2 new tires on a fwd car

[fasternu]

Hey, my wife's Nissan Altima front wheel drive car is in need of two tires. When we bought them, they were insistent on putting the new tires on the rear, which just seems to go against everything that makes sense to me. Anyone else heard this, and can explain why to me?

[Naturboy]

I think that's because if the car hydro planes and you have no or low tread tires on the back it will start to uncontrollably fishtail..

[fishing tech]

That is correct. It gives you the best control of your car. On my FWD car I put the best tires on front. I prefer the traction to get going and I know what to expect from my car. I do the opposite on my children's cars as they do not have the experience and do not need to be driving over their ability.

With your best tires on front the rear end will almost always be loose in poor traction conditions. You can add weight but that doesn't always help.

[Ufatz]

FishT is right. It takes a bit of learning to properly handle a front wheel drive vehicle in less than ideal circumstances. I've seen more then one poor soul power his/her vehicle right OFF the road.

[Jeremy airjer W]

If the other two tires where pretty worn and there was a mismatch in tread or manufacturers than I would also agree. Keep the rear planted with the new rubber.

[delcecchi]

That is a good reason to rotate tires, so they wear out evenly.

[Notime]

We just put winter tires on a '13 focus and they would not put 2 tires on. They said that it was a liability issue, which when you think about it, makes sense. There is only about 16xxx on the other set of OEM's. Now we just have to find another set of rims for the car so we don't have to keep switching them out.

[LightningBG]

I just put 4 new tires on my SUV. While I was in the shop they had a poster saying to put the best tires on the rear. Goal was to lessen fishtailing. Guess it makes sense. I always figured the best should be on the front to help steer. When I'm in 2wd, I figured its better to be able to steer than be able to go. But I guess I was wrong. Makes sense to keep the rear planted in retrospect.

[PierBridge]

Im currently not buying into this theory.

[Jeremy airjer W]

Im currently not buying into this theory.

Put a set of bizzaks on the front and a pair of z rated performance tires on the rear and see how fast you spin around and back into the ditch.

Take a look at the tracks of people that are in the ditch. More often than not the back of the car will spin around. The back looses the traction first and is the least noticeable in a skid. You become aware, react and are better able to control the front sliding long before you realize the back end of the car is coming around.

I did not buy into this theory either until I proved it to myself. I had mismatched tires on my saturn when I purchased it. One set was much better in the snow. If i had them in on the front I constantly had to be aware of the back end sliding around regardless of speed. If I switched them around I never had the back end come around on me but is was a lot harder to just get around.

[1968]

I was a skeptic as well. Acceleration, steering, stopping seemed more important. Then, last winter, I did just 2 tires on the wifes car due to time constraints. She spun out the next day just taking a casual right turn. Did the other 2 asap! The old rears were not skins either.

Some peoples rotates require 2 new tires every time...