The Tyre Fitting advice most people get wrong ! With disastrous results ! | 4K 

As a 20 year tyre fitter I'd encourage everyone to check their tyre pressures once a week but also inspect the wear of each tyre. Thread depth gauges are readily available & don't be afraid to ask a fitter to look over your tyres if you're in any way worried. You can save a lot on fuel costs over a year & a regular check can stop you getting into a nasty avoidable accident! Tyres are your only contact with the road, don't skimp on them!!!

If we are talking about a typical FWD car, the other benefit of putting the old tyres on the front is that you can then wear them out faster before the rubber gets old, hard and even less grippy. Otherwise if you leave them on the back of some lightweight hatchbacks, they may never wear out until the rubber is so old it is actually dangerous

15 psi is huge, "most" people would notice that much of a difference. 5 and 10 less would be interesting to see

You have simply confirmed what I already knew about tyres! Any responsible driver would already know this!

I recently bought a used car, 7 years old with just 30,000 miles on the clock, and the Original tyres, dried out and cracked with No grip... My garage made a mistake, or let’s say this was a misunderstanding, and they only ordered 2 tyres instead of the 4 I asked for, so they fitted the 2 New tyres on the front, And I now know exactly what you mean. Good video!! I have Always been told for Many years to get rid of the Front tyres, move the rear tyres to the front, and fit the new tyres on the back. And your video confirms that that is the right way of changing tyres per pair of 2, Thanks.

I check my pressutres every Sunday of every week - 52 times a year for 4 cars - mine, my wife's, my son's, my daugter's cars.

Thank you brother. Many years ago, I was doing 50,000km per year in a lightweight FWD car with 60:40 (F:R) weight distribution. Every 6 months I would fit 2 new tyres to the rear and put the old ones on the front. My tyre shop asked where I wanted the new ones - they disagreed with me but did what I wanted anyway. My tyres were always fresh, and I never had any traction problems.

That was very useful and I now stand corrected after having got it wrong for almost half a century!

i knew all this from being a fast fit centre manager years ago, really opened up my eyes about everything tyre related, makes me shudder to think back to being 17 when i went for the cheapest remould, 1 at a time only when really required (change it or 3 points stage) never checked pressures unless visably soft or even punctured, shoddy patch repair later and i drove like Ayrton Senna every road all the time......smh....im amazed i never took myself or anyone else out. Tyre safety/info and wheel changing should be a half day course as part of the test for learners to pass, it will reduce accidents and maybe worse

I have a friend who never checks tyres OR oil level!!! He says, 'They do that at the annual service, don't they?'. This is SO wrong, obviously. He says he doesn't have much luck with cars - I wonder why... I was a tyre fitter in my youth, and at 67 I still spot cars with underinflated tyres, and will often leave a note, or speak directly if I can find the owner (admittedly only if that is relatively easy, but). It is clear to me that by far the majority of people rarely if ever check tyre pressures. It seems that is always, somehow, somebody else's job. Drivers seem to have forgotten, if indeed they ever knew, that they are the only person responsible for their vehicle's state of safety, ie, tyres - both wear and pressures - and engine functions (an engine seizing at any time is a disaster, and an alternator failure could be a real problem) as well as, basically, everything else! We have to assume, for practical reasons, that the steering/suspension joints aren't going to fail between services and-or MOT tests, likewise brakes. But people simply assume far too much about the state of the hundreds of moving parts that make their cars go, and stop. Caring about your tyres, if you are one of the majority of those who just don't care, makes you a nerd, a geek, somehow weird. I tell people that simply KNOWING your fuel consumption figures can give you the earliest indication that something isn't right. A binding brake caliper, a faulty fuel injector, seriously low oil, a slipping clutch, and tyre pressures all affect fuel consumption. Why people are so uninterested in such things is beyond my comprehension.

From cycling, I know only too well how tyres can dramatically affect rolling resistance and handling. I check the tyres on my daughter's and wife's cars. By testing tyre pressures, I’ve discovered slow punctures. I normally change tyres in pairs. And I too used to put new tyres on the front, but not any more! An informative and fascinating video.

As a mechanic myself, I’ve been saying this to customers for years. However, it’s regularly met with, “..a mechanic I know says they have to go on the front, so I want them on the front..”

Very good information, some of which is already known but nice way of presenting it. I did find that the biggest difference in tyres was changing from some cheaper brand tyres to Michelin (or a known brand) made the biggest difference. I had Juno tyres on my car when I bought it. They were either a hard compound or very aged (getting on for 8 years when I replaced them). Those tyres would spin up in 3rd gear at 60mph, trying to get any kind of power to the ground was terrible they would spin up in the slightest bit of rain. As they wore down towards the limit they got even more sketchy, I could be doing 15-20mph round a small island in the damp and even without trying oversteer and that was with 2mm of tread. Replaced with Michelin PS4 (NOT PS4S) only did the two at the rear first and massive improvement, firmly planted and very predictable nothing like the Juno tyres with the hard compound. You have to be pushing really hard or doing something silly to get oversteer which is how I like it. Front tyres started cracking in the treads (aged Juno tyres) so got another pair of PS4, handling upgraded even more lovely balance. Now I have gotten through the tread on the rears in about 15k miles so decided to wack on a pair of PS5 now and I cant really tell the difference between the PS4 and the PS5 but will be upgrading the other two to PS5 when the time comes. Another important thing is tyre rotation that many people overlook or just ignore completely. You will get much better wear out of your tyres by rotating them from back to front (RWD) or front to back FWD. You will get through 2 -3 pairs of tyres on the drive axel for every 1 pair on the non drive axel, if you rotate them much more balanced wear. IMPORTANT, cars with a HALDEX type and system like the golf will freak out/get upset if the tyre tread is more than 2-3mm difference between axels so tyre rotation is more important on those cars.

I used to be a tyre fitter and have been trying to tell people for year what you have just shown. Great explanation.

Thanks for this useful information. For many years I have driven front wheel drive cars and logic has told me that the best tyres should be on the front as these wheels handle the steering, acceleration and most of the braking. Your video has certainly given me food for thought! Excellent advice on tyre pressures, I check regularly and from new my 7 year old Prius has averaged 65 mpg and and some journeys on A & B roads I get 70 to 75 mpg.....combination of correct tyre pressures, Bridgestone tyres and a light right foot.

Before I start, I agree with the tyre pressure / rolling resistance (I am an engineer). However, the test itself is difficult to reproduce accurately. 1/2 mph difference equates to 10% longer to stop at 10mph. The normal way to do the test is at 3 different speeds, and curve fit. Aero is proportional to v^2, and rr is constant. 1/2 mph difference at 60mph is about 1.6% difference. OK, this is a nit pick - but it was a good demo. Really enjoyed this one. More......(please)

Many moons ago I had a puncture from a pot hole and chucked the spare on (remember when we had spare tyres?). The difference was immediate - although the spare was inflated correctly and a standard size (not a space saver), the tyre was quite old and I had immense torque steer! It was brutal torque steer, and I first thought that I had other damage from when I hit the pot hole. Got the tyres changed and had the car checked over. No other issues were found, including the alignment, and 2 new matching tyres cured the torque steer. The lesson? Not only should one check their spare is inflated and legal - check the age too!

Ped, great video. Over here in the USA, most reputable tire retailers won't sell a single tire anymore. They will only sell pairs or all 4, and as you found out, the new ones MUST go on the rear. Your test validated all of the rules that the tire sellers and manufacturers have preached for years. Good work on your part, and thanks to Michelin.

Such a useful video. Been driving for 45 years and always wondered about front v rear. My two schnauzers can sleep safely in the back - oh and of course the missus in the front!

I have a reminder in my phone calendar to check the tyres at the start of every month. I also check them visually every time I go to the car via a walk-a-round and if I am going on more than just a local journey I check the treads and pressures. I run Michelin Cross Climate 2's on an VW EV (swapped out unevenly worn oem Contnientals when I got the car secondhand) and I run the pressures 2 psi above the recommended. The economy of the car exceeds manufacturers numbers and there is as far as I can tell no detrimental effect on handling or braking. Decent, well maintained rubber may well save your life one day.

mechanic with 44yrs in trade, i will always fit the new tyres up front... when you hit the water on a flooded dual carriageway at 90mph, you want the best tread on the front, tyres below 3mm just won't clear the water. aquaplaning is a scary + dangerous thing. good tyres [michelins for me] on the front save my bacon about 10 times a year. a loose rear end is controllable, loss of grip at front is a trip into the barrier, or worse...

Great to know i have been sorting my tyres correctly since passing my test 35 years ago 😮 Never made logic to me to put new tyres on the front and let the rear ones get very old...

Personally, I always replace all four at once when they're worn. If I get a puncture I replace just the spare. As a former HGV and PSV driver, I am well used to doing a walk-round check so I know my tyres are in good condition. I'll check the pressures about once a month at the petrol station. Even more fun than drifting a car on a low-friction surface is driving a double-decker bus on a skid-pan! You should try it.

Thanks Pete, I do check my pressures on a regular basis, probably not as often as I should I noticed that some cars I've had with low profile tyres felt different if the pressures getting low. Notably the Abarth 595 on 17"s and Alfa 147, also on 17"s They were very low profile for the time, but they still felt different to me until I corrected the pressures The fuel consumption is better too. I would have said the same as you about fitting the new tyres at the front or back, I've only put the new ones on the back if they really insisted, I think we all thought they were trying to sell more tyres! I have always said, get the best you can afford, I put cheapies on my first car, a mini and nearly put it in the hedge in the dry! Even worse in the wet. Sold it shortly afterwards... I think Michelins are the best all round brand, they last well too. Its just that the initial outlay is high, but worth it, if you can afford it

My local independent garage owner told me years ago about putting new tyres on the rear. I've been a customer of his for 18 years. Zero bullshit, good advice and reasonable prices.

There's a RU-vidr out there that put all seasons on the front and summer tyres on the rear in snow. It's a lethal combination and I've actually seen cars with that set up.

Always check your tyre pressures after getting new tyres fitted - in my experience the “professionals” inflate every tyre to 2.5 bar regardless of the correct pressure.

Great video as usual. About three years ago I had a discussion with a tyre fitter at Costco and he said they only fit new tyres on the rear. He tried to explain why this was and I got the general idea of why but this video is a lot clearer as to why it’s correct. I always replace an axle at a time but I know plenty of people who don’t. I only ever buy Michelin. Cannot scrimp on the only part of the car that touches the road.

Great video and demonstration. I work in an industry where company provided vehicles are normal with my type of role and I’ve had so many disagreements with lease companies and company vehicle coordinators about this subject. I even had a Ford service centre want to put one new dissimilar tyre (completely different brand, tread pattern and about 5mm of depth difference) on my van and flat out refused to drive the vehicle if they did that. Long story short, I ended up getting the company policy changed to same tread pattern and similar tread depth across an axle.

Oddly I learnt this from a film that (I think) Mike Brewer did around 25+ years ago for channel 4. Been telling everyone for years, thanks for confirming it Ped!

Agree about putting new tyres on the rear makes car better cornering. However when do most cars need the best tyre grip on the front? Heavy / emergency braking. I would much rather to be able to stop quickly. The test needs repeating looking at breaking distances then decide where the new tyres should be fitted.

I check my tyres every 2 weeks (along with fluid levels), but I'm ex-Forces and we're programmed to do this sort of thing!

Need to show this to my other half. Finally might make her see sense 😂

My old man who's advice I follow always said buy in four when you can when you buy only a pair the new tyres go on the rear because you want the best grip on the back to stop the back end sliding out. Answered before you hit the skid pan.

Conversely, overinflated tyres will roll further still, but I s like driving on ice. It’s important to inflate to the specs of the car, _not_ the max written on the tyre wall

Good video Ped. I always assumed new tyres on the front on FWD and back on a RWD! On my company cars which were all RWD I used to put 2 sets on the back as opposed to one on the front! The problem with BMW run flats was that the tyres went off before they were worn out and the lease company wouldn’t change them !😡

On a fwd car id always put the new tyres on the front first, if theres a defect on the front likely to be more disastrous. Whereas like ive had before a rear tyre blew out, no problem just coast and pull in. But steering and everythings on the front. *Check tyre pressures *Make sure tracking aligned anytime relevant suspension gets changed

When you have an xdrive BMW with different size front and rears,, the fronts normally manage twice as much mileage as the rears but BMW state that there shouldn’t be more than 3mm difference between the tread depth front and rear to avoid drivetrain damage. I’ve just replaced my fronts with the rears only 20% worn but that’s another factor to be considered when changing. Some systems force you to change front first.

Over the years I have changed my mind on ratation of tyres. Used to rotate the 5 tyres and check pressures when refueling. Yes proper cars with a full sized spare, what fool changed that concept. Now days being a bit lazy ratation is 4 tyres and pressure checks still at refueling. Unfortunately, being retired this happens about every month which could be a problem. It also means that the spare is the original tyre and is only used if there is puncture and is replaced when the puncture has been repaired. The point, no point but have noticed the inside rear is the trouble spot for picking up nails or screws, not suprisingly. Ware patten are pretty even so tyre changes are 4 at a time, just have save up a bit more. Thank you for the lessen but I do wonder about off road use, I would tend to put the new tyres on the driving wheels. Would be interesting to hear what the manufacturers would say. Cheers and thanks once again.

Another reason to fit new tyres to the rear on a FWD car, is that if you keep replacing the fronts, the rears will end up so old you fail the MOT for sidewall cracking as the rubber ages out.

Most people, like yourself, would think the new tyres should go on the front. I know I did. I will be at the tyre fitters tomorrow to rectify this and will suggest they make this known to their customers. In over 30 years of driving, it's the first time I've heard it and I have always asked for new tyres on the front. Could you possibly add a graphic explaining the same applies to RWD? I noticed you said it near the end but feel it could be missed by many viewers. All this is invaluable advice and should be seen by as many as possible.

Very interesting. My son has an Abarth 595 and it needs new front tyres - every high street fitter recommended putting the new on the front. But I was always told new on rear and old on front. So, you have just reinforced what I understood so will get them to rotate old rears to the front as the rears are still good Replacing the Pirelli’s from factory with PS5’s of course 😊

If you want to develop an obsession with tyre pressures and quality get a high performance motorbike. You notice immediately if there is something off with your tyres, and you sort it out smartly 😀

13:40. I have Michelin PS5 tyres on my Leon FR, but no way would I wear the tyres down to the wear indicator blocks. For years now garages and dealership service centres have been recommending change at 3mm. The reasoning is to do with wet stopping distances. It's physics; the tyre treads work as a linear pump so to speak, so the deeper the tread, the more water is dispersed from the contact patch of each tyre. I'm afraid on that one I disagree with Michelin.

Used to be obsessed with tyres for some reason. I was more worried about rolling resistance, so I checked my pressures weekly. Tyres were cheap, so I changed them often. Only NOW has it occurred to be that I spent much of my driving experience in desert climates. Anyway, now that I only ride pedal bikes, I check pressure more than once a week.

Same effect with putting winter tyres on the front and keeping summer tyres on the back. I had this situation for a couple of weeks on a Leon Cupra in a Scottish winter… eeek.

I had an argument with a manager at a local tyre fitting garage a few years back. He was insistent that the two new tyres I was having fitted should go on the driven front wheels and made me sign a disclaimer when I insisted the new ones where fired to the rear axle. I down loaded the tyre manufacturers federation or association guidance that clearly states tyres should be replaced in pairs and that the newest must be fitted on the rear axle for normal cars, irrespective of the car being front or rear wheel drive. I took this in to the tyre fitters and gave the manager his own copy, so hopefully he is no longer putting his customer's lives in danger!

I got a full set of Michelin cross climate on our old Passat and they were brilliant all year round. Recommended. And you get a couple mill extra to start with!

I keep a regular eye on my tyre pressures as my 2011 Mazda 6 Sports Hatchback I find is far better on fuel and performance if I have the pressures on all four wheels at 6psi above what Mazda recommend. It does of course means it becomes a tad noisier and a slightly 'harder ride" but the economy is my first priority given the cost of fuel here in Australia. Now tyres I always have regular wheel alignments, tyre wear checks (usually free to me), rotations, and have new ones fitted to all on-road wheels as that regular checking by my tyre people makes the wear so even all around. This also turns out to be a very economical way of keeping down the rate of wear on the tyres and subsequently the cost of eventually buying new tyres.

Excellent video, like you I thought the opposite, always fronts were the priority. Now I know different, and change pairs whenever possible.

I would of liked to see the difference in stopping distances and emergency maneuvering by having the new tyres at the front.

Naturally if tyres are uninflated there's going to be more drag and resistance on your car making it heavier on fuel and decrease handling. Very useful and informative video. Thanks for sharing.👍😃

Evening, Ped and fellow Peddlers!

This video has just come at the right time for me as I have a puncture on my left front tyre which cannot be repaired as it is too close to the edge. So that is two pilot sport 4s at £230 pounds each and will be fitted to the rear

I'd read recently the recommendation to put new tyres on the back, esp. on a FWD, so it's great to see this demonstrated so clearly! This might also be an argument for regular rotation so that you can simply change all four at once, and so that wear happens more uniformly.

That was really interesting. Like you, I would've put the new pair on the front! As an IAM National Observer I point out to those I'm coaching that the amount of rubber in contact with the road is typically the size of your palm and fingers. That's why proper tyre maintenance is so important.

Thanks for the great video. I have a calendar reminder on my phone to prompt me to check my tyres weekly and i do this religiously.

The new tyre circle test was interesting, and whilst I would have intuited front axle also, when you think about physics the demonstration make sense. However, I would like to see the emergency stop test also. I would imagine that under heavy braking you'd want all the grip on the front, especially if you then have to change direction as well. Which should be prioritised; emergency stop and ABS steering, or predictability near the limit of grip? We shouldn't really be near the adhesion limit under normal driving.

I'll stick with the extra grip on the front wheels, I have no problem with where the back goes as i can always control it with the front. Understeer from my point of view is always the worst option but then I learned to drive in a rear wheel drive car where the back can be twitchy anyway

NEW one for me, always like you though new tyres on front, learn something new every day ,keep up the good vids 👍

This is a great video. This is so important now as the change in our weather we are getting more heavy surface water that can appear suddenly.

I check my tyre pressures weekly on vehicles that do not have individual displays on the dash. One of my vehicles needs about 4psi added to one front tyre on a weekly basis. I tend to run pressures on the fully loaded pressures as recommended on the door sticker. I have a Land Cruiser Amazon, bought new in 1998, that had original Michelin tyres and I had a series of sidewall punctures and I eventually found that the reason was that the recommended pressures on its sticker are four to five psi below what they should be for the load conditions. The sidewalls or the border between the sidewall and the tread flexed too much, heated, and eventually broke down into quite severe punctures. I worked this out before my second set of Michelins and never had a problem again. I was paranoid for a while after I had two punctures in one day, the second being at 2am in the mountains 50 miles from home, having used my spare earlier in the day. For years afterwards, when on long journeys, I carried a second spare wheel aboard.

I walked away from a tyre shop 40 years ago when they said they wouldn't put the new ones on the REAR. I wrote to Dunlop who replied, saying that I was absolutely correct.

I'm completely different meaning here. Good tyres on front let you control car, get you uphill snowed/icy roads and most important breaking is good. Sure you have to feel the outbreak back, but this could happen always, also with 4 good tyres. And this is controlled in a modern car by electronic stability control. So as long as the front goes where it should go by steering, the rear is no problem. If you loose control of the front you are passenger and no driver.

Fascinating…. About the new tyres the back… we learn something new everyday

Nice vid! Tyre knowledge generally v poor out there so great to see you taking on the subject. There’s some important nuance on the front/rear axle question though. There is a wet braking performance deficit of putting new tyres on the rear. For most drivers, this is a greater factor than cornering. Your granny is more likely to need to do an emergency stop than she is to be pushing so hard round bends she loses the back. Personally I’ll keep putting new pairs on the front axle and bearing in mind the back could be a little loose in low grip scenarios!

I totally agree with the point about having the correct tyre pressures. But why do the comparison with two different vehicles? Surely, it would been proven more accurately by just reducing the pressures in the same vehicle.

Absolutely agree... Even more concerning is the sale of part worn tyres.. People are attracted by the low price but how do you know the history of the tyre? It could have been in a severe impact, just crazy that people still think this is acceptable.. Not worth the risk. You don't have to buy top brand tyres but buy new, at least you know!! One more thing... There are tyre fitters and good tyre fitters.. Over the years I've had many new tyres which gradually deflate over months which isn't a problem if you check them, however, top fitters prep the wheel rim by cleaning it before fitting and this is where leaks can occur so worth considering 😊

Yep, I had incorrect thinking too, for many years. I did wonder recently, when I went to change my wife’s Kadjar rears (fwd), and suggested to Kwikfit that we move the newer fronts to the rears and put the new ones on the front, but he said not. I took his advice but never fully understood why, but now I do, so thanks for the explanation……and good to know that places like Kwikfit (other tyre fitters are available) do actually offer good advice and aren’t just out for easy money.

I checked mine 3 days ago. They were slightly underinflated. I usually put them to 2-ish psi above the recommended pressure.

Amz ing never think of tyres in sameway ever again brilliant video should be more info ones like this to learn people about things very well done ped

The last time I had 2 new tyres and told the Tyre people to put the new tyres on the back, they looked at me as though I was a crazy person. So, educating the tyre fitters is the first step.

Oh my, you are having so much fun conducting the tire study....😂

Learn something every day, I bet a lot of people didn’t know the differences shown, good video.

It would be interesting to see more about how part-worn tyres perform compared to new (or different makes of new on each axle). Maybe some of the tests that Tyre Reviews do (wet, dry, snow, ice braking, cornering etc.) would show that new on front or back is not quite so black and white?

Having replaced many pairs of worn tyres, the tyre fitters have always put the new tyres in the rear axle; for both front-wheel drive and 4x4’s. Great video too.

Great video. On the road you often have bumps, mixed tarmac and adverse cambers too, so the chances of losing the rear end with better tyre(s) on the front is even higher. I've not had a serious oversteer moment for years, but the last one was a spin on a roundabout at about 15mph, and it was very scary, a slow motion pirouette whistling past kerbs and road signs. Terrible Dunlop tyres on the rear were the main culprit, legal but with low tread, and they were a rubbish compound . It didn't help that the car had zero steering feel or seat of the pants feel (a 1993 Vauxhall Cavalier with very artificial power steering).

Tyre pressures on my car are 32 front 28 rear. If they were under inflated by 15 PSI I'd hope I notice! Last checked around six weeks ago.

Great video, such a valuable demonstration of how tyres impact the cars handling 👍

Tyre manufacturers should point out the risks and probabilities that lead them to their conclusion regarding new tyres on the rear. The probability of encountering a situation of losing the rear end is low normally but is higher at higher speeds, and the risk of an accident is high if it happens, as is the risk of serious damage/injuries. However, if almost all driving is around town at sub 30/40 mph the risk of losing the rear end is low, but the probability of encountering a situation when an emergency stop is needed is much higher. So new front tyres might then be better to reduce the probability of not stopping in time.

It would be interesting to see the effect of new fronts vs new rears on breaking distance in the wet. I expect this would be a far more common issue for most drivers than spirited driving in the wet as it applies to every significant fast stop. I strongly suspect that for every car wet braking distance will be shorter with new tyres on the front.

Thanks for the videos Ped, keep them coming. I have thoughts on two points in your video that potentially will provoke more discussion and would like your/Michelin's thoughts on. As regards new tyres going on the rear of the car. Was a braking test ever performed with new tyres on the front compared with the back and also under different conditions i.e. wet and dry? If there is no difference in braking distance then I can see why putting new tyres on the rear is correct. However if that is not the case (and logically I would expect new tyres on the front to provide more effective braking) then I would rather have the better braking solution i.e. new tyres on the front. The logic for this is that I can hopefully understand/appreciate road conditions and drive accordingly. I think i am more likely to come across a situation where I need to brake hard (irrespective of how good my observation and anticipation is or isn't) and therefore would want maximum braking efficiency. The second point is the comment about using your tyres down to the wear indicators. Many years ago (and perhaps this data is now invalid as a result of new tyres advances), I read an article in a motoring magazine that had data showing that the grip of the tyres degraded significantly once you got below 3mm of tread, and especially in the wet. I would like to know if this is still valid. If the data is still valid, then I am horrified at Michelin saying it is ok to use the tyres down to wear indicators even if it is for sustainability/ecological reasons. Looking through all of the comments now, I see there are similar points raised by others. It would be interesting to know how worn the tyres need to be to see these effects. If changing tyres when they get down to 3mm avoids these problems, that would be useful. Also, I didn't notice anyone say that you should check your tyre pressures when they are cold. Even a tyre just standing in the sun makes a difference and don't go to a petrol station to check pressures as you will have warmed them up (plus it used to be said that their equipment was not very accurate).

Really enjoyed that tyre do’s and donts post Pedro, probably as much as you enjoyed making it.

Good advice and a good demonstration of tyre performance.👍

Good demonstrations. Car manuals normally recommend rotation every so often to balance wear - my Toyota one suggests every 10,000 km. In practice, I usually ask it to be done as part of an annual service. If you do that, apart from the risk of having to buy a pair after a puncture that can’t be fixed, you’re looking at 4, albeit later than doing 2 replacements.

Very informative but were you paid to do this? There were a few too many references to the competence of Michelin and its subsidiary BF Goodrich for my liking. For example 14:22 sounded very much like an advert.

It would have been interesting to see the effect of overinflation on rolling resistance also! I check my tyre pressures every time I drive through the TPMS on the car. It is interesting how the pressure changes after a high speed run or drops in rain, etc. I lost a really nice car back in 1971 due to skidding on legal but well worn tyres, I was waiting for the next payday to buy new. Tyres are all that keep you on the road, they have improved so much in recent years , so always buy the best you can manage.

I'm not too proud to admit . . . I owned a Montego, it made me hate understeer, in the Montego understeer in the wet was NO-steer.

You should be rotating tyres front to back to even out the wear so you can replace all 4 at the same time or you choose to understeer into a ditch or head on crash or oversteer into a ditch. Simples.

Hi Ped. This was a great video and very informative. I will from now on check my tyre pressure more regularly. Was checking every month. Gonna aim for every week. And I very much agree with putting newer tyres at the back. For the average driver (which I'd say that's 97% of us) it is the much safer alternative also because most people drive cars with shorter wheelbase such as hatchbacks (like my little Vauxhall Corsa D). This type of car can snap oversteer much quicker than a bigger, heavier car (like an Insignia) and it's this I found, like you said, will make you crash if you have new tyres at the front. Seen this too many times in my long gone street racing years. My Calibra had standard suspension and would go into a nice controllable slide as long as i wasn't being an idiot (and I was told that's how the car was built to be. I just exacerbated that tendency. Had to drive like a granny on very wet b-roads though. No disrespect intended). But my mate's Nova would spin faster than a pinwheel in a storm even with sports suspension and grippier tyres hence why he fitted 2 more new tyres the month after. So unless you actually know what you are doing, please, fit the new tyres at the rear. Better a little understeer than a lot of oversteer.

What a great example of rolling resistance

I had a go on the low grip roundabout at Mercedes world I was alot of fun

On a tyre worn near the legal limit of 1.6 mm of tread depth the stopping distance on wet surfaces increases significantly, even on Michelins, with full depth tread blocks.

Huge thanks for this one. Fascinating and really useful information re fitting tyres. More of this type of video please. I for one find this type of video very useful.

Great video Pete, I’m sending to all my kids so they understand the importance of tyre maintenance

Interesting vid and makes sense re: new tyres on the rear. I know some people who rotate tyres so back onto front etc, although not possible with some cars and offset sizes. I was on Thruxton circuit skid pan in my MX5 the other week. Great fun and teaches you a lot about handling and characteristics of car handling.

Great video and even at knocking on 66 yo I've learnt something new. In March 23 I changed all four tyres at once. In July this year I needed to change the front tyres due to both centre tyre wear and cracking. I have tpms and always check the pressure. I returned to the supplier of the tyres and got replacement tyres for the front. They are a different make. They will be swapped over in the next day or so front/rear. The tyres I use are not the cheap ones as mileage is rubbish. I only did 15,000 miles approx 40/60 highway/local.

Thanks Ped, very informative.

Great video, when you say worn tyres on the rear. What tread depth are you talking about, less than 3mm, 4mm? Also your comment about using PS5 down to the wear indicators, PS5 in the wet with 2mm tread depth (on the front, front wheel drive) can be scary in the wet.

That's interesting. Because in a front wheel drive car chances are your front tyres will wear out first. Tyre fitters will always put the new rubber on the front. Not swap them. Perhaps should ask for them to be swapped as well