jhpmbusa

basically, the front half of the vehicle is on a different pair of shoes than the back half.

These are probably bad examples, but its like bowling, skiing, skating (or any other sport you can imagine) with different sets, sure they might both be good brands, but its definitely not optimal to wear different pairs.

With your car already being RWD, all 4 wheels aren't getting power. Your rear tires pushes the car forward, and the front tires only steers where it should go, and by having different brands, they are already not in perfect harmony/balance.

Once the front snapped...i think it was inevitable that the car would spin out...once again thank God you are ok!

parkwood

who fitted them for you? From what I have seen most U.K. tyre suppliers would say new tyres should always goon the back and the more worn set on the front reason being if the front aqua planes it can be controlled more easily than if the back goes. If it was your Mercedes garage then I would be very unhappy as I am not sure they followed best practice especially with the car being a RWD model as opposed to FWD. No french ref came upon my google search but if it really is good practice based on science I would expect the same advice here.

parkwood

Quick google just now and the french say the same😉

Egonvdv

last time i asked them to rotate, but this time i forgot completely, (and they didn't offer)
the company is called Norauto. They also never told me anything about having 4 of the same tires ...

beechcamp

Egon, I love your posts, I love your Rolling Stones fanaticism, I love your part of France (and can't wait to go back!) and most of all, love that you're OK after your crash. I'm no expert but I recall being told over my lifetime that one should, if possible, have the same brand and model of tires on all 4 wheels as mentioned above. And I've been told that the newest tires should be on the front, as better traction for maneuvers relies on good traction for the wheels that tell the car which way to go. There are folks that know more than me who support or correct that information - can't get no satisfaction!
Good luck on your new vehicle!

parkwood

the view re the better traction on the front etc is indeed why people think that is the best way round and it seems utterly logical. However it seems that tests indicate the new tyres should go on the rear on the basis lack of grip should it occur is easier to control if it is at the front so best tyres on the back to maximise grip there. Counter intuitive I know.lots of tests etc on line.

parkwood

well they are no fly by night operation. Looking at your reported figs I take it the fronts are reported as 10% worn and rear 30% so the difference is not great someone just not on top of their game and maybe the new on the back rule is still open to opinion in some quarters. Just so pleased you got out of that ok. However of course what none of us know is whether in fact whatever the car had on its wheels the conditions where such it was an inevitability 😉 and you did certainly have a decent amount of rubber all round.

Egonvdv

if googled the heck out of it, but there seems no doubt: new tires always on the rear - no matter if front or rear drive

jhpmbusa

the report mentions 10% and 30% tread. not sure how much it would have really mattered.

cetialpha5

Yeah you need to find the guy who told you the newest should be on the front and set him straight. Most tires stores all know to put the newest on the rear. As mentioned earlier, when you hydroplane, with new tires on the front, you won't notice the loss of steering control and the rears will lose traction before the front. When you notice the loss of steering control on the front with more worn tires, you can slow down and regain traction. By the time you lose traction on the front with new tires, the rears are already gone and it's a tad late.

jhpmbusa

Egon - perhaps you can contact your tire shop and ask them why they didn't rotate? also, explain your story and see what they think about it. if they dont have a good reason at least you can stop them from doing this to future customers.

ua549

I always buy tires in complete sets of 4. My life depends on it.