The Mudcat Café TM
Thread #126895 Message #2824083
Posted By: Ed T
28-Jan-10 - 07:51 PM
Thread Name: BS: Snow Tires
Subject: RE: BS: Snow Tires
pdq:
First, all snows and all the same 4 tires are the best....and recommended.
Your description of how the rear wheels contribute to the operation of todays fwd cars is an oversimplication. It's just more complex than that.
Braking- you don't want the car swinging around on you.( as if you pull the e-brake while steering - try it on ice/snow and see how much control you have) . Under braking, most of the weight is transferred to the front wheels, providing them with increased grip. This would also mean that the rear wheels are unweighted during braking, and thus already at a disadvantage in terms of applying grip Then, in snow, this would mean those tires which weren't gripping much in the first place, are then providing even less traction, thus making the car prone to spinning... so, you want to balance the overall stability and traction of the vehicle by putting the snow tires on the rear.
2- Cornering - again, the rear end will increasingly swing out. Unlike on pavement where there is a great deal of friction to control a slide, on snow, you get a microscopic layer of water under the tire, and rather than grip, it will send you into a 180 because there is simply no friction to stop the slide. (Snow tires are designed with siping(little grooves or holes int he tread) and softer rubber which grips the road better in colder conditions. Most important is the siping - it absorbs that tiny layer of water which develops under the tire when it compresses ice/snow. When rotating, it flings the water out of the tread, ready to grip the next time it contacts the ground)
I submit that no reputable tire shop will install two new (winter or other) tires on the front of a FWD vehicle....check it out. Grippier tires on the front than the back make the vehicle unstable when you need control, going around corners and braking, the rear end wants to spin around every time you go to stop on a wet or icy road?
Try a google search under 2 tires, front or back....you will find few if any reputable sites recommend you put new tires, or snow tires on the front of a fwd car.