• This topic has 32 replies, 20 voices, and was last updated 6 years ago by sbob.
Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)
  • Help a car tyre idiot out!
  • rajboab
    Free Member

    No interest in cars hence I’ve got a FWD Astra hatchback.

    Front tyres have loads of life left. Rear tyres wont pass the upcoming MoT so replacements required.

    Think the fronts must have been swapped to the rear and new fronts installed last time.

    Is this advisable?
    Does the front right get swapped to the rear left and vice versa?

    I only do about 3000 miles a year so thinking budget tyres are the way to go. Any brand recommendations?

    I’m in the Falkirk area. Any recommended fitters? Don’t even know if Kwik-Fit are any good!

    Cheers, Stuart

    themilo
    Free Member

    Advisable? Probably not but if you’re just pootling to the shops I’m sure it’ll be fine. Asda tyres seem to be the cheapest for budget options. Order them online, pick a fitting location from their list. Take car to location at time slot of your choice. Easy.

    globalti
    Free Member

    You can’t get thicker than a Kwik-Fit fitter. Why don’t you look around and find an independent tyre fitter? They will give you advice based on experience rather than on trying to upsell you a more expensive tyre.

    I would fit the new tyres to the front and move those good fronts to the rear.

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    Greybeard
    Free Member

    The recommendation is to put the new tyres on the back. That’s because if you lose grip at the front, you can steer out of it, while if you lose the back, you spin and lose control completely.

    twicewithchips
    Free Member

    Skidz in Falkirk have been good for me in the past. Ask them for a budget option. They’ll advise where to put them too – I can never remember, but think its what greybeard says.

    EDIT: Oh but I do remember that tyres stay on the same side of the car now, so front to back, not diagonal.

    FuzzyWuzzy
    Full Member

    The recommendation is to put the new tyres on the back. That’s because if you lose grip at the front, you can steer out of it, while if you lose the back, you spin and lose control completely.

    Sounds odd – if you lose grip at the front how are you steering?

    jairaj
    Full Member

    I think the idea of putting grippy tyres on the rear rather than the front is that understeer is safer than oversteer.

    kelron
    Free Member

    I think it’s more that losing grip at the front leads to understeer rather than slewing your car all over the road.

    But there’s conflicting advice on rotating tyres depending who you ask. I wouldn’t take chances with tyres personally, given the huge effect they have on your ability to control the car.

    chip
    Free Member

    As his cars fwd I would definable put the new ones on the front.

    Tiger6791
    Full Member

    If you’re driving like a loon a hanging the rear end out like King Drift (in an Astra) then grip on the rear might be safer.

    If you’re driving normally fronts wear faster so put fronts on rear and get a new front pair. (Dry turns / more weight / transfer power / more brake bias)

    If they are directional keep same side otherwise switch

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    I pwrsonally don’t rotate tyres as you just end up needing to replace 4 each time rather than two. The issue about having better tyres on the back probably warrants some logic but it’s pretty minor especially in a more modern car with ESP and ABS. I’d be inclined to have he better tyres on the front as that is the end that does the steering and braking and has more weight bearing down on them. Better to avoid a situation on the road by maximising your cars steering and braking ability.

    Tyres really are not rocket science. Kwik fit fitters may be thick, I don’t know, sounds like a sweeping generalisation to me i’m Sure some are not thick, but then again fitting tyres is a task that requires very little brain power so a thick kwik fit fitter is as good as any other. I’ve ’ e Never had a bad experience with kwik fit for tyres or exhausts but have had one bad experience with a local independent fitter usiing a trolley jack incorrectly rather than a proper ramp like they use at kwik fIt.

    rajboab
    Free Member

    Thanks for the input guys.
    I’m not a boy racer so no drifting in my Astra!!

    S

    falkirk-mark
    Full Member

    Best prices I have seen are ordering with Halfords online and booking for 3-4 days time (Springkerse Stirling). I think Kwik fit are expensive if you go in from street. Hunters in Lithgow were always good for Barum tyres which are budget but ok. Other budgets I would be wary of as some can be shocking bad (I got some from Farmer autocare that were truly shit). Either that or phone about.

    sbob
    Free Member

    I only do about 3000 miles a year so thinking budget tyres are the way to go.

    How will the person pulling child running out in front of your car know how few miles a year you do? 💡

    Never skimp on tyres.

    rajboab
    Free Member

    Assumed that budget tyres still have to meet minimum requirements. No idea how much better stopping power I’d get if I spend £200 a tyre instead of £60.

    sbob
    Free Member

    Rear tyres wont pass the upcoming MoT

    Is this advisable?

    No it isn’t.
    Change your tyres before they’d fail an MOT.

    Ben_H
    Full Member

    Tyre manufacturers recommend that the newest tyres go on the rear.

    If you have steel wheels, it’s worth scouring eBay or similar to see whether there are any unused tyres on spare wheels for your model. It’s often cheaper to replace tyres this way.

    sbob
    Free Member

    From the first tyre test that google threw up:

    “As always, the gap in the dry isn’t too large, with the best to worst being seperated by under 5 metres when stopping from 100 kph. In the wet however the range is much larger. When stopping from the same speed on a wet track, the difference is over 38 meters!”

    Now think about how many obstacles you could fit in 38m.

    rajboab
    Free Member

    They will be changed.

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    Definitely new tyres on the back.

    Yes, the front tyres do more work, but when you find the limit and start understeering, the recovery method is intuitive, you take your foot off the accelerator (or brake) and this shifts weight onto the front tyres, as well as reducing speed, and you can regain control.

    If you put the new tyres on the front, you end up with a car that becomes tail happy when you are simply driving too fast or trying to swerve in an emergency. You don’t have the time or space to control and recovery from oversteer, and again the driver would almost always slow down by braking or taking their foot off the accelerator, which further reduces weight on the rear tyres and makes the skid worse!

    New tyres on the back, its not a ploy to make you buy or wear out more tyres, it just makes sense.

    sbob
    Free Member

    If placing new tyres on the front of your understeering FWD hatchback will turn it into an oversteering monster, it’s probably time to change the rears as well. 💡

    spooky_b329
    Full Member

    I’m not talking about every day driving conditions, I’m talking about that sudden swerve on a wet motorway, coming in too hot on a greasy roundabout, or lift off oversteer on a fast wet bend when you hit the brakes hard.

    FWD cars can oversteer during erratic manoeuvres, and there are plenty of cars without stability control still on the roads. Even with stability control, I’d rather the car didn’t slide than have the ESP cut in and attempt to sort you out.

    sbob
    Free Member

    I’m not talking about every day driving conditions, I’m talking about that sudden swerve on a wet motorway, coming in too hot on a greasy roundabout, or lift off oversteer on a fast wet bend when you hit the brakes hard.

    I’d suggest driving lessons as well as fresh rubber. 🙂

    FWD cars can oversteer during erratic manoeuvres

    Try driving a MkII Civic Type R; even think about lifting off mid corner and it’ll chuck you sideways. 😀

    and there are plenty of cars without stability control still on the roads

    Always drove my 400hp M5 with the traction control off as it was too intrusive. 😈

    johnners
    Free Member

    Always drove my 400hp M5 with the traction control off as it was too intrusive.

    Not while referring to it as “The Stealth Bomber” I hope.

    sbob
    Free Member

    No, but it was quite subtle for a 187mph car.
    Unless you were peeling out elevens, obvs. 😆

    giantalkali
    Free Member

    Ignore all this macho talk and get yourself some All-Season tyres as winters on the high ground of Falkirk are harsh, about £70 from kwikfit. Snow on the ground for 3 months outside the station when i worked there, I mean, WTaf?!

    Macho Guff

    Also, do more left foot braking

    Cougar
    Full Member

    lift off oversteer

    This.

    There are arguments for putting the new ones on the front depending on your, ahem, driving style and ability. But for a regular driver (eg, one who has to ask the question) you want the new ones on the back always. It makes for a far more predictable and thus safer drive.

    andy4d
    Full Member

    If you are still looking, a couple of months back I found kwik fit online had the best prices for the mid/good tyres I wanted. Booked on line and opted to go to the Alloa branch as it is my closest. Tyres arrived next day, job done.

    sbob
    Free Member

    This.

    Few extra PSI in the rears can help. 🙂

    idiotdogbrain
    Free Member

    It’s not just the tread wear on tyres that’s an issue – they age harden and crack as well. As fronts wear faster than rears, if you continually just replace the fronts when they’re worn, you can end up with tyres 5+ years old on the back that still have loads of tread but are long past their best in terms of grip (remember that tread is purely there for water displacement).

    When fronts are worn, you should switch the rears to the front and put the new tyres on the rear. This not only keeps the worn/new balance the same, but means you don’t end up with perished tyres on the back.

    wobbliscott
    Free Member

    I’ve never ever had rear tyres last 5 years. If you were a super low mileage driver you may but the fronts age as quickly as the tears and who replaces tyres just because they’re 5 or so years old? You might on a 30 yr old barn find but most people run tyres till they’re worn. Also who checks the manufacture date on the side of the tyre? We should in theory as tyres can be a couple of years old just after being sat in a warehouse or on a shelf before they get sold and installed.

    It’s an academic argument but has little value in the real world. Most people wear through tyres before they degrade due to ozone and UV degradation.

    The key is don’t drive like a dick and ‘take it to the limit’ on every roundabout or bend. Drive within the limits of the car, which for just about everyone are way beyond the limits of the driver.

    johnners
    Free Member

    No, but it was quite subtle for a 187mph car.
    Unless you were peeling out elevens, obvs.

    Stop it you, I’m starting to feel a bit flushed.

    sbob
    Free Member

    I’ve never ever had rear tyres last 5 years.

    Last car I had would have: MkII Micra, <4,000 miles per annum.

Viewing 33 posts - 1 through 33 (of 33 total)

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