Best tyres s/be on the front - or the back ??

[John-M 0]

I've read in the definitive tyre thread, and elsewhere, that you should have your best/better tyres on the back rather than the front.

 

What's the rational behind this ? Logic - MY logic anyhow - tells me that the front should have the better tyres, if only because it's easier to control a rear breakaway than a front one.

 

Is my logic wrong then ?? If so, please enlighten me as to the benefits of 'best on the back' against 'best on the front'.

[Kevin Bacon 5]

Best on the back to help prevent oversteer but it's driver skill based really. If you feel comfortable with more grip at the front, so be it :D

[pumbaa 0]

Best tyres on the back are recommended as the back end will generally slide out first when cornering. More grip at the back means you can push it harder round a corner before the rear will slip and it will recover faster.

 

Well, thats what i've been told and the logic seems sound to me.

 

I think i've just repeated the above??

[fla 9]

yep as above. Previous knowledge used to be that if a blowout occured at the front it was riskier hence btter tyres at the front. This is much less likely now and its more the issue of power-off oversteer. As a rule, on a roundabout or sharp higher speed bend try and leave enough gap to keep the car accelerating and understeering slightly.

[bristolbaron 11]

when people are talking about 'better' tyres do you mean quality or tread?

I could understand having sticker tyres on the rear, but with 4 tyres of the same type would put the higher tread on the driving wheels as they wear quicker?

[dukest 0]

^^^^ agree with this, and i do that purely to make sure the tyres wear all the way down at roughly the same time rather than replace 2 tyres separately where you may not be able to get the same brand.

 

i guess "better" is intended to stand for "more tread" with the logic being that its to deal with standing water where tread is clearly king. as you say, there cant be any assumption of new tyres being grippier tyres given the variation in compounds on the market. however, to base a practice on rare conditions of standing water seems fairly far-fetched to me.

[John-M 0]

Ah, thanks for all that.

 

I have to say I hadn't considered the understeer/oversteer aspect - I was thinking more of where you needed more sheer grip, and I did have in mind 'better' meaning more tread.

 

Some food for thought though :)

 

 

Talking about understeer - which I havent really experienced that much of in the Corrado - reminds me of many years ago when the original Mini first hit the roads. It was very entertaining to drive way too fast into a corner, lift off, and the very sudden switch from massive understeer to dramatic oversteer would get you back pointing the right way round the corner.

 

Great fun it was, but of course back then, mid '60s, there was nowhere as much traffic on the roads :)