new tyres back or front

[petedoc]

my back tyres are nearly new and front like cojack. i am going to get two new for front but i remember seeing something on here about new tyres at front or back and old at back or front but cant remember what way round and cant find the thread i read it on im sure it was posted by templ4ir i think or can any one else remember or help thanks petedoc :o

[Swingletree]

I got some new tyres on wifeys car the other month, the guy said he wasn't allowed to put the two new ones on the front! It was company policy apparently to put new tyres on the back as a pair!

[littlelegs]

Putting the best tyres on the back dates from when most cars were rear wheel drive and quite light on the back. This was for the best grip to avoid common oversteer and spinning out of control but is still valid today. The good rear tyres give you directional stability like the flights on a dart.

[petedoc]

Putting the best tyres on the back dates from when most cars were rear wheel drive and quite light on the back. This was for the best grip to avoid common oversteer and spinning out of control but is still valid today. The good rear tyres give you directional stability like the flights on a dart.
thanks for advice did not want to make any mistakes. even more so now that you have said about the directional stability of darts, but im going to try my best to keep them on the ground, but could come in handy for when wife drives. thanks petedoc

[littlelegs]

thanks for advice did not want to make any mistakes. even more so now that you have said about the directional stability of darts, but im going to try my best to keep them on the ground, but could come in handy for when wife drives. thanks petedoc

I heard you were a high flyer! :rolleyes::D

[Llanigraham]

Land Rover instruction.....new tyres to be fitted to REAR only.

Failure to do so can result in expensive failure of the VCU/IRD

[MrRob]

Land Rover instruction.....new tyres to be fitted to REAR only.

Failure to do so can result in expensive failure of the VCU/IRD

But how doesn fitting new types to the front of the car kill the VCU? I really dont get it.

[TEMPL4R]

The gearing to the front wheels is slightly higher through the IRD to give a feeling of driving a front wheel drive car and get the " Go where you are aiming" sensation.

The rear wheels obviously rotate at the same speed, but the gearing back down the driveline is different, that's why you have a viscous coupling ( among other reasons) to let them differentiate. The rear drive train drags, that's why you get a slight handbrake on feeling and taking the props off increases the MPG by a lot.

If you put new tyres on the front, they are a larger diameter than worn tyres so the circumference is larger. The VC can't cope with that difference and it fails.

Chris

[MrRob]

I think I should put my tyres on the back then. I have AT's on the front and road tyres on the back. The front tyres are worn but still have more tread than the back.

Looks like im up early in the morning then!

[ap088]

Hi All, new to the forums and was lurking about before I posted, but after seeing this - eeek!
I just bought two new tyres for my TD4 2003 as the front ones were nearly not legal anymore. Took it to the garage and they fitted them to the front.
Question is, should the garage have known about this Landrover instruction and swapped the tyres about before fitting the new ones?
Tyres were bought from Blackcircles.com and fitted by a local garage. If I'd have taken it to the local dealer it would have been rip off prices.

[TEMPL4R]

A lot of places don't understand the transmission on a Freelander ( our younger mechanics are a prime example, but they don't now a lot about anything.....:rolleyes: ) a tyre company should know, but again, depends on how the Fitter was trained.

Odd sized tyres are not good on any 4x4, but due to the design of the Freelander system, they suffer badly from a mismatch.

Just swap them around.

Chris

[MrRob]

OK. I swapped my front tyres from my rears.
Not only does it feel more positive to drive but it now no longer pulls to the left.
Wickard!

[Seagull1]

My local ATS will only fit new tyres to the rear if instructed to and I had to show them the LR instuction on tyre fitting, they also put on the recipt that it was done on my instuction.
The worst thing they did was use an air gun on the locking wheel nuts, the new tech did not know not to do it!

Richard
02 TD4

[Llanigraham]

ATS locally have a written instruction not to fit new tyres to the front of FL's, plus if they do not use a torque wrench to do up your nuts they are breaking their Safety Rules. Ask to speak to the manager.

[chrisandlandie]

Another theory favouring new tyres to the rear is they are less likely to blow out. Controlling a rear tyre high speed blowout is unlikely...a front blowout being less problematic

[Seagull1]

They DID use a torque wrench but used an air gun first, on standard nuts that's ok but not on the locking nut.

Richard
02 TD4

[MrRob]

They DID use a torque wrench but used an air gun first, on standard nuts that's ok but not on the locking nut.

Richard
02 TD4

A few years back I picked my brothers Corsa up for him from the dealers. It wasnt finished so I had to wait. I watched them finish it off from the little window in the door. The little **** who put the wheels back on used the air gun to put the wheels back on including the locking nut. When it came out to me and checked them it had damaged 2 of them. I said to the guy "you have damaged to the locking nuts with the air gun" he said "sorry sir we dont use the air gun on locking nuts" I said "I just watch that guy in there do it with an air gun!" he insisted I didnt but then I said "how do you explain the that fact that the locking nut tool fitted when you put the wheels one and now the tool doesnt fit these 2 locking nut anymore?" "errr,errr"