There seems to me to be some "double talk" with the better tires on a front wheel drive (FWD) being installed on the rear. From what I read in some internet posts the danger of more worn tires on the rear of a FWD car is about loss of traction from side impact or side load causing a spin. How many times does this happen as compared to the need for better braking or the potential for aquaplaning?



When changing the tires on a front-wheel drive car, the better and new tires should go to the back, not to the front. This is because worse tires in the rear are associated with the risk of slipping and dangerous side impacts. Worse front tires significantly increase the braking distance. With tires that vary greatly in terms of wear and tear, the risk of accidents increases2. The better tires mounted on the front axle provide shorter braking distances and greater aquaplaning protection.

I put four full on snow tires on dedicate winter wheels on every vehicle we drive during the winter months. I check the tread depths and tire rotation arrows and put the tires with the most tread depth on the primary drive axles. FWD vehicles get the more tread depth tire on the front, RWD vehicles get more tread depth tires on the rear. AWD vehicles get more tread depth tires on the primary drive axle in our case our AWD is 60 rear/ 40 front so again on the rear. For some dumb reason I always thought of the rear tire/wheels on a FWD vehicle as "trailer" wheels with brakes guess the "experts" say I've been wrong thinking this.