Two new tyres? Fit them on the rear axle

You need to replace two of your car’s tyres, but the question is – do you fit the new tyres onto the front or rear axle? The team at Kumho Tyre note that a lot of people assume new tyres should be fitted on the front axle, but in this case you shouldn’t follow the consensus. Kumho Tyre recommends that you always fit a pair of new tyres on the rear axle, and here’s why…

It is the rear tyres that provide your car with stability: If you fit the new tyres up front, they will offer more stability than those fitted where it is most needed – and that doesn’t make sense. When driving in wet conditions you could find yourself in a situation where the new tyres at the front easily disperse water, but the half-worn tyres at the rear just slip. Water on the road surface can raise the worn tyres off the road and it would only take a slight corner to cause the car to spin out.

Worn tyres are also much more likely to suddenly deflate than a new tyre: It is much harder to retain control of a car when a rear tyre blows out than when a deflation occurs at the front, and by keeping the old tyres at the rear you are increasing the chance of this happening. Therefore Kumho always advises fitting the better quality tyres at the back. It is also important to remember that when switching older tyres around, the rear tyres should be in better or the same condition as those at the front. If this is already the case, rotating tyres for the sake of doing so is not necessary.