Which tires wear faster - front or rear??

[CAA]

At inspection I had to replace my rear tires. My front are 85-90% and I asked Costco to mount the new tires to the front and move the fronts to the rear. Their policy is to always put the newest tires on the rear of the car. They said that you can bring them back for rotation any time you want, but that is their policy.

My question is, would I be better off moving the new tires to the front? My gut feeling, (if it's like my Carrera 4 was) is that the bias is to the front wheels. Any advice appreciated. Thx.

[SebringSilver]

At inspection I had to replace my rear tires. My front are 85-90% and I asked Costco to mount the new tires to the front and move the fronts to the rear. Their policy is to always put the newest tires on the rear of the car. They said that you can bring them back for rotation any time you want, but that is their policy.

My question is, would I be better off moving the new tires to the front? My gut feeling, (if it's like my Carrera 4 was) is that the bias is to the front wheels. Any advice appreciated. Thx.

My experience with my 2006 S4 is the fronts wear quite a bit faster than the rear. Get them to put the new tires on the front.

[CAA]

Thanks for the quick reply buddy - appreciated.

[sakimano]

I would guess rears because my car is 60% biased to rear wheels, however the braking force and sheer weight of this car up front MUST wear the fronts out.

make a poll

[snopyro]

Yes, the quattro tires wear out like a front wheel drive car. Put the tires with the most tread on the front of the car.

[99PanozAIV]

...My question is, would I be better off moving the new tires to the front? ... Any advice appreciated. Thx.

If you have Quattro, you need to be careful about that. See link.

http://www.tirerack.com/tires/tirete...jsp?techid=18&

[CAA]

Yep - thanks for the link. I understand what Tire Rack is saying but to scrap tires with 3k miles on them to match all four is stupid.

[yung turbo]

front always wear faster unless your RWD because more stress is put on the tires i.e. turning left and right(camber wear).

[Cargo8]

Fronts probably wear faster due to the weight / braking.

I would also say you wanna have the better tread on the fronts in an AWD car considering if you get in trouble, Front wheel grip is more useful than Rear wheel grip [awd, front pulls out of slide/trouble]

[RAudi Driver]

It's a liability thingy!

Tire installers want to limit their liability so they are required to place the new tires on the rear of the car to prevent the car from spinning out.

Putting the newer tires on the front is a more logical choice as the fronts provide the grip needed to accelerate and turn and they wear faster.

[serumk]

The reason tire installers want to put new tires on the rear is that it reduces the likelihood of oversteer, which is a condition most of today's drivers are unfamiliar with, and more likely to get in a nasty wreck as a result of.

If it was me, I'd want the new tires on the rear. Oversteer is nice on the track, but I'd definitely prefer a push on the street, lol. Tell me, how many times have you used the gas pedal to get you out of a skid?

[Cargo8]

yeah, but in an AWD car the front wheels are more important than the rears, since they can pull you out of any trouble, and power is thrown to the front during a slide. They also, you know, turn the car?

[meinblaus4]

brand new tires have a buildup of resin from the molding process, that's why it is always recommended to drive easy for the first few hundred miles. of course, not everyone heeds that info, so if the installers put them on the front and someone takes a turn at speed, they may end up going straight and Cosco doesn't want to risk that. drive the car around for a few weeks, then rotate the tires to the front; b6/b7 platform is something like 58/42 split since the motor is in front of the axle. between that, the front wheels being driven and the fact this car is fun to take corners fast in make for the fronts to wear more quickly than the rears.

[serumk]

yeah, but in an AWD car the front wheels are more important than the rears, since they can pull you out of any trouble, and power is thrown to the front during a slide. They also, you know, turn the car?

I recognize your thinking, and I'm not trying to start a fight, so I'm sorry if I offended you.

In an AWD car, depending on how the torque is distributed, different wheels will play a larger role in a car's acceleration, but in braking and cornering, all tires play a very important role. The only reason installers want to put newer tires on the rear is that most drivers find it easier to control understeer (front of car loses traction before rear) than oversteer (rear of car loses traction before front). As others have said, they're just trying to minimize their liability by making the car as easy to drive as possible, for the largest number of people possible.

I recognize that front wheels turn the car. That's exactly what I'm saying. In a situation where someone is turning, most drivers find it easier to correct understeer than oversteer. If you prefer a car with a tendency to oversteer, good for you -- put your new tires on the front.

I realized I hadn't answered the OP's question -- I would assume the front tires wear faster.

[Cargo8]

^ word sorry, wasnt trying to argue either

[Monchichi8]

front always wear faster unless your RWD because more stress is put on the tires i.e. turning left and right(camber wear).

BINGO!

[CAA]

Thanks for all the replies - nice to have my guess confirmed.

Cheers

-CA