tire wear

**nemopoppins** · 06-15-2006, 01:46 AM

We've been getting Dunlop A/T tires for our Suburban and they can supposedly get 30,000 to 50,000 miles on them but we only get about 15,000. Does anyone know if there is something wrong or if there's some way to lessen the wear? I hope you don't blame my driving style. (And don't blame the tire because it happened with the Firestones we used to get too.) Also, it seems to me that the tires wear more when they are on the rear, even though my tire guy says that's not so, but with rotation it's difficult to make that distinction. I'm thinking of getting two new tires this time (only the tires that are currently on the rear need to be replaced), put them on the rear, and not rotate them to see if they really are wearing faster. What do you think?

**OldDiesel** · 06-16-2006, 10:25 AM

You always want the better tires on the rear. It doesn't matter whether the car is front, rear, or 4wd. As for the tire wear, how are the tread blocks when you replace them? Insides worn out, outsides worn out, centers worn out, edges? It sounds like you've got alignment or pressure issues if you're going through them that fast.

**nemopoppins** · 06-19-2006, 01:11 AM

Thank you, Old Diesel. The tires do seem to wear evenly but I'm glad to hear advice to put the new tires on the rear. As I'm trying to decide what to do when I purchase two new tires this week, I spoke to one person (my brother) who agreed, with backup about weight, braking, and accellerating, that I should put the new tires on the rear, and another (my husband) who made some analogy to semis and steering and said I should have the better tires on the front. Please, can anyone address all these points of view?

**OldDiesel** · 06-20-2006, 01:13 PM

Semis have to have new tires on the front due to DOT mandate. They cannot run recaps on the steer wheels. Other than that, semis can run recaps on all of the others. The reason for putting the better tires on the rear is for handling predictability. So many people think that putting better tires on the front will help them steer and brake better than if they put those same tires in the back. To a certain degree, they would be correct, this is especially the thinking with front wheel drive vehicles as the front wheels do both the steering and the driving. The reason you put the better tires on the rear on any vehicle is to prevent unexpected and often dangerous oversteer. Yes, this can happen even with front wheel drive. I'll try to find the article I read in one of my car magazines to give a better explanation of this, but that is pretty much the gist.

**OldDiesel** · 06-20-2006, 10:05 PM

From www.michelin.com: Where do I install new tires if I only buy two?
If you're replacing only two tires, be sure to have them installed on your vehicle's rear axle. New tires will provide better grip than your half-worn tires and when they are installed on the rear that helps reduce the potential for your vehicle to fishtail or hydroplane in wet conditions.

http://www.michelinman.com/care/tip6.html <---- This is the link for the part of the site with FAQs. If you go there, you can watch a video on why to put new on the back. You'll notice that the cars they use are front wheel drive. Imagine the same scenario, but all of your power is going to the back.

**nemopoppins** · 06-21-2006, 02:37 AM

I'm getting the tires tomorrow and I'm putting them on the rear. I'm also forwarding the link to husband so he won't worry about me. Thanks, Old Diesel.

**OldDiesel** · 06-21-2006, 07:44 AM

No sweat!

**nemopoppins** · 06-24-2006, 03:02 AM

I couldn't believe it. I told my tire guy (actually it was his son) to put the two new tires on the rear. While I was picking the Suburban up we (his son and I) discussed the brakes, which are fine, and then as I was walking out with the key he said that oh, I'd really want the tires on the front so he put them on the front instead for me. I left anyway so I could decide what to do later. I'm thinking to avoid problems for the young man and just keep the tires the way they are. Then when I'll get my rotation at 5000 miles I'll be satisfied. Next time I'll have to be more firm, I guess.