Although my Tires have still got a couple of thousand miles left, In the Boot/Trunk of my Car is an unused Goodyear NCT Eagle, which is of the same size and brand as the other four: 235-60-15.

As something of a bonus, it is also on a Brand New Lattice Alloy Rim, so I only need to buy One Tire to have a matching new pair.

I may get another two later but will make do with what I have for the moment, as a couple of them seem to have very good treads.

So my question is, should I put the Two Brand New Tires on the front or on the back?

 

Typically on street driven vehicles the best tires go on the rear. I would say this is especially true on the XJS if it has a powerful v12 but also applies to the 6 cyl. This is done to minimize the chance that the rear wheels brake loose in wet conditions or under power and causes a spin.


Only Replacing 2 Tires? - Discount Tire

 

Should always replace at least two at a time. You should also make sure the tires are not older then 5-6 years. They do get unsafe because of age.

 

I would replace the front ones as you want most grip on the steering end of the car; avoiding spins is easy by avoiding stamping on the loud pedal in marginal conditions.

 

If only replacing 2 tires (or 1 for that matter) the new tires should go on the rear. After decades of telling us to put the new tires on the front, the tire manufacturers have completely flipped and now say they should go on the rear. Michelin seems to have know for decades that the rear was the safest place to mount the new tires and other manufacturers are finally on the same page.

After some testing it has been unanimously shown that the best tires should go on the rear. The reasoning is twofold. First, wet weather traction is improved with the new on the rear. The lighter weight rear of the car tends to hydroplane and/or spin out much easier with lower tread tires. Also, it has been shown that if a tire blows out, it is much easier to control the vehicle if it is a front tire that blows. The weight of the engine keeps the front stable while still allowing the vehicle to be steered. The rear of the vehicle is usually much lighter and a blown tire on the rear can cause the vehicle to fishtail and loose control.

There are a lot of die hards out there that don't care what the test show or how much money the tire makers spent to find out which is safer. Those few will insist that new go on the front. However, most major tire dealers will insist on putting the new ones on the rear. It makes more work for the dealer, but safety is number one priority.

For more information do a Google search for "2 new on the rear".

 

Hi I am replacing 2 at a time, I just wanted to know which end to put them on?

 

Hi and thank you for your help, that seems a definitive answer and what you say seems to make sense to me.

But as I had expected there seems to be a difference of opinion.

 

Hi Steve

I can see where you are coming from but there seems to be a difference of opinion.

 

Hi and thank you for replying, having the back end break away especially on a corner, is a place where I don't want to go but I don't want a front blow out either, so maybe I really should replace all 4

 

Obviously the tyre manufacturers have absolutley no idea what they are talking about!
Doesn't seem much point to me in having the back end firmly planted if the front is wandering around like a drunk on a bicycle. As shown by James Bond you can drive (admittedley a front wheel drive car) and steer without any back wheels on at all!
Also don't forget that if your ABS kicks in when you leap on the brake pedal because a stupid bunch of deer suddenly jump out in front of you (happened to me) then it would help if the steering tyres had some tread on them otherwise the ABS is largely pointless.
Lots of people like having the back end break away in cornering although I suppose it is better if it is a controlled slide rather than a spin!
If you can afford it change all 4.

 

That's an interesting reply Steve and loving the way you are thinking out of the box, so let's just hope we get this right and don't end up in one!

Believe it or not I am leaning towards your point of view, as when I turn into my drive, even in my Merc I tend scrub the front Tyres, which always seem to wear out, much quicker than the back ones.

And seeing that the XJS is about the same length as a London Bus, this effect upon the tyres is certain to be worse, as I am not the kind of guy who wants to hack a car like this round corners.

So I'm thinking I will try them on the front.

 

I have heard the " beat on rear" as you get better traction, and that's all well and fine but I am firm believer in the " best on front" for stopping and steering.

If the weather is that bad it's probably better that the cat can't move than stop.

That being said I prefer to replace all 4 at the same time.

 

Hi Jeh

Thank you for your reply, there seems to be two schools of thought on this one, so given the choice, the new tires/tyres are going on the front.

At least you can steer out of it if the rear end breaks away but if you have no grip on the front then that is not good news!

 

Hey OB
There are two threads from parallel universes currently in play, this is one and "I need help choosing the right tire" is the other. I suggest you check it out as it has contradicting information on tire position, ie, put best tires at the rear.
graham

 

just to be clear... all of the comments in this thread are for rwd cars, correct?

was just curious if the best on rear recommendation by the manufacturers applied to all cars--that wouldn't make sense--right?


and yes, check the date on that eagle tire... the tire on my spare had never been used... it was a pirelli, probably still original from the factory.

 

This is interesting, its causing me to find out about stuff I'd just assumed for much of my 57 years. Tire rack.com has this:

"Most vehicles are equipped with the same size tire at every wheel position. Ideally all of these tires should also be of the same type and design, have the same tread depth and be inflated to the pressures specified by the vehicle placard or owner's manual. This combination best retains the handling balance engineered into the vehicle by its manufacturer.

However due to a front-wheel drive vehicle’s front tires' responsibility for transmitting acceleration, steering and most of the braking forces, it's normal for them to wear faster than rear tires. Therefore if the tires aren't rotated on a regular basis, tires will typically wear out in pairs rather than in sets. And if the tires aren't rotated at all, it's likely that the rear tires will still have about 1/2 of their original tread depth remaining when the front tires are completely worn out.

Intuition suggests that since the front tires wore out first and because there is still about half of the tread remaining on the rear tires, the new tires should be installed on the front axle. This will provide more wet and wintry traction; and by the time the front tires have worn out for the second time, the rear tires will be worn out, too. However in this case, intuition isn't right...and following it can be downright dangerous.

When tires are replaced in pairs in situations like these, the new tires should always be installed on the rear axle and the partially worn tires moved to the front. New tires on the rear axle help the driver more easily maintain control on wet roads since deeper treaded tires are better at resisting hydroplaning."

Of course, now that I live in 'merica, where I'm told front wheel drive cars were banned by an act of Congress, its not easy to try it out.

 

The doesn't make any sense; why would only the rear tyres aquaplane? Surely they would all do it at the same time and I still don't see the point in having loads of grip on the rear end and bugger all on the steering end.

 

Seems to me that the front tires will 'clear a path' for the rear tires, making the rear tires *less* likely to hydro-plane

[shrug]

Cheers
DD

 

Hi and thank you for replying, I had a bit of a feeling that this might be controversial, so I guess I will have to roll the dice and go with what I think.

 

I think that mine is original too, it looks in perfect condition and the rim has never been used.