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Tire question

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<< Consider this scenario.

He's driving a rainy day on a nice highway, suddenly something makes him need to avoid a collision and steer to either left or right. The bad tires in the rear looses grip and start aquaplaning. What happens then...... he spins around, ABS or not. >>




same situation, with bad tires in the front:

front tires loose grip, car is still going to spin around and cause trouble. >>



As a matter of fact, NO. He will continue straight ahead since his rear tires has grip preventing the car from spinning around.
 
Well just because you have ABS doesn't mean you can steer in a turn. There is only so much grip you have. If you are spending half of it on turning it means that you have less than normal for breaking.

Rallispec has a good point too which is the same as yours. If you're trying to turn and you have front weak tires you can lose control just as easily as in the rear. However in the case given where most of the car's weight is and where the power is going to I'd still prefer my front tires to be the strong ones.
 


<< Well just because you have ABS doesn't mean you can steer in a turn. >>



This is exactly the point of having ABS brakes!!!!

As long as the wheels do not lock up you can steer. I guess driver training in the US is not teaching this.
I did wet weather driving when obtaining my drivers licence (In Sweden).
 


<<

<< Well just because you have ABS doesn't mean you can steer in a turn. >>



This is exactly the point of having ABS brakes!!!!

As long as the wheels do not lock up you can steer. I guess driver training in the US is not teaching this.
I did wet weather driving when obtaining my drivers licence (In Sweden). >>

No, the point of ABS is that your tires do not lock up and put you out of control. One benefit of this is that you CAN steer in while braking if you want or you can keep in a straight line for maximum braking. Tell me, you don't really think that turning and braking are mutually exclusive do you? Both use grip from the tires. This grip is finite. If you're stoping at 100% of your braking power you have no room in which to turn. No turning power at all. If you start to turn suddenly you'll lose braking power.
 


<<

<<

<< Well just because you have ABS doesn't mean you can steer in a turn. >>



This is exactly the point of having ABS brakes!!!!

As long as the wheels do not lock up you can steer. I guess driver training in the US is not teaching this.
I did wet weather driving when obtaining my drivers licence (In Sweden). >>

No, the point of ABS is that your tires do not lock up and put you out of control. One benefit of this is that you CAN steer in while braking if you want or you can keep in a straight line for maximum braking. Tell me, you don't really think that turning and braking are mutually exclusive do you? Both use grip from the tires. This grip is finite. If you're stoping at 100% of your braking power you have no room in which to turn. No turning power at all. If you start to turn suddenly you'll lose braking power. >>



When you slam your brakes and have ABS you CAN still STEER the car. That is the point. Have you tried it? I have!
 


<< When you slam your brakes and have ABS you CAN still STEER the car. That is the point. Have you tried it? I have! >>

Like I said, you start turning you lose braking power. It's basic physics and quite irrefutable 🙂
 


<< This grip is finite. If you're stoping at 100% of your braking power you have no room in which to turn. No turning power at all. If you start to turn suddenly you'll lose braking power. >>



This statement actually negates what you said in an earlier reply about ABS preventing the rear wheels from loosing grip. 😉
 


<<

<< This grip is finite. If you're stoping at 100% of your braking power you have no room in which to turn. No turning power at all. If you start to turn suddenly you'll lose braking power. >>



This statement actually negates what you said in an earlier reply about ABS preventing the rear wheels from loosing grip. 😉 >>

I meant it will stop the rear wheels from SKIDDING, and it will.
 
If we put all the fact together it still shows that it's better to have the best tires in the rear.

BTW, you can still loose the rear end without locking up the rear end. So no skid is no guarantee for a safe drive.
Basically if you have more grip in the front of the car it will oversteer. More grip in the rear and it will understeer.
And trust me, it's way easier to handle understeer than a nasty oversteer.

Try your car on a wet closed track somewhere and you will see what happems.
 


<< If we put all the fact together it still shows that it's better to have the best tires in the rear. >>

Well I think we're running on different facts then 🙂

<< BTW, you can still loose the rear end without locking up the rear end. >>

How? Either the rear tires are maining grip or they are skidding. If the former the rear is not going to slide out because sliding out means they have lost their grip and are skidding. No matter how much rain or ice this cannot happen with ABS when you're braking straight unless you introduce too much steer for the car to handle in which case regardless of ABS you're going to skid.
 
This goes for cars with and without ABS.

If you have more grip in the front of the car it will oversteer. More grip in the rear and it will understeer.

 


<< No matter how much rain or ice this cannot happen with ABS when you're braking straight unless you introduce too much steer for the car to handle in which case regardless of ABS you're going to skid. >>



Insert better rear wheel in this scenario and the car is less likely to spin around.
 


<< OK guys, this is why:

It does not matter if it is a FWD or RWD car. You shuld ALWAYS mut the best tires in the rear because:
If you have bad tires in the rear the car can loose grip in the rear (when wet and under braking for example) and you will spin around!

It's that easy! >>

He's right, 100% correct! I've driven the hell out of a lot of cars, mostly FWD, in all sorts of conditions. If the rear tires lose grip before the fronts, and you're not expecting it, you're screwed. Personal experience speaking here, folks. I killed my beloved '87 Accord because I had a crappy tire in the rear on a wet cloverleaf.

I had a mishap in an 86 Nova that knocked down a tall street lamp. It was snowing and I had just put two new tires on the front, intending to buy two more with my next paycheck. It happened on the way home from the tire shop. Before I knew it, I was going backwards into the light pole.

One time in my less experienced days (I was only 19), it was snowing and I was driving an 89 Accord with old Potenza HP41s in back and new Potenza RE92s in front. I took a nice, gentle curve but hit a patch of ice that I didn't see. Faster than my relatively inexperienced reflexes could do anything, the front end and the back end traded places and I was going backwards in the opposite lane. Luckily, I didn't hit anything.

But to keep things simple, and to keep the handling exactly as intended, the rule is to always use 4 matching tires. I'd try to get more money from the insurance company for 4 new tires.
 


<< OK guys, this is why:

It does not matter if it is a FWD or RWD car. You shuld ALWAYS mut the best tires in the rear because:
If you have bad tires in the rear the car can loose grip in the rear (when wet and under braking for example) and you will spin around!

It's that easy! >>

I have spun my FWD car in the rain with good tires. It is how you drive more than the tires in most cases with FWD.
 
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