Rear tire replacement

Handling is different on different make (even model) tires.  If you like ones on car now - replace with same if they are still available. Handling is different due to tire construction and rubber compounds. That said you might not notice difference at 60 miles per hour and leisurly rides in the country.

I find I replace the rear twice and the fronts once.  So in the long run, the rubber gets dry and you lose the grip you should have and then sometimes you cannot get the same tire so lately I have been using Yoko, Avid Avigor an all season and I seem to be able to keep getting the same tires for a few years so it has been working.  But brittle rubber on the front end is no good for water displacement if you get caught in the rain... Oh I forgot .... it never rains in California, here we get to try our rubber ducky shoes a lot and the Yoko's are pretty good in the rain, so is my IM roadster well sealed Ray

Wolfgang brought up an important point-get the same tire, if possible.  Having different brands or models on the front and rear can cause strange handling traits.

Tires are good for about 8 to 10 years, no matter how much tread they have left.   If you're going to just replace two tires put the new tires on the front.

Why the front?

Because you want the best traction and braking in the front.  Also, as a tire gets worn down it is more susceptible to failure our blowout.  It is much safer to have the rear tire blow out a highway speeds than the front.

Ron, funny thing most people actually believe you put the best tires in the rear .... because you can steer out but the rear pendulum effect will not be manageable. Ray

This is why you should rotate your tires (assuming all four are the same)

I don't think I have ever bought two tires in 35 years of driving, except bias snows on a rear wheel drive car. Once.

I've always bought 4, whether it be a daily driver, FWD, RWD, AWD, summer, winter, whatever.

Our cars may be one of only a few cars that would still be steerable after a front tire blowout.  The front end is so light one flat tire might not matter as much, compared to a vehicle with the engine in the front.

If the back end starts to slide it can often be corrected with the steering wheel (done it many times on the track).  If the front end starts to slide you're done.

I'm certainly not a tire expert...but the idea of putting the new tires on the front is mostly folklore.

"Most people believe new tires should go on the rear...." because they're right.

Danny stated the real ultimate truth, the absolute best answer is to buy four!

But if you need to buy just two, the new tires should go on the rear.

Might be different on a racetrack, but for 99.9 percent public driving, you want some degree of understeer. All other things being equal, that means you want more traction out back, which means new tires on the rear.

I get it...there is no need to believe me.

But let's take a look at what the folks at TireRack say. And Popular Mechanics. And Allstate. And Discount Tire. The PM, Allstate & DT sites have video.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/...chpage.jsp?techid=52

http://www.popularmechanics.co...s-debunked-10031440/

http://blog.allstate.com/new-tires-rear/

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTiresRear.do

And one more for good measure, this from Michelin:

http://www.discounttire.com/dtcs/infoTiresRear.do

One other thought re: a blowout.... Frequency vs. Severity:

Frequency: How often do today's tires really suffer a blow out? I suggest not often enough for it to be a factor when deciding what tires to run where.

Severity: Ron is hopefully right about our cars' handling after a blowout. But "one of the few" may be a bit off target.

Bunch of years ago, driving my front engine, front wheel drive Volvo S80. Pulled out to pass a semi at night. Hit a chunk of four-by-four that was laying in the road. Tire blew. Rim bent. But other then the jolt when the tire hit the block-o-wood, the car never wavered from a straight line. You wouldn't even know the tire was down. And I had no problem slowing and steering back to the right shoulder.

Granted, one occurence is not a valid test, and the results in your car may differ.'

But if I ever have to buy just two tires, they are going on the back.

Good to know....thanks Paul.

Good to know...but I hope I never run another real-life road test!

;-)

Paul, the reason I mentioned the 2 x in the rear is due to the camber always seeming to wear the edge somewhat ... thus you need to do the rears more often. In any case I have different tire size in the front as I think most IM's do. Ray

What tire sizes are you running, Ray? Are you running wider rims on the back as well?

Hi Al, I am running 6 inch fronts and 7 inch rears original fuchs 16 inch. Henry got them for me and they had the right ofset for the 911 front end and the rear brake too. 

195/55-16 front 205/55-16 rears.  I like the YOKO's they seem to be pretty good in the rain and give good normal dry road driving.  With the lightness of the front end it is not evident at times how you could lose some traction on the front depending on the road your on or if you do like Marty and others who have over 250hp and try to make the front fly, but forgot to add wings to give them more rear end lift.   

I can tell you how I lost my first 59 original coupe, around a corner, understeer oversteer, no fun crash. Ray