I will be getting two new tyres for my 2000 A3, as the front wheels treads
are wearing. A friend said that new tyres are best on the rear wheels (even
irrespective of whether FWD or RWD). Is this true or a myth?

Cheers

"Nige" <nigel.inceNOFUCKINGSPAM (AT) btinternet (DOT) com> wrote

Bad move, for the reasons supplied above.

Even *more* of a bad move if you "help" unsuspecting (and often less
skilled) drivers by swapping tyres for them (in your role as a mechanic).

As goes reasoning (and to supplement the above arguments) - aquaplaning
happens on all four wheels. Given the choice, would you prefer to:

a) Play "dodge the tree" with not-very-responsive steering, or
b) Hit the damn thing side on without slowing significantly (toss a coin to
see if you've just seriously injured/killed yourself or "merely" your
passenger(s))

The argument applies in all weather conditions - very wet weather just makes
it a "bit" more obvious.

H1K (Associate of C&G Institute, if that counts for anything ;o)

"Hairy One Kenobi" <abuse@[127.0.0.1]> wrote

New tyres should go on the rear - check out the tyre manufacturers'
websites.
--
Doug Ramage

[watch spam trap]

While I agree with most of what's been said, I always enjoy driving my A4
1.8TQ better with the newest tyres at the front. This way, the car is very
responsive, more precise and gains some precious oversteer that is precisely
what I want to get on the dry if I'm thinking of enjoyment. For those with
Audi AWD who still don't believe what I'm saying you can try launching the
car - on a circuit or equivalent wide area - in 1st gear flat out with your
steering turned to the one side where there is space allowing free play. Be
ready to countersteer. Of course you should know you're shortening your
clutch's life and don't hold me responsible for anything going wrong.

For the average driver, slight understeer is easier to handle, for better
drivers it's boring. Now, having said that, heavy understeer is worse than
heavy oversteer for obvious reasons, so if it's slippery and the road is
either narrow or busy I will drive easy, but again, it's still preferable to
have the newest ones at the front because the deeper thread will delay
aquaplanning a bit further. Of course you then need to be paying more
attention to the rear.

JP Roberts


"Doug Ramage" <RamageXX (AT) ukacccountant (DOT) net> escribió en el mensaje
news:2ordtfFe24r0U1 (AT) uni-berlin (DOT) de...

On Mon, 23 Aug 2004 00:36:58 +0200, "JP Roberts" <1234 (AT) yahoo (DOT) com>
wrote:

I have always believed the above to be true. However I now have a Audi
A4 3.0 Quattro sport manual tranny and have changed my mind.
I have been driving the last 3 months with new tires up front and 2/3
worn tires on the rear. When it does get wet the handling is very
twitchy and non-progressive on sweepers.

After a couple of close calls I have replaced the rears.
Note, I have no problem with oversteer, and am able to use it to my
advantage on wet/snowy roads, but the oversteer with worn tires on the
rear was just too unpredictable.

I still prefer the newer tires on the front for my front-wheel-drive
vehicles and have driven them that way in all sorts of conditions.

Scott