# Swapping Wheels



## kaacee (Nov 29, 2008)

Can anyone explain/enlighten me on the advantages/benefits (if any) of swapping the back wheels/tyres to the front and vice versa.

I am in the process of purchasing two tyres to replace the worn front ones, the two back ones still have plenty of tread on them, and I have been advised by a "mate" to put the new ones on the back and put the existing rears on the front.

Keith


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## cabby (May 14, 2005)

It really is a throwback from the good old days, always had the best tyres on the back, which was always the driving wheels, for grip.
Also tyres were not that good either and coping with a blowout from the rear was easier than the front.
So the answer is replace front tyres with new. I expect you will need to replace all four next time.

cabby


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

I think the advice has often been to swap diagonally so as not only to get the least worn tyres on the front (assuming they wear more quickly) but also to mitigate any excess tracking wear where one side of the tyre is wearing more quickly than the other side. Obviously you can achieve the latter by swapping side to side.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

You don't anymore unless you wish to keep paying for 4 tyres at the same time (or 6 depending on your MH)

Read any of the tyre manufacturers websites including the AA/RAC etc and all say its not worth it.

The only thing you should be ensuring is that the newest tyres go to the rear!


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

This is what Fiat say in their X250 handbook:

"to allow even wear between the front and rear tyres, it is advisable to change them over every 10-15 thousand kilometres, keeping them on the same side of the vehicle so as to not reverse the direction of rotation."

It would appear that even in this short thread that their are opposing views to this advise.


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## djp30 (Jan 9, 2012)

The main reason to swap rear to front is to get some wear out of them before they die of old age :lol:


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

If your tyres are not wearing evenly then you have a problem......


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## LaMB (Oct 20, 2011)

Despite all I have read on this subject, I will continue to do what I have always done on front wheel drive vehicles, for the last 40+ years, of accident free driving. That is have the best tyres on the front - they do nearly all the work- steering, accelerating and braking!


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## peribro (Sep 6, 2009)

> If your tyres are not wearing evenly then you have a problem......


In fact only a small degree of wheel misalignment can cause noticeable excess wear on one side or the other.


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## rayc (Jun 3, 2008)

> bigcats30 said:
> 
> 
> > If your tyres are not wearing evenly then you have a problem......
> ...


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## Mrplodd (Mar 4, 2008)

In the past the advice was always to put the best tyres on the front !!! Thats where all the steering and most of the braking is carried out.

HOWEVER the modern thinking is to put the best on the rear. The reasoning being that if you get a sudden deflation of a REAR tyre then controlling the vehicle can be very difficult (due to oversteer) , whereas if a front tyre lets go its a lot EASIER to control (understeer) 

Having experienced BOTH (under carefull controlled conditions whilst undergoing collision investigation training) I can certainly confirm that if a rear tyre lets go it is VERY difficult to retain control of a car let alone a bloody great motorhome, if a FRONT tyre fails it is far easier to control the vehicle, the steering pulls to the side but you dont get the wild side to side oscilations that a rear tyre failure gives and you can stop under reasonable control!

So my view is that the best tyres should go on the back, and thats what the tyre manufacturers say as well. 

If it was my vehicle I would (do) put the new ones on the rear.


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

rayc said:


> > bigcats30 said:
> >
> >
> > > If your tyres are not wearing evenly then you have a problem......
> ...


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## trek (May 1, 2005)

Keith you have received good advice from your mate !

do as he suggests put the new tyres on the rear !


plenty of reasons to do so (just google "new tyres on rear" ) should find some videos of skid pan demonstrations etc


but something to bear in mind on motorhomes as has already been mentioned - the rear tyre treads don't wear out but they do age so need to be changed as they get older to avoid blow outs so if you put the new tyres on the rear every time your fronts need changing -your rears shouldn't get old enough to be a concern


and make sure the load index on the new tyres is suitable for the axle weights


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## peterandirene (May 9, 2005)

I recently had two new tyres fitted to my car. The fitter advised fitting on back. I questioned that as I always understood that the best tyres should be on the front but, as stated earlier by Mrplodd the thinking has changed!

I would have thought that the majority of us motorhome drivers will need to replace all four tyres at the same time because of age rather than wear issues. My front tyres have covered 30k miles and are still legal.

Peter


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## Jeannette (Aug 7, 2012)

My car requires me to swap the tyres front to back every 6k miles and the onboard computer even reminds you to do it apparently. Only got 2800m on it since December so await to see it occur.

Generally on motorhome the tyres will perish before they wear out so it makes sense to put the oldest tyres on the wearing axle and then you are only buying new tyres in pairs rather than in 4's.


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

Jeannette said:


> My car requires me to swap the tyres front to back every 6k miles and the onboard computer even reminds you to do it apparently. Only got 2800m on it since December so await to see it occur.
> 
> Generally on motorhome the tyres will perish before they wear out so it makes sense to put the oldest tyres on the wearing axle and then you are only buying new tyres in pairs rather than in 4's.


Hi,

Not sure if I follow that logic.

If the tyres are replaced on an age / perishing basis there will never be an older pair as you'll replace them all at the same time.


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## listerdiesel (Aug 3, 2012)

The only thing that concerns me about all this, is that the front brakes have 80% of the braking power and do the steering as well.

So we are saying put the tyres with the best grip on the wheels with the least braking and no steering (which happens daily when you drive it) in case of a blowout which statistically is rarer than hen's teeth.

My feeling as a driver is that I want the most grip on the wheels that need it.

Is that wrong?

Peter


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## bigcats30 (Aug 13, 2012)

Jeannette said:


> My car requires me to swap the tyres front to back every 6k miles and the onboard computer even reminds you to do it apparently. Only got 2800m on it since December so await to see it occur.
> 
> Generally on motorhome the tyres will perish before they wear out so it makes sense to put the oldest tyres on the wearing axle and then you are only buying new tyres in pairs rather than in 4's.


You could just ignore your car...when you have a bill for 4 new tyres rather than replace tyres as and when they wear may change your mind.


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## kaacee (Nov 29, 2008)

bigcats30 said:


> If your tyres are not wearing evenly then you have a problem......


The front tyres are worn evenly but more than the rear two which also appear to be wearing evenly. Hope that makes sense.

It would appear as usual there is conflicting advice, my own gut feeling was to put the new tyres on the front where all the "action" takes place and replace the rear on age or wear whichever occurs first.

Thanks as usual for all the advice freely given, it is much appreciated.

Keith


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

\\\"listerdiesel\\\" said:


> The only thing that concerns me about all this, is that the front brakes have 80% of the braking power and do the steering as well.
> 
> So we are saying put the tyres with the best grip on the wheels with the least braking and no steering (which happens daily when you drive it) in case of a blowout which statistically is rarer than hen\\\'s teeth.
> 
> ...


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## BillCreer (Jan 23, 2010)

no I didn\'t put the \\\\\\ in.


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