2nd Gen Non-Engine/Transmission a new thought in tires

[lizzyhermit]

just got two new tires put on my truck and the "tire guy" made an interesting statement when I asked to have the front tires put on the back and the new ones on the front. he stated "michelin recommends putting the new ones on the back".

when I pointed out that the back tires were the used up tires and the fronts needed to be rotated he still said "michelin recommends putting the new tires on the back".

anyone ever hear of this before?

 

[MJawsman]

I've never heard of it, and I've been to several Michelin training seminars. We always put the best tires up front. A blowout is much easier to control when it's a rear tire.

 

[Pit Bull]

That is true, on a pickup they recommend putting the new tires on the back. The reason is that a blowout on the rear will kill you quicker than on the front. This does not apply to me since I have a 3500 with 4 tires on the rear. So I can put the new ones on the front.

 

[98rammer]

The reason is that a blowout on the rear will kill you quicker than on the front

why is this... because the rear end is light and will want to kick around when a blowout happens?

 

[Shovelhead]

Originally posted by Pit Bull

The reason is that a blowout on the rear will kill you quicker than on the front.

I'm STILL tryin' to figure THAT one out.

 

[Extreme1]

Originally posted by lizzyhermit

he still said "blah, blah, blah". anyone ever hear of this before?

Yup, I run into idiots all the time.

 

[TowPro]

when you blow out a front tire, the tire will start to "steer" for you, but you can turn the front wheel to "correct" for this.



when you blow out a rear tire, the tire will start to "steer" for you, but all you can do is turn the front to keep the truck going the same direction, but the rear end may come around which leaves you sideways going down the highway.



I had a rear tire blow out on me, back in the Bios Ply days, sure I was only 16, but it was a hand full as the backend started to move back and forth as the tread was seperating from the tire.



Personaly I keep my tires rotated all the time, when it needs tires, it needs all 4

 

[klenger]

When I hook up my 5er, the rear tires have more weight on them than the front tires, and that's when they are most likely to blow out. I doubt that it matters when you're empty.

 

[jpolston]

Yep! what Towpro said. Been there done that, also read your driver training book. :-{}

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by TowPro

when you blow out a front tire, the tire will start to "steer" for you, but you can turn the front wheel to "correct" for this.



when you blow out a rear tire, the tire will start to "steer" for you, but all you can do is turn the front to keep the truck going the same direction, but the rear end may come around which leaves you sideways going down the highway.

Yup, what TowPro said is what I heard. It does seem weird but makes sense when you think about it. I'm with TowPro keep them all in good shape and rotate often. With my 3500 I will alway run Michelins and I will alway have good tread at all the wheels. Tires are not a good place to save money

 

[WadePatton]

Depends on your driving style

If you get all skittish when the front end pushes, or you sphincter tightens when the rear end tries to come around, THEN you should always have good fresh rubber on the ground.



If you run 'er deep into the corners and come out hard, and a good four-wheel drift is what you daydream of, THEN do like I do, run 'em to the threads. Until you spin in spit- you slide in dew.



And when you get new tires you rant about all that newfound gription!



Okay granted that I'm not really tossin' the Cummins around _YET_. My style (and all my SCCA racer buddies) is much like the latter. Speed limits taking so much away from the driving experience. With bald tires (and a summer storm) we can toy with traction limits at reasonable speeds.



So, I am impressed with the Michelins, but as you might imagine, I'm pretty rough on tires.



AND blowouts can happen with new or old tires, they are not picky. But my tires never get that old, cuz the tread all rubs off!



DO NOT TRY THIS AT HOME! (PROFESSIONAL DRIVER-CLOSED COURSE)

 

[Jeff Knight]

Like Towpro, It's 4 for me when I need tires. Jeff

 

[CumminsPower98]

Another reason for better tires on the rear is braking traction. This has been tested and the car with bad rear tires had the rear end come around when the brakes were locked up. The one with good rear tires went in a straight line.

 

[lizzyhermit]

just an FYI, the "old" tires that were on the front and I asked to be put on the back only have 4k miles on 'em.

thanks for all the discusion.

 

[Pit Bull]

Originally posted by lizzyhermit

just an FYI, the "old" tires that were on the front and I asked to be put on the back only have 4k miles on 'em.

thanks for all the discusion.

 

[Matt42]

Originally posted by lizzyhermit

just an FYI, the "old" tires that were on the front and I asked to be put on the back only have 4k miles on 'em.

thanks for all the discusion.

At 4,000 miles, the "old" tires should be nearly indistinguishable from the new ones. What was the tire dealer?



It is true that Michelin recommends putting new tires on the back. So did the Tire Industry Council the last time I checked, but that's been a while. When I worked at a tire store in L. A. County, the owner made the same recommendation. (Which surprised me, since he installed tube-type tires without tubes and got away with it. )



I've always put new tires on the back. With a four wheel drive using a full-floating front axle, and its attendant front alignment challenges, I've almost never been able to replace all four at the same time.

 

[MCummings]

I've always heard that you are supposed to put new tires on the "Drive Wheels". On the front wheels of a Front-Drive Cars, and the rear wheels of rear drive vehicles.



My $. 02



Merrick Cummings Jr

 

[lizzyhermit]

good morning Matt, the dealer was Discount Tires at Metro where I have gone for almost twenty years. Indistinguishable, yep, if had looked at the truck. But they were swamped on an typical Monday late morning.

btw, it kinda rained in Phoenix this morning. I saw blotches in the parking lot coming into work, but it's still 'sposed to be 109 degrees today.