(3161 views)
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Re: GENERAL Tire wear
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Juncker, if you are going to respond to questions here, please read the FORUM RULES first.
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We offer help in answering questions, clarifying things or giving advice but we are not a substitute for an on-site inspection by a professional.
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