Replacing front tires

Hi. I have an '89 Olds car with 4 Goodyear Aquatred tires on it. I need to replace the front pair of tires as the car will not pass state inspection because of tread depth. I want to just replace the front tires as the rear tires are still in good shape, tread-wise. Question I have is that the tread toward the inside of the tire on both the front tires is worn down more than the outside part of the tread. What does this signify and what do I need to have adjusted when I bring the car in to replace the tires? Also, I do not want to spend the extra $ on new Aquatreds so what is a decent tire/brand that I can put on the front axle given the rear axle still has Aquatreds?

Thanks. Walter

Reply to
Wally
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It depends on how much it's uneven. If the whole tire is worn out and the inside is just a little further along, then it's probably normal. If the inside is worn down and the rest of the tire is like new, big problem.

Reply to
Brent P

This is a FWD vehicle, I assume...

It probably signifies you need an alignment, at least, and new steering and/or suspension parts, at worst. Check out this page on alignment

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If you don't know what all that means, or what needs adjusting, you're best off having a reputable facility tell you.

Probably any same size/compound (mileage rated) tire will work fine. Go to the local GY dealer and ask them, is what I would do. -----

- gpsman

Reply to
gpsman

Just rotate the tires to the rear, and take it back for reinspection. They can only inspect the tire condition in the wheel positions that failed...i.e. LF, RF...can't fail it if the bad ones are now on the rear...that's a different rejection...

I used to do vehicle inspections. That's a technicality that few are aware of. Used to piss me off when someone figured that out. I asked the State Patrol trooper who oversaw the inspections in our area...he said there's nothing you can do, you gotta pass it....

Even though the above is true, I don't reccommend you do that...and you can run any comparable radials with the Aquatreds, even on the same axle...there's nothing special about them, especially once worn...

Reply to
jeffcoslacker

First of all, you need an alignment at a minimum, and the alignment tech may very well find some other issues with the front end that need to be rectified (tie rods, strut bearings, ball joints, etc.) to make the car safe. But if they didn't appear on your inspection report, make sure you really need them.

Secondly, if you get new tires, you should rotate the tires so that the newest ones are on the rear of the car, to keep the vehicle stable in bad weather conditions.

good luck,

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

Most likely you need to have an alignment done. It is probably the toe that needs to be adjusted. It's possible your tie rod ends are worn out and need to be replaced (extra $$). It is also possible that the camber isn't set right. These things can be off just a little bit and cause quite a lot of tire wear over many thousands of miles.

You don't say what kind of Oldsmobile it is, but I have a 90 Ciera and I got new tires at Sears for about $45 a tire last fall. They were on sale. You might check there for what they have on sale.

I didn't need an alignment done (which usually costs about $65 more) and I didn't get the road hazard warranty and all that. But of course by the time you add in new valve stems, wheel balancing, tire disposal, and tax, you're still looking at about $170 for 2 new tires. That's pretty good though- and it's worth the money when you consider it's for your safety on wet or icy pavement.

The name of the tire was Goodyear Weatherhandler. This model of tire you can only get at Sears- Goodyear makes it for Sears and does not sell them through their own tire stores. I think treadwear was about

60,000 miles.

One good thing about getting tires for American cars is that they seem to be a lot less expensive than getting tires for foreign cars. Why this is I'm not sure.

Anyway, hope this helps you.

Nate Nagel wrote:

Reply to
njot

It is dangerous and foolish to replace only two tires on any front wheel drive car.

Spend the money and buy four good standard tires.

Reply to
SP Cook

That's ridiculous. You must own stock in a tire company.

Reply to
E Meyer

Could you please elaborate on this? Till now I was sure in the opposite. Thanks, Misha

Reply to
MishaA

MishaA wrote:

Most people think that the reason that you always used to put the good tires on the back of a car was because they were the drive wheels. They were traditionally the drive wheels, yes, but the *real* good reason to do that has to do with keeping the back end from coming around on you, especially on hard braking, or to a lesser extent, cornering. The whole deal is that a rubber-pavement interface (like the contact patches of your tires) has a significantly higher coefficient of static friction than sliding friction, therefore if a wheel loses traction and locks under braking, you want it to be the front, so that the vehicle stays straight (the greater force from the still-rolling rear tires will keep the vehicle stable. In the opposite situation, the car is essentially trying to balance itself on its front tires, and any perturbation will make the rear end try to come around to one side or the other.) Also, if either end loses traction while cornering, for any but the most skilled drivers, it's safer for it to be the front (understeer) rather than the rear (oversteer.) The correct procedure for recovering from understeer would be to quickly but smoothly lift off the gas, or even brake slightly, to allow weight to transfer back to the front to give the front tires more bite, which is the instinctive reaction of most people. To recover from *oversteer,* the correct procedure would be to actually accelerate gently to transfer more weight to the back, while countersteering. Most people can handle the countersteering part, but the accelerating thing is counterintuitive. So there's two situations where for most drivers keeping the good tires on the back is of definite benefit.

That said, on a FWD car you still want to have *good* tires on the front, or you won't be going much of anywhere in the snow. Also, obviously, for maximum safety you'd really want to have decent tires all around (I don't know what your current "good" pair is like, so I can't actually offer real advice specific to you) but in the case where a driver is forced by circumstances to replace only two tires, generally the new tires should *always* go on the back.

good luck,

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

I always followed the pattern, similar to what Nate described, under these circumstances.

1] The rear tires were less worn and in good shape [more prevalent on FWD than RWD].

2] Whether the car was FWD or RWD, I did this on both drive systems, I always rotated the better back tires to the front, and put the new tread on the back.

Sure beats $$$ for 4 all-around, I still ended up with better tread front tires and new on the back. That is a real-world situation for most folks, just spend what is needed to keep the car reasonably safe, and I truly don't care if others say do it right always. That is certainly good advice, but not always practical advice for limited budgets.

However, a drawback to this. Tire rotation, later, which many folks neglect, will then put the more worn tires on the back, or if they follow an X-pattern rotation, they get a worn and a new tire on both axles.

Myself, I pay attention to that, as best as I can on a limited budget. I haven't had any problems with two new instead of four new tires.

Reply to
Knifeblade_03

What utter rubbish !

Graham

Reply to
Eeyore

On a FWD car, the rears simply follow the front. They don't even provide power, as they do on a RWD car. There's no need to replace good tires on the rear.

Reply to
Bill Funk

I think this should be clarified. When buying two tires (usually to replace the fronts which wear faster than the rears on a FWD car), the NEW tires should be placed on the REAR. The reason is that leaving the worn (but still legal) tires on the rear exposes the car to possibly severe oversteer conditions in wet when the rears hydroplane and the fronts (with new rubber) do not.

FloydR

Reply to
Floyd Rogers

IMO: Sounds good in theory, but in practice, my experience (very limited!) is different. In an F-250 (>6000lbs) with equal tires front & rear, the only hydroplaning experience I've had occured; the front tiers were hydroplaning. When I turned the sterering wheel, nothing happened. I let up on the throttle, and a few seconds later, the truck turned. It wasn't the rear tires (the less loaded tires) that floated, but the fronts (with equal water on the road all around). When I let off the throttle, the rear tires slowed the truck. Just my (limited) experience.

Reply to
Bill Funk

Your experience supports putting the good tires on the rear. This way instead of having the rear come around, one can just let up on the throttle and allow the vehicle to slow to where the fronts grip again.

Even in a FWD car, there is friction to slow the car, just not engine braking from the rear.

Reply to
Brent P

That's a very different situation: 1) RWD vs. FWD, 2) equal tread depth (vs. less depth in rear), 3) understeer vs. oversteer (induced by hydroplaning.).

Placing the best tires on the rear virtually guarantees that the fronts will hydroplane 1st, which results in an understeer (and easily controlled) condition.

Oversteer is rarely encountered because most drivers are used to understeer (all FWD cars understeer, indeed most RWD cars are tuned to provide understeer as a first response). Oversteer is definitely to be avoided by the majority of drivers, since almost none of them have experienced or trained for it.

FloydR

Reply to
Floyd Rogers

Unless you like keeping the front of the car pointed forwards, that is. see my other post

nate

Reply to
Nate Nagel

My experience was that the front tires floated; why would this support putting the better (not *good*; the rear tires were good) on the rear? Then the fronts still would have floated.

This would mean you'd want the better tires on the front, to provide engine braking. The rear tires on a FWD cars just follow along, providing very little resistance (friction losses to speed). You can see this by jacking up the car, and spinning the rear tires.

Reply to
Bill Funk

Not so easily controlled when you want to steer, and get no steering because the front tires are just floating along.

Reply to
Bill Funk

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