Contour Enthusiasts Group Archives Forums Modifications Wheels & Tires "bad" tires go in front? or in back?

ive always heard that you should keep your not so good tires (until you can replace them, i know i know) in the rear because if one blows out up front it is very difficult to control the car (steering).

my buddy said the guys at American Tire Co. said they should go up front because if a rear tire blows it may cause the rear to wipe out/swing around.

what's the deal? is what they told my buddy only for rwd vehicles or is that accurate for all vehicles?

If you have to worry about your tires blowing, I think you should probably worry about finding the time/cash/whatever to replace them. But I would assume you would want the better tires up front where all the power and needed traction is.

yeah for any vehicle its a good idea to have your good tires in front because they're the ones doing all the stopping if you have to stop quick. of course it also helps on FWD vehicles because you will get better traction too. RWD you will get worse traction but i would take stopping ability over take-off ability anyday if i couldn't afford to buy new tires at the time.

And i don't think it will ever cause a FWD vehicle to "swing around" if the rear tires blow. I've also noticed if your tires are bulged or out of balance you can't tell if they're in the back as much, but i was short on cash that week

"bad" tires go in.......the garbage. Seriously if you have to ask that question you should at least go to Discount and find a pair of used tires for the time being. They usually have tires for like $20 a piece that will get you by until you have the cash to afford a new set. Dont risk it man.
-tropictour

my tire still have about 95% tread left on them......
its that damned metal piece in the rear bumper that keeps slicing into my rear tire. they have made nice circular incisions all around the diameter of the tire. i just banged the sh*t out of it some more today!
18x8s w/ 225/40/18. i have been driving with them like this for at least 8-9 months with no problems. and i slide these tires around quite often.
i could buy new tires but these things are so damned brand new that i refuse to just toss them out. fugg, and i actually listened to him and put them up front. now i guess i need to swap em back.

ill try to take/post a pic tomorrow to show you guys and see what you guys think. its really only bad one side. the other side didnt get cut as much. this is wierd because it was like this before i cut/rolled/ground/bangedthesh*toutof my fenders. (in other words while still stock--and before lowered).

keep the good ones on the front. My new tires on the front kept me from hitting someone yesterday. dam close but i know if i had the older tires i would not have a front end of my car right now.

but thats tread. my tread on all four tires is superb. im just thinking about blow-outs which i think would be different. maybe i was too vague.

basically, what would be worse? a blow out in the front or in the rear? (sounds bad, i know )

actually according to michelin, the good tires should go in the rear with the more worn out tires in the front. i'm too lazy to find the links. but basically having the rears good if the rear starts to swing out it would be easier for most typical drivers to turn the front into the slide and allow the rear tires to regrip. having the good tires in the rear allows the driver to react enough in the front each time to allow the rear to grip and not slip away. if the bad ones are in the rear and it starts to slip away and u turn into it, the rear isnt as likely to maintain grip and will continue to slide away causing u to lose full control of the car. opposite of what everyone says.