Replacing two tires, front vs rear, and rotations

jrico59

jrico59

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I got a screw in the shoulder of my front left tire and nobody will patch it since it's not all the way on the flat tread. My tires still have about 5/32" tread depth so I was thinking of just getting two tires instead of replacing all 4. According to Google, when you do this the newer/better tires should be put on the rear:

journal.classiccars.com

I only need 2 new tires. But where should I put them?

Ideally, you buy tires four at a time. But the reality is that sometimes you need just two. Which brings the question: Which wheels get those new tires?
journal.classiccars.com journal.classiccars.com

But what happens when the next tire rotation occurs? Doesn't that mean the better tires will now be on the front?
 
I disagree - the better tires go on the front. You want to brake and steer with your better tires.
You won't need to rotate since you aren't trying to balance wear on a set. Get more opinions, I often don't know what I'm talking about.
 
I put the newer tires on the drive wheels, and just rotate side to side unless I am getting radial wear on the front
 
If yall are worried about steering and braking in bad conditions you need new tires anyways!
 
I appreciate the opinions, but literally everything online says to put the new tires on the rear, regardless of FWD/RWD/AWD:

www.popularmechanics.com

6 Tire Myths Debunked

PM contributor Mac Demere, who worked at one of the big tire companies for years, corrects a few commonly held misconceptions you might have about your tires.
www.popularmechanics.com www.popularmechanics.com

Should I put newer/better tires on the front or back wheels? | TireBuyer.com

Should newer, better tires be installed on the front or back? The right answer helps keep your car pointed in the right direction on the road. Learn here.
www.tirebuyer.com www.tirebuyer.com

journal.classiccars.com

I only need 2 new tires. But where should I put them?

Ideally, you buy tires four at a time. But the reality is that sometimes you need just two. Which brings the question: Which wheels get those new tires?
journal.classiccars.com journal.classiccars.com

www.wfirm.com

When Replacing Only Two Tires, Should the New Tires Be Placed on the Front or Back?

When replacing only two tires, 75% of drivers wrongly believe the new tires should be mounted on the front. Here is why the tires should be mounted on the rear.
www.wfirm.com www.wfirm.com

www.activegreenross.com

Replacing Two New Tires: Do they Go in Front or Back? - Tire and Auto Care Blog - Ontario - Active Green + Ross Complete Tire & Auto Centre

Replacing Two New Tires: Do they Go in Front or Back?
www.activegreenross.com

I can keep going but..
 
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Yeah they go on the back. People handle understeer better than oversteer, especially unexpected.

With that much difference in tread if they didn't noticeably catch up unless my I wouldn't rotate.
 
I'll say that I've owned front wheel drive cars of all types, and always placed new tires on the front - when replacing two - and never had a problem of any sort. Most recently (in the last month) on a V8 Buick CXS. I will continue to do so.
 
Whenever I’ve had only 2 replaced, the tire place always put the newer ones on the drive wheels.
 
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jrico59 said:
I appreciate the opinions, but literally everything online says to put the new tires on the rear, regardless of FWD/RWD/AWD:

www.popularmechanics.com

6 Tire Myths Debunked

PM contributor Mac Demere, who worked at one of the big tire companies for years, corrects a few commonly held misconceptions you might have about your tires.
www.popularmechanics.com www.popularmechanics.com

Should I put newer/better tires on the front or back wheels? | TireBuyer.com

Should newer, better tires be installed on the front or back? The right answer helps keep your car pointed in the right direction on the road. Learn here.
www.tirebuyer.com www.tirebuyer.com

journal.classiccars.com

I only need 2 new tires. But where should I put them?

Ideally, you buy tires four at a time. But the reality is that sometimes you need just two. Which brings the question: Which wheels get those new tires?
journal.classiccars.com journal.classiccars.com

www.wfirm.com

When Replacing Only Two Tires, Should the New Tires Be Placed on the Front or Back?

When replacing only two tires, 75% of drivers wrongly believe the new tires should be mounted on the front. Here is why the tires should be mounted on the rear.
www.wfirm.com www.wfirm.com

www.activegreenross.com

Replacing Two New Tires: Do they Go in Front or Back? - Tire and Auto Care Blog - Ontario - Active Green + Ross Complete Tire & Auto Centre

Replacing Two New Tires: Do they Go in Front or Back?
www.activegreenross.com

I can keep going but..
Click to expand...
Sooo, why did you come here asking for opinions if you already had all the answers? I've rarely replaced only 2 but the drive wheels is what I have done. AWD cars always need all 4 replaced together.
 
jrico59 said:
I appreciate the opinions, but literally everything online says to put the new tires on the rear, regardless of FWD/RWD/AWD:

www.popularmechanics.com

6 Tire Myths Debunked

PM contributor Mac Demere, who worked at one of the big tire companies for years, corrects a few commonly held misconceptions you might have about your tires.
www.popularmechanics.com www.popularmechanics.com

Should I put newer/better tires on the front or back wheels? | TireBuyer.com

Should newer, better tires be installed on the front or back? The right answer helps keep your car pointed in the right direction on the road. Learn here.
www.tirebuyer.com www.tirebuyer.com

journal.classiccars.com

I only need 2 new tires. But where should I put them?

Ideally, you buy tires four at a time. But the reality is that sometimes you need just two. Which brings the question: Which wheels get those new tires?
journal.classiccars.com journal.classiccars.com

www.wfirm.com

When Replacing Only Two Tires, Should the New Tires Be Placed on the Front or Back?

When replacing only two tires, 75% of drivers wrongly believe the new tires should be mounted on the front. Here is why the tires should be mounted on the rear.
www.wfirm.com www.wfirm.com

www.activegreenross.com

Replacing Two New Tires: Do they Go in Front or Back? - Tire and Auto Care Blog - Ontario - Active Green + Ross Complete Tire & Auto Centre

Replacing Two New Tires: Do they Go in Front or Back?
www.activegreenross.com

I can keep going but..
Click to expand...

Do what ya want…..including asking more questions the internet’z already answered for ya.
 
Supposed to be easier to control a blowout on the front, I worked at a tire shop that started recommending this. Their reasoning was that if it still drove bad the customer would come buy two more new ones for the front. Sneaky rascals.
 
Generally when I get 2 new tires I put them on the rear wheels. I've done this for every car I've owned.

If at the next rotation the difference between the front and rear are so much as to make me worry, I replace the worn set with a new pair and put them on the rear. You can do as you wish.

If you own an AWD vehicle you might want to read up on it. Some mid 90s American AWD vehicles had issues with drastically different tread depths between the front and rear axles and would actually suffer drivetrain damage from the difference.
 
jrico59 said:
I appreciate the opinions, but literally everything online says to put the new tires on the rear, regardless of FWD/RWD/AWD:

www.popularmechanics.com

6 Tire Myths Debunked

PM contributor Mac Demere, who worked at one of the big tire companies for years, corrects a few commonly held misconceptions you might have about your tires.
www.popularmechanics.com www.popularmechanics.com

Should I put newer/better tires on the front or back wheels? | TireBuyer.com

Should newer, better tires be installed on the front or back? The right answer helps keep your car pointed in the right direction on the road. Learn here.
www.tirebuyer.com www.tirebuyer.com

journal.classiccars.com

I only need 2 new tires. But where should I put them?

Ideally, you buy tires four at a time. But the reality is that sometimes you need just two. Which brings the question: Which wheels get those new tires?
journal.classiccars.com journal.classiccars.com

www.wfirm.com

When Replacing Only Two Tires, Should the New Tires Be Placed on the Front or Back?

When replacing only two tires, 75% of drivers wrongly believe the new tires should be mounted on the front. Here is why the tires should be mounted on the rear.
www.wfirm.com www.wfirm.com

www.activegreenross.com

Replacing Two New Tires: Do they Go in Front or Back? - Tire and Auto Care Blog - Ontario - Active Green + Ross Complete Tire & Auto Centre

Replacing Two New Tires: Do they Go in Front or Back?
www.activegreenross.com

I can keep going but..
Click to expand...
Who are you going to believe these random people on the internet or some other random people on the internet?
 
Better tires go on the rear on FWD, if you believe Discount Tire Co.
In a hydroplane or other skid, you dont want the rear tires breaking loose in an understeering FWD. On RWD, it doesnt matter because your probably know how to drive 🤣
 
GoWolfpack said:
Quit being tight and buy 4 new ones. Or buy a used tire to replace the bad one.
Click to expand...
probly this is the best advice.
pick up a cheap steel rim, replace all 4, and have the tire guy mount the best of the 4 to your full size spare.
nothing's worse than being far away and having to ride on a donut.
 
If it was mine (and what I did when I bought two last fall and two more this spring), I’d make the decision based on if it was time to rotate. Last fall we replaced two because one couldn’t be salvaged. This spring we replaced the other two.

Both time we simply decided if we were under or over halfway towards our normal rotation schedule. If under, replace the two on the axle that had the bad one. If over, do a rotation and then replace tire.

Either way, I’d keep going with my normal rotation after installation. The two newer ones will always be on the same axle either way.
 
I sell tires every day and 90% of the time the new tires go on the front.There are exceptions of course.
Steering,braking,and traction for fwd are the main reasons. If I can't steer the front of the car it doesn't matter what the rear is doing IMO.
 
confused said:
I sell tires every day and 90% of the time the new tires go on the front.There are exceptions of course.
Steering,braking,and traction for fwd are the main reasons. If I can't steer the front of the car it doesn't matter what the rear is doing IMO.
Click to expand...
^^^^ This. On a FWD car, all the rear tires have to do is keep the rear end off the ground.
 
BigWaylon said:
If it was mine (and what I did when I bought two last fall and two more this spring), I’d make the decision based on if it was time to rotate. Last fall we replaced two because one couldn’t be salvaged. This spring we replaced the other two.

Both time we simply decided if we were under or over halfway towards our normal rotation schedule. If under, replace the two on the axle that had the bad one. If over, do a rotation and then replace tire.

Either way, I’d keep going with my normal rotation after installation. The two newer ones will always be on the same axle either way.
Click to expand...


As long as you do this, I don't think it really matters. I doubt any of us could tell the difference anyway.

.
 
Ford service department wouldn’t rotate my tires yesterday (4x4 work truck) because back had 4/32 and front had 7/32. They said best tires are already on front the way they need to be.
Confirmed what I had always been taught in last 71 years- best tires always should be on front!
A Rear wheel blow out is noticeable, but a front wheel blowout- you better be 10 and 2 on the steering wheel.
Yes I’ve experienced both front and rear blowouts in my lifetime and with almost new tires!
Best tires on front for me.
 
@amnesia seems to change tires more than most of us and push his harder. Just curious, which do you feel is more important?
 
LizardKing said:
@amnesia seems to change tires more than most of us and push his harder. Just curious, which do you feel is more important?
Click to expand...
I would put two on the front. However, I’m more risk adverse believe it or not. If I had a tire with a nail that couldn’t be patched and the rest at 5/32 I would replace all of them at the same time.
 
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From the Popular Mechanics article referenced:

"The truth: Rear tires provide stability, and without stability, steering or braking on a wet or even damp surface might cause a spin."

Well Einstein, what do you think the front tires provide, flotation?
 
Bocephus said:
That is what I thought too but research (and a PM sent to our own @Mike Overlay ) proved that AWD is no different that FWD/RWD when it comes to replacing tires
Click to expand...

one thing i’ve learned about subarus and a symmetrical AWD, is that you don’t replace 1,2, or 3. you replace all 4. now on most other AWDs you probably could get away with replacing 1 or 2, but not on symmetrical AWD, as damage will occur
 
backwoodsshooter said:
one thing i’ve learned about subarus and a symmetrical AWD, is that you don’t replace 1,2, or 3. you replace all 4. now on most other AWDs you probably could get away with replacing 1 or 2, but not on symmetrical AWD, as damage will occur
Click to expand...
It puts more wear on the differentials and can cause an early failure.
 
backwoodsshooter said:
one thing i’ve learned about subarus and a symmetrical AWD, is that you don’t replace 1,2, or 3. you replace all 4. now on most other AWDs you probably could get away with replacing 1 or 2, but not on symmetrical AWD, as damage will occur
Click to expand...


You also shouldn't do that in vehicles with automatic 4 wheel drive. A difference in tire diameter causes the tires to spin at different speeds, making your vehicle think one tire is slipping and constantly clunking in and out of 4 wheel drive. Doesn't take long for that $200 you saved on a tire to turn into $2000 for a replacement transfer case.
 
amnesia said:
It puts more wear on the differentials and can cause an early failure.
Click to expand...


GoWolfpack said:
You also shouldn't do that in vehicles with automatic 4 wheel drive. A difference in tire diameter causes the tires to spin at different speeds, making your vehicle think one tire is slipping and constantly clunking in and out of 4 wheel drive. Doesn't take long for that $200 you saved on a tire to turn into $2000 for a replacement transfer case.
Click to expand...

i agree with both of y’all on this and that’s what i was getting at without too much technicality lol

i know some AWDs you do have more lee way than with symmetrical but it’s advised against even with the variable TQ diffs
 
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GoWolfpack said:
You also shouldn't do that in vehicles with automatic 4 wheel drive.
Click to expand...
I am pretty new to a full time AWD vehicle (Subaru) and had a tire slip a couple of times, like yesterday turning into a gas station and there was gravel on the drive. The car reacts and it sure gets your attention.
 
Yall are hilarious! There are several wondering why I came here to ask the question if I'm just going to google it. The answer, of course, is because I didn't ask which two to replace. I said in the OP I was going to replace the two rear like Google told me, and proceeded to ask a question about tire rotations. But the car fudds who have "just been doing it that way since 1973, SONNY" couldn't help themselves sharing opinions on a question I didn't ask. Ok, boomers!
 
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