If I am buying 2 new tires, where should they go: front or back. Some say front and other say back. I'm confused. I have a 95 Toyota Camry. Thanks!

 

Front. On front wheel drive you sure woudn't want to hydroplane on rain or slushy snow and have no steering.

 

Put new tires on front.

 

Dittos here.

 

I'd go front, but I was watching an automotive show a few months ago where they showed that new on the front will cause an increased stopping distance over putting them on the back. Never seen anything like that since, but I'm keeping my eyes open.

 

New tires on the front, best remaining on the back.

 

The concensus here say front but micheline says back:

http://www.michelinman.com/tire-care/tire-basics/

 

Interesting.

 

Yeah, that's pretty similar to what I saw - counter intuitive.

 

Two tires dealers tell me front as well but this video makes sense.

 

I find it interesting that most of the posters here say to put them in front. Most tire experts say to put them on the rear for any car, FWD or RWD.

I'm pretty sure the reason is that in marginal traction conditions, you don't want the rear tires to lock up before the front tires. This would throw the car into a horrible skid.

Personally, I put new tires on front for FWD vehicles for two reasons... (1) better winter traction in the snow, and... (2) tires just don't see a lot of wear in the rear, and can last up to 100K, which means the tire would rot before it wears out.

 

I think the tire maker has a good point but however it seems they took both cars to extreme turns in the water. I say if you drive safe when it rains and slow down on turns you will be ok.
On the other side of the coin if you were to have worn tires on the front and did one of those turns and lost steering control it could get just as ugly fast. Happend to me on ice turned wheel applied antilock brakes and car kept going straight. The pucker factor was intense.

 

Michelin is not the only manfacturer that recommends putting the 2 new tires to the rear. Bridgestone/Firestone also is recommending the same thing.

In fact, Wal-Mart is following this recommendation and either requires the tires to be placed rear or sign a waiver stating you are aware it is counter to (some) tire manufactrurers advice.

I can see both sides of the coin and I personally put the new tires on the front but I can see where having a tire with better traction on the front could cause some probems as well.

I can see where something as simple as stopping with better tires on the front could cause the car to go into a spin but not being able to steer also has it shortcomings as well.

 

I've heard the same thing the tire manufacturers are saying, new to rear, but here in Ontario Canada, I want more bite (tread) at the drive wheels, whether it's FWD or RWD, when I'm trying to drive through 6" of snow. I'm not saying I disagree with their logic, but I sure would like to see the same test done, using an unexpected sharp turn. I'd rather not have my front end wash out, with a 6 ft ditch, or a tree or telephone pole in front of me. At least if it was my rear end that broke loose, I 'd have at least a chance of correcting it, or at least avoiding a head-on with whatever object. I guess I'm old school though, as I grew up fish tailing down all the dirt roads I could find, just for practice, which sure did come in handy a few times. But with front wheel drive, when that front end starts to go, all you can do is get off the gas & drive white knuckled for a while. With rear wheel drive, you worried about keeping the front gripping, and going in the right direction,and used your gas pedal to get the rear end to go where you wanted it to. Yah, my next vehicle purchase would be a rear wheel drive, if I could find one I like in my price range.

 

Obviously, the "best" answer is to rotate your tires and replace all four at once.

 

My computer speaker went out and I can't hear what they are saying in the video. Darn!

Here is what I would like to know: How hard did the test drivers try to correct once they felt the rear breaking loose? or did they just allow the car to swing on around to show the effect? And just how bald were the rear tires?, and how good or bad were the front tires?

I too, like you, am afraid to have the front ones bald for reasons you stated, and I have the same type winters as you. I can't see having your front with no control. With the back losing it, you'd THINK you'd at least have a CHANCE to correct if you have good quick reflexes. But I'm not sure on this and would have loved to hear the video.

Can anyone provide me a with a brief explanation of what they said regarding their test cars going right around in a circle on them, without having the front steering being able to correct this? I am curious why quick steering correction can't work?, or is human reaction time too slow?

I have had good luck, so far, re-correcting an out of control REAR wheel drive car or pickup truck where I started to lose it on snow or hydro-planing (I have experience in both).

 

It's nice that some of you can handle a car where the rear end brakes loose first. Good for you, but that is not the norm.

For most of the general public, an oversteer situation is far more dangerous than an understeer situation. Having the rear end slide before the front can be a horribly dangerous situation. That is why the average car is designed with a bit of understeer, and why the good tires are recommended to go to the rear.

 

Another point I think is valid is that if the good tires were in front they would break the water surface enough as to were the rear tires would have less water to hydroplane on.
It would be like following a car in a rain storm I try to stay in the track of car in front of me. (less chance of hydroplaning).

 

I have even intentionally "goosed it" to make the rear end fish tail and then straighten the vehicle out before it would spin around, on slippery pavement. I got caught by a cop horsing around like that in a parking lot once, over 35 years ago, and he later pulled me over that night and said he had been observing me throughout the night, goofing around like this, and he called it "goosing it".

I also was in Texas years ago where cars lost it on I-10 on this bridge that was iced over. I felt my rear end squirt and I corrected just fine. And this was in the days of rear wheel drive where the power to the rear could actually even force the situation worse! And as soon as you'd let off the gas, allowing the rear wheels to just tag along for the ride, like front wheel drive rear wheels basically do, the vehicle straightened right up.

Can anybody tell me in that video how they explain the test car spinning ina circle? How hard did the test driver try to correct? Or did they do nothing to try to stop it, trying to simulate what might happen to a 95 year old driver who ain't all that swift any more?

 

I guess it all boils down to what you are used to & comfortable with, that will in the end, probably increase your chances of avoiding a bad situation.