Is It Better To Put New Tires on the Front or Back? -EricTheCarGuy 

All season tires are shit. Some decent winter tires are the way to go.

Eric, thanks for sharing your bone chilling findings. It took a lot of effort for you to go through those life saving experiments. Thanks

thank you Eric for all the effort you've put into making this video.

I've wondered this same thing for a long time and I really appreciate the testing you did Eric. I am of the opinion that tire and insurance companies tell you to put the best tires on the back for liability reasons. You are more likely to lose traction in the rear with bald tires in the rear than with tires deep in tread and losing traction in the rear is more dangerous than losing it in the front...or at leased that is how the argument goes. I agree with you Eric, the best solution is just buy 4 new tires.

This was very interesting. Just last week I took my car in to have the tires rotated. The rear tires were better and the front tires were wearing unevenly. Back in a former lifetime (1964-1983) I worked at my father's service station. At that time, the rule was, "put the better tires on the front". My tire guy would NOT rotate my tires because, "the better tires must be on the rear." I told him that I was rotating tires before he was born and that was not the rule back then. Could he tell me when the "rule" changed and why? He threw up his hands and said, "you obviously know more about this than I do!" and stalked off in a huff. I have been a customer of that tire store for better than 20 years ... and I am within a millimeter of taking my business elsewhere when I buy new tires in a month or so. BUT, I went home and googled the issue. As others have noted here, the published advice of tire manufacturers does seem to have changed over the years and the "better on back" seems to be the rule today. And the reasoning is about control when hydroplaning. Better to be unable to turn (front skid) than to have the rear swap ends suddenly (rear skid). Makes sense in theory - though your empirical experience seems different. But what has changed since the "old days"? Well, back then, our concern was about control after a blow out. Would you rather blow a front tire or a rear tire? Intuitively, I think we all believed that a car would be more controllable with a blow out on the rear than with one on the front. Remember, for example "Unsafe At Any Speed" - a book which gutted the poor little Corvair because of its tendency to have blow outs when turning ... and then flipping the car when the rim would dig into the asphalt. Maybe tires are better now and blow outs are not the concern that they were then? Anyway, it would seem that the issue is debatable (except to my tire guy). Thanks for the vid Eric. I always enjoy and learn from your videos!

This video is a good demonstration of the benefits of newer tires being up front, however out of personal experience I'm still a firm believer of newer tires in the rear. I drive super defensively so stopping distance and my ability to suddenly turn aren't as big an issue for me as oversteer is. Yes I definitely feel the increased understeer and stopping distance in non-dry conditions, but with the way I drive, I give myself enough room to account for it. However when I ran more worn tires in the rear, I had multiple instances of oversteer - some of which almost led to accidents. Constantly worrying about oversteering does not justify the benefits of the better traction up front with the way I drive, in my opinion. Since I do a lot of highway and open road driving, I personally value rear stability more. Imagine making a 300 mile road trip with the back constantly kicking out and you might understand my point a little more. I don't mean to discredit your video at all, just felt like sharing my experience about the subject a little.

Man I am impressed you got out in all that snow to do this for us Eric. Thanks for that.

Obviously the front should have more grip because drift car. DISCLAIMER: TheLeafySpring does not condone mean skids on public roads.

That is an old question Eric , I agree to replace all 4 when its affordable to do so .... Great Video , and a Great Effort .

Thx Eric. Hey - the Acura paint job looks good in low resolution and out in the snow 😝

Thank you Eric for your great videos. They are awesome. You are one of the best mechanics that I always watch besides Ratchets & Wrenches and Rex Fix. All of you are excellent and appreciated. Thank you for your teaching and demonstration.

I think the real lesson here is: 3/32nds is too low to be in the front OR the rear!

I grew up and learned how to drive in northern Wisconsin. I completely agree with everything you did and said in this video. If I only get 2 tires, they ALWAYS go on the front. I've worked as a technician for the big tire places, Good Year, Firestone, NTB. They all say put the new ones on the back then try to scare customers into buying 2 more for safety reasons. I actually had a "big wig" from Ohio Firestone office ask me one time if I ever had a blow out on the rear of a car. Yes, I have. In my full size truck doing 70MPH down the freeway. I pulled over and changed it and was on my way. If that would have been on the front I would have lost control and most likely crashed or worse. He had nothing to say. Sorry for the rambling. My experience tells me better tires always go on the front. Great video Eric!

This is bad advice. You're always supposed to put tires that have better traction in the rear. Doesnt matter if its FWD, or RWD. When you have less traction in the front, your accelerating (if fwd), and braking are immediately effected. The second you start driving, and braking you will know your cars limits. But when your rear tires have low traction, you wont know it until you take a turn too hard, and spin around. And that will always come as a surprise. You put fresh tires upfront, you think you have grip, you drive way too confident, then you make that right turn too fast, your rear end goes out, and you spin around, or worse, hit a parked car. This is why tires with better grip go in the rear.

Eric, great demonstration. When money was short and I needed snows, I always opted to put them on the front while my half worn all-seasons stayed the back. I took this setup to an extreme (and stupid) test one morning when 2 inches of fresh powder was on a back-country paved road (upstate ny). Took the 60 degree turn quick on purpose and before I knew it I fishtailed, landed in a ditch and knocked out a wooden fence. That entire winter season aside from my dummy test with good tires on front were nothing short of being safe when sudden stops were necessary or going through tricky, day-to-day curvy road situations. The key to good handling is ultimately knowing your vehicle and knowing how to drive. Nonetheless, the tire companies will say "new to back, worn to front". They're strict to the fact that most vehicles have the most weight in the front and that weight will aid in more grip for less treaded tires. The understeer can be corrected easier because the majority of drivers don't know shit about driving safely or how their vehicle handles in different situations. So yeah, for drivers who know what they're doing, new tires on the front. If you don't know how to drive under a variety of diverse conditions, including rain, 4 new tires. In any snowbelt...4 snow tires is the ultimate.

This is great, i love performance tests, you should do more of these Eric,

All I can say is, on my old FWD car, I installed new tires on the front, and put the "good" older tires to the rear. I was driving down a 4 lane road in the rain, with a slight curve to the right. A road I had driven in the same conditions for many years. The next thing I know, the rear of my car lifted (hydroplaned) and I went spinning into oncoming traffic. Learned my lesson. Either get 4 new tires, or put the 2 new on the rear. Snow is one thing, but rain is a different animal.

A lot would depend on how worn the older tires are. If they are close to the end of their lives, then probably put the new ones on the rear. But if they have a lot of meat left, then put the new ones on the front. The front tires wear faster because most of the braking is done up front because of the weight shift forward. If you're lucky, the new front and old rear will then need to be replaced about the same time, and you can get all four tires next time. I never had a problem doing this, and if I did in the snow, I'd just drive slower in slippery conditions. It's all about the braking. SLOW DOWN!

cool, I found this interesting to watch because last time I put new tyres on a car I asked for them to go on the front and the shop disagreed with me and said no always have the better ones on the rear. I understand that in a situation where your car is spinning out of control good tyres on the rear would probably benefit, but I think it was pretty evident in your video that in an everyday driving situation its probably more advisable to have good traction up front :) cool video

Good, thank you for taking the time to do all of those tests

I used to go by the rule of thumb that you put the newer rubber on the drive wheels. I think it depends on the car and the situation but I'm now of the opinion that front wheels are generally the better choice. Reason being that steering and braking are heavily front biased no matter the drive train configuration.

All these people who don't drive their cars in snowy and icy conditions many many months a year telling to put the better tires in the front :D ...... And no-one believes us nordic people who do. Even at our driving license test its mandatory to go to a winter driving course on slippery special test facility to see how the car reacts in different situations and they say to _always_ put the better tires at the rear. So says all the insurance companies and experts on this matter. The better steering input drops dramatically when you go above the snail speed of 20-30mph that eric just did here and it induces snap oversteer which can't be corrected. You just become the passenger.

Thanks for the scientific method on this, I really enjoyed it. The clear advantages of new on the back you didn't test; braking in a turn and feedback that tells you to slow down. Both things that an experienced driver will have fewer problems with.

Eric, you are the best, doing these tests in the cold just so we don't have to.... Thank you...

there is one very important test missing - braking on a curve. This test shows how car really behaves with old tires on the rear wheels.

As a person who does a lot of winter mileage and that tried both, it's always better to have the best tires in the front. That way you have a better change of avoiding something if ever the worst should happen. P.S. We have to have winter tires here in winter and you can get a big ticket if you don't.

Nice vid Eric. I like how you were able to sneak in mm for the tread depth. Made it easier to tell that the bad tires had about half the tread.

When I was a rubber jockey 10+ years ago, the rule was FWD: Better tires on the front. RWD: Better tires on the rear. Fast forward to 2009, I worked for KAL TIRE. They insisted FWD gets better tires on the rear, RWD: better tires on front. I got into several heated arguments with the completely untrained staff at that store and they insisted I was wrong. Let me just reiterate that I have proper vocational/mechanical training, and most of the drones at that KAL TIRE store had gone through the store-level training. I quit after a week. I refused to make peoples vehicles unsafe, but I also couldn't agree with their business practices of 450% markup. I simply could not look people that I'd known all my life and grown up with that tires for their 1987 Ford pickup were going to cost $2200!! If it's insurance companies forcing this change, someone needs to force the insurance companies. They are completely backwards and your test proves this!

I've turned a wrench for the last 25 years. Always did the install of the new tires on the drive axles. I have a severe dislike for shops that do extreme hard sells to customers that they MUST always get 4 new tires, otherwise they WILL be unsafe. It's called common sense while driving on snow and ice. (and yes, water covered roads as well) I do strongly disagree with the min tread thickness! Ya hit those wear bars? That's like running a slick and the tires are useless on water/snow. Again, this boils down to driver training and common sense. I can park my truck on a dime (RWD, newer tires on the back). I can also maintain excellent control and do not rely on ABS. To many people get dependent on all the gadgets and they forget how to drive on bad roads. Be safe and don't drive like an a&&. That will get you to your destination safer.

Im living in the Nordic country. 4-5 months snow. Mostly we put better tyres on the back. Beacause in high speed rear end gonna slip mostly not front. And I think nobody dont wanna crach in high speed situation.

Look at you getting all scientific! That was a great video and test. The best thing I have ever done to a car was getting a new set (4) of Yokohama tires... Really, the difference in handling, stability, quietness and even fuel consumption (minor) is amazing.

Great idea for a video! Looks like the comments are all over the place, but you demonstrated exactly why YOU like newer tires on front. I agree, and on my 4x4 at low speeds, this has been the best mix for me too... At higher speeds? The rear probably would slide out with a lesser tread depth. Surely everyone knows speed and momentum is the key to driving in bad winter conditions and adjusts properly

I agree to put new tires in the front. However, the driver need to be aware that the car will easily oversteer because the back has way less traction.

Over-steer is easier to control than under-steer. I'd really whip my tail out to hit a car than to slide head on with the wheel fully turned. Although I follow far enough away now that that wouldn't be a problem, unlike most drivers.

I'd be interested to see how old worn snow tires down to 3 or 4 /32nds or tread do aganst the new all seasons. Thanks Eric for yet another great video...and camera man Brian too!

Honda putting the horn in front of the signals and windshield controls as buttons is by far my favorite feature and I'm always stoked to see it in other models lol

I always recommend on the front on a FWD car. We have alot of accidents here in Wisconsin in the winter. There are cases where the rear kicks out on people mostly when driving too fast for conditions. But almost all are related to steering loss and breaking issues (lots of deer accidents). Even when it is the rear that lets loose it is much easier to correct when that happens when you can steer out of it and use the gas to straighten you out.

I personally will never go back to all seasonal. winter tires have a crazy amount of tire grip in snowy conditions.

You are to hard core lol Always love the videos Eric.

Thank you for helping my husband and I make a decision. We were having quite the argument 🤣

I work at a tire and auto repair shop. I know that tire manufacturers and car manufacturers have done extensive testing, multiple times, over years and years and I can assure you that the new tires should always go in the rear. In the front, you have the weight of everything under the hood to keep the front end stable, as well as the steering wheel, so you can steer yourself out of a pickle (if you know how to drive in the winter, which you should, if you live in a wintery area). In the back, there’s nothing, so the best tires should go there, so as to minimize your chances of fish-tailing or spinning out.

New tires on the front: Better traction, braking and turning. New tires on the rear: Better cornering stability at speed and less likely to spin out. I actually have tested this myself and when i put the newer tires on the front the car was much esasier to drive in the city @ low speed. But then when driving @ higher speed i almost lost control when i took an easy turn in about 80km/h and the rear kicked out. This was with an front wheel driven Audi 100.

awesome for doing these tests

thanks for that. I've been looking for an impact wrench like yours.

the "gain" you'd get from new tires isn't something anyone ought to consider. instead safe driving practices in the snow is far more important. NEVER slam on your brakes AND do your best to stay a good distance from the vehicle in front. it is not a race.

If you live in areas that get snow/black ice, you're probably better off buying a dedicated set of tyres just for winter use. Don't need to have fancy mag rims - just plain, practical and designed for that specific weather.

all the best, Eric...

love the vids Eric! this was very informative for the majority of people driving fwd cars, but can you do something like this about rwd cars as well or how to drive safely with rwd in the winter?

opposite conclusion with the Michelin test in TireVanMan.

what about rear wheel drive cars then? I've always believed in putting the best tires on the driven wheels. Newest on the front for front wheel drive and obvious newest on the back for rear wheel drive. With carful throttle control I'd prefer to have drive grip than bang on precise steering.

Thanks Brian for standing out in the cold to get this footage!

Doing this test in snow is like testing-listening to a stereo with an infant screaming.

if you are driving on snow get winter tires not all weather

I had a FWD minivan where I had two studded tires I'd put on the front in winter. I'd rather go around a corner sideways (very predictable and manageable oversteer) than not be able to leave my driveway at all for lack of any traction. That said, in the snow I'd still rather have my 4WD Jeep with old OR new tires than that minivan. :)

Great video for traction in the snow. I also think I will remain a "newest on rear" enthusiast. I have a 2000 xj (Cherokee ) and a 2009 HHR. The jeep is an easy decision, having most traction at the rear drive wheels. Even so, I experience severe fishtailing in winter climates when in 2 wheel high, but when in 4 wheel high I could climb a tree. We have only had the HHR for a month now, new tires all around, and it does nicely. Impressive given a concrete driveway that rivals most ski resorts. I can, however comment on a Cavalier a friend had.....HAD. Newest on front scenario. Hit water, hydroplaned, and the rear went out around. Ended up 720 into the opposite side of the highway through the grass median and hit broadside into the opposite guard rail. I know alot of people who sandbag the trunks of their fwd cars to prevent this in the snow. For me, the concern is the rain that happens year round without warning. placing newest at front provides a false sense of security through improved handeling. if I need to go somewhere in s! $@ tastic western pa weather, I take my jeep. But for cars, I think weight and traction for all weather events is key.

Hey Eric, i'm a first year automotive engineer(applied science) in the Netherlands. In class we had a discussion about this. My teacher said that the reason why you would want to have your good tires on the back is because understeer is easier to compensate for than oversteer. So in most cases it is safer to have understeer. And since your new tires are on the back, you will be far more likely to experience understeer. Because the bad front tyres will loose traction before your new rear tyres. I hope this makes sense to you. Keep up making these videos!

Putting the good tires on the front is very dangerous, especially on old cars without any kind of computerized traction control. Shure, the braking distance will be shorter, but as the rear wheels are guiding the care, you will completely lose control of your car and spin like a bottle. Maybe on new cars, the stabilization control can compensate a lot, but once it starts spinning, you're lost. That are my experiences made on parking lots and driving on the road.

Depends on FWD or RWD. New tires on the front won't matter if you can't even get the vehicle moving in a couple inches of snow.

Finally! I've always wondered about this.

This should of been a bonus video, I look forward to my Fridays to start off my weekend and of course watch your newly posted video. This is not an auto repair video which you speak of what Friday is for.

I've driven in snowy and icy roads for twenty years so I think I'm qualified to mutter a couple of words. There are two separate things happening there. First, I absolutely prefer better tyres in the rear: understeering is quite a forgiving condition on a slippery surface whereas the tendency to oversteer can quickly cause a spin when the grip goes away in a bend. Snow drifting is fun and while it's also controllable (by steering counterwise to the direction you're drifting) you do not want yourself or other cars drifting on (or, in reality, spinning into) the opposite lane in wintery roads. Understeering gives at least some limited steering control, especially much more so with anti-lock braking. You will still lose much of control but you'll lose it gradually with no surprises, and with some margin of maneuverability left to correct the situation. Front wheel drive is generally more predictable than rear wheel drive for winter driving, and it gives better traction in the winter also because the engine weight sits on top of the driving wheels. The second thing, however, is that once you find yourself in a situation where you experience either understeering or oversteering you've actually already driven too fast and a lot of bets are already off at that time. Yes, regardless of your experience the road surface can have very slippery spots or surprise black ice, and you can not always know that. But you can always anticipate, and when you see other cars or other obstacles in front of you or you're not sure how slippery it is, you can always anticipate more. When the conditions are slippery you don't want to slide anywhere or otherwise lose grip. At all. That's simply imperative, and everything else follows from that. Anecdotally, driving through the winter I practically never in a typical winter driving conditions (snow and/or ice) lose control but that's only because I know to drive slow in the winter. If I lose grip momentarily that is already a big warning sign for me: that shouldn't have happened. For example, when Eric was trying to zigzag between the cones with the bad tyres in front he was going way too fast considering the available grip. Electronic stability control systems will only push those limits further while shrinking the margin more narrow. That is, you'll be able to drive faster and safer within the limits the system can handle but when you do lose the grip it's gone for good. Ditto for 4WD. On the other hand if you drive slowly, you'll develop a sense of how much traction you're losing and keeping at any given time. You can then factor that in when making choices about your speed, estimating braking distance, etc. Some word of advice from the North, besides driving slow: 1) prefer winter tyres in wintery regions and drive slow; if you don't use winter tyres, drive even slower; if uncertain of your grip in any case, drive slow enough that you will again find grip. Always know where the grip is. 2) know your enemy: if uncertain choose an empty patch of the road to test how slippery the road or surface is. For example while driving, brake first gently and then with more force until the ABS engages briefly; do the same with acceleration: hit the pedal a bit more than necessary until the tractive wheels lose grip momentarily or ESC disengages power; finally, test lateral grip by steering gently, slightly towards left and right until you establish to yourself some sort of boundary where you might be close to momentarily losing grip on that particular road in those particular conditions. Then stay away from those bounds by driving slow enough that you don't need to swerve, brake, or accelerate too quickly. Like, when approaching an intersection with red lights, you can quickly test the road surface by braking momentarily in advance so that you know if the road is more slippery than you thought, allowing yourself to brake safely before you would actually end up sliding and finally rear-ending another car. 3) find a place to practice what to do in case you do lose the grip. An empty parking lot is good but ideally you would find an area with enough room to hit 60mph/100kph and then safely test braking, turning, and dodging cones or other obstacles. It's good to force your vehicle to understeer and oversteer and find your way with both. I don't know if you have test tracks for practicing driving on slippery conditions and experiencing the winter roadholding in the USA but in Scandinavia spending a day on such a track is a mandatory part of driver's license training.

I completely agree with you in regards to a FWD vehicle. But what about a RWD?

Excellent empirical scientific test, albeit with a few unaccountable variables (i.e., changing temperature and water content or the snow). When I worked in a laboratory, we always had to take a minimum of three samples for basic statistical reliability. Thank you Eric. Keep up the great work!

love that i5 vigor ,test was also interesting

I doesnt matter if you run slicks or brand new tires. You dont have winter tires on snow, you have all seasons

I also think they should be on the front, being able to steer out of trouble is worth more than the slight gain in braking. Just my opinion :-D

I like this format. Maybe more of this in the future?

Great video. I've always put a new set of tires on but I would agree that in a front heavy front wheel drive vehicle, I would put new tires in the front if I had to choose between the two. That would increase the chance of the back end breaking loose, however, I think if you drove slow it would be better to have the trade off between fishtailing vs. having better front end breaking, stability and traction.

Rear tires provide the stability vector. i.e, they are kind of a rolling fulcrum. When a car is turning, the steering box attachment is your local fulcrum, however, the rear tires act as the fulcrum for the entire car.

next time you do a brake test use an external speedometer such as a GPS APP it may give a more accurate speed of the car.

Thanks Eric....great video as usual

now perform this test with new and old tires on the Fairmont for tests on rear wheel drive. With the exceptions of ABS, traction control etc. Keep up the great work!

Finally a real life test that doesn't assume everyone drives round wet bends at speed. 👍

Thank you Eric for this video! New tires should ALWAYS go on the front in vehicles weighted more than 50/50 front/rear for experienced drivers. For novice drivers this may not be true since oversteer/understeer becomes an issue, but for the vast majority of people stopping distance and acceleration is far more important in real world scenarios. If it were my teenager I would put new tires on the rear but never for me. The best scenario isn't always the lowest common denominator as it is legally.

Note: AWD systems (Subaru symmetrical, Audi quattro, etc) it is fairly crucial to replace all four tires at once. If one cannot or otherwise have to run "outsized" or spare, put the "bad" tires in the rear and pull the fuse/relay to put it into FWD until you can remedy the tire situation.

When your cameraman thaws out give him a raise.

Your conclusion may hold when driving on snow, but driving on shallow standing water is a much more common condition, and putting the newer tires on the back reduces the tendency of the rear end to start skidding sideways in a hydroplaning situation.

Good test if you are going to drive all day long on a parking lot. But on higher speeds old tires aquaplane more easily. When tail kicks out there is nothing you can do about it. That's why you always should put better tires on rear. Same thing on snow when cornering. It's easier to handle bit of under-steer than sudden over-steer. Here in Finland we also have mandatory by law to use proper winter tires at winter. They are so much better on snow and ice than tires on this video.

The ass end kicking out on stop is a big part of the reason for insurance companies, and tire technicians, saying new on the back. Better traction on rear helps keep the car in a straight line when breaking, or cornering, on slippery roads. Far lower likely hood of finding yourself going down the road sideways, or, backwards.

This was a good series of tests, very scientific. I think in the end the results showed that the most unstable stops were caused by the better tires on the front. I think that, in snow driving, the control while stopping is the more important of traction. Stopping in snow with the brakes is always touchy, I grew up learning to drive slower and try to use engine braking more to get my speed down, rather than brakes. If I had to slam on the brakes then I was doing something wrong...

I am not sure which tire manufacturer that was, but they recommended that you put the new tires on the back for the following reason. Imagine you are driving on a super wet road and you have to brake really hard. If one pair of tires loses traction you want it to be the front one before the rear one for stability reasons or otherwise the back will come flying to the front. In your scenario it seems that putting the better tires on the front yields a better result, but keep in mind that if you are going to avoid a collision by stearing all of a sudden you are most likely going to brake as well, especially if you are close to hitting a pedestrian. In that case it is very likely that the rear end would not follow the front end's turn and just keep going straight and then after spinning around hit the person/car in front of you. You might say that in both cases it looks bad, if otherwise the car would crash straight into whatever is ahead of you, but I think that tires work better at braking if you are going straight than sideways which would be the case if the car kicks out, especially if you have ABS on all wheels. I hope that makes sense..

Bridgestone Blizzak, best snow tire ever. my 2 cents on front vs back debate, if its front wheel drive i put them in front. rear wheel drive id put them in back... awd always buy 4.... but really dont be a cheap ass when it comes to tires. you should buy 4 nicest tires you can afford and start fresh get alignment... good to go..

Loved this experiment! Please do one again in the Summer/dry!

Thats pure dedication to the viewers for ya, real world testing.Yeah, I'd say on balance, the front is best.Well done.

It's better to put new tires on the front and back (winter tires!!!). But if you really can't afford 4 tires, then 2 on the back is better option.

In my experience front is always best, however when I put 2 tires on my Mustang before winter they told me it was better to put them on the rear. I still made them put them on the front because When I turn the steering wheel I want the car to respond as much as possible. This may very well have saved a guys life because I was topping a hill at night and blinded by an oncoming car when all the sudden he appeared in front of me walking in my lane. I tried the brakes, but just slid. I then released the brakes and turned into the oncoming car's lane missing him. The oncoming car went off the road to avoid me, and we all got away with no injuries. For those that are going to say "you should have turned the other way", the curb would likely have guided my car straight into the pedestrian. Anyway, the new tires on the front meant that the car responded and turned when I turned the wheel. If I had the tires on the rear, I think I would have slid trying to turn and hit him. My car now has all 4 tires. I just could not do them all at once.

Terrific in every way ~ thanks much!

*Winter specific tires* are really worth the cost, if your serious about wet weather or snow conditions. I can not imagine going back to "all season" tires for winter conditions. Never drove a vehicle with all wheel drive with winter tires but I bet it would be a blast to haul off the line with them. I do have a Front WD econo car and a RWD pickup truck with the same tires type (General Altimax Artics) mounted on all four wheels. Traction is never an issue with them

Swedish driver's aid instructors always say "Put the best tiers on the rear axel". It's also required by law to have winter tires in the winter. So just get em you silly Americans ;)

Big BIG mistake. You left out the spin-out test, as others mention here. The tests might depend on car and driving style, but from my personal experience, nothing was as serious as the back sliding away in turns. I've had COMPLETELY FLAT tires on snow (3mm is huge compared to what I had). I never ever felt that I couldn't turn properly, being aggressive on the throttle usually got me out pretty easily from traction problems, but I spinned out of control 3 times on the roads. I was lucky, I could've destroyed my car... or even worse. Always, ALWAYS new tires on rear.

very helpful full video I saw all the videos on why they need to go in the back and this made me go oh yeah now it makes sense stopping is more important than a little slow start or slide a bit cause hey if I start sliding I can just slow down. I've been in two small accident where stopping one foot sooner would have stopped it. oversteer and slow starts are just driver prefer things stopping fast in an emergency is not. go with stopping guys put your new tires on the back.

The idea behind putting new tyres on the rear of a FRONT drive car is for cornering stability in wet conditions, it is better to understeer (back off throttle to regain control) than to oversteer (fall off road backwards or sidewards) - you can test this by having car with old on rear and new on front, finding a large wet area where you can drive in circles until grip is lost - if you suddenly back off then chances are the rear will swing out as the weight transfer goes to the front wheels. If you then do this test with the tyres fitted the other way around, the front will simply wash wide and you can wait until speed reduces a little and the front pulls back in. However, on snow, grip is so low in the first place that this instability is a non issue (mostly) and of course four new tyres is the best option, preferably studded for winter conditions.For a REAR drive car, of course the reverse is true, for the same reasons :-)

When replacing tires in pairs, the new pair should always go on the rear. It does not matter if vehicle is FWD, RWD, AWD, 4WD. The deciding factor is a normal drivers reaction to a skid. With the older tires on the front, there is less traction in front, so the front end skids out. The solution to a front end skid is to brake, that is what happens as a normal reaction. With the older tires on the back, there is less traction in rear. so the rear skids out. The solution to rear skid is to apply more power, but the normal reaction to brake, that makes the skid worse.

I would guess whether your car is FWD or not would matter too...

Is it ok to put 3 used tires and 1 new tire on all wheels drive SUV?The used tire about 2,3 year old.

From my own experience, I've definitely found that the new tires should be put on the drive tires. Just this past snowstorm (Jonas) in Tennessee, in my Chevrolet Trailblazer I went up with the new tires on the front of the SUV when it is a rear wheel drive vehicle. Literally every time I shut off the car when I got back in I would have to spend at least 15 minutes getting unstuck in the 3-4 inches of snow. Once I rotated the tires to have the new tires on the back where the wheels were powered, I never once got stuck or lost traction again, even with all season tires and no winter tires. Hope it helps you guys

It depends on the driver. Me personally would rather have grip on the front. I also prefer RWD over FWD any day. Again it depends on the person.

I always put them on the front, because I would rather have the ability to countersteer a slide than have the rears grip up and the fronts plow along

I have driven in northern NY conditions for 45 years. I have driven during winter months vehicles with RWD, FWD, rear engine ( RWD), and 4WD. I have driven on Bias ply tires (snow and summer tires). I have for many years now driven on radial tires of course. I have used summer treads, all season treads, and winter treads of various degrees of aggresivnes. Right now I am using less aggresive mud and snow tires with a softer rubber compound than an all season tire with a similar tread pattern. These tires are on a FWD car, and are working out very well for me. I do not have to change them seasonally. They do wear a little more quickly than summer or all season tires. If I had only two good tires and two worn tires I would put the good tires on the front for traction. I know the "experts say put them on the rear, but I believe I have a much better chance of saving a car wagging its tail than plowing straight ahead. So I agree with Eric.

Thanks for the video , my mechanic put my tires in the back when I specifically asked they be in the front 😬