Tyres Advice please

JQ.

Rossy, I think you're missing the point. It's not about losing traction by driving too fast yourself. Any person who drives on public roads at the limit of grip is a moron. Under normal driving nobody should be coming anywhere close to losing traction on the open road. It's about being in an emergency situation whereby you have to anchor the brakes on and possibly avoid another object. Micras have to avoid objects in an emergency just much as GTR's.

Rossy.

JQ. wrote: »

Rossy, I think you're missing the point. It's not about losing traction by driving too fast yourself. Any person who drives on public roads at the limit of grip is a moron. Under normal driving nobody should be coming anywhere close to losing traction on the open road. It's about being in an emergency situation whereby you have to anchor the brakes on and possibly avoid another object. Micras have to avoid objects in an emergency just much as GTR's.

But isn't that more to do with the driviers control skill than a set of rubber?

I have quite a few categories on my license and have driven a multitude of vehicles including some exotic and i have never had the back sep out on me

Of course all cars are different but driver skill plays a massive part.

An experienced driver will easily be able to suffer less loss of control than a 75 year old granny.

JQ.

Rossy. wrote: »

But isn't that more to do with the driviers control skill than a set of rubber?

I have quite a few categories on my license and have driven a multitude of vehicles including some exotic and i have never had the back sep out on me

Of course all cars are different but driver skill plays a massive part.

An experienced driver will easily be able to suffer less loss of control than a 75 year old granny.

Nope you're still not getting it. We're not debating driving skill, we're talking about the effect of having the best rubber on front of a car against the back for the AVERAGE person. 90% of people on the road are just trundling around in their Kia's and Skoda's going from A to B and the only time they genuinely need to push their tyres to the limit is when they are faced with an emergency. Obviously all the members of this forum are Driving Gods and when faced with oversteer would power slide out of trouble, Clarkson style. Unfortunately, the rest of the driving population don't possess such skills.

Research has shown that losing traction at the rear under heavy braking (that's emergency braking - not braking for a corner) is far more dangerous for the AVERAGE person as the ensuing oversteer turns into an uncontrollable spin. However, the AVERAGE person is able to control understeer.

The advice of new rubber at the rear is for safety reasons for the AVERAGE driver - it's not about getting the best performance out of your car on the open road.

Just because you've not suffered oversteer does not mean it won't happen. I've never had a house fire, but I still have several smoke alarms. It probably won't happen to you in your lifetime anyway, as it sounds like you take your driving seriously, but on the open road you are in the minority.

Rossy.

I do agree agree with the theory JQ

I just have never done that myself. New rubber always goes on the front of my car and i'll never change that.

andygb

The way I look at it is this.
Imagine the front wheels (the driven wheels), in a situation this Winter, where you are going uphill, and they are down to about 3mm tread. You have the new tyres on the back because everyone says that is where they should go. At some point, those tyres are going to lose traction, something the new tyres would not do. On a rear wheel drive car, I would rather have the best tyres on the rear drive wheels, for exactly the same reason, and this applies to ice or rain or loose surfaces.
I always put new tyres on the front, because I have not driven a rear wheel drive car for about eight years. I have never lost the back end on a front wheel drive car, but I have felt the front end start to drift or understeer, when the front tyres wore down.

Bronnie

Thanks for your replies, guys (I assume!); tricky to follow without "glazing over" I have to admit but did my best!

Round trip to the independent garage was 40 min drive to save £30. Seemed easier in the end to spend an few extra quid going back to ATS ( good selection of women's magazines in the waiting area too!) and getting two new Michelins fitted to the front to go with the 2 nearly new Michelins at the back. So hopefully I will be covered in the new at the front/new at the back dilemma.

Kilty_2

!

Hope you're okay, and that the insurance sort it quickly, although I'm afraid financially it's not going to be great for you if she's uninsured.

Strider590

Bronnie wrote: »

Unfortunately, on the way back, a woman in a Mitsubishi L200 decided to pull out of a side road as I was passing, whacking into the side and bulldozing my Micra across the road before she finally noticed me. The fact that I learnt this evening that she was uninsured has not made matters easier to bear.

Hmmm, her car was bigger... She clearly therefore had the right of way :rotfl:

Joke's aside, I do hope your ok following thise!
This is unfortunately one problem with driving small cars, particularly those which a perceived as always being driven slowly.
Combine this with the fact that some drivers of larger vehicles (mostly 4x4's) think that they can do what they like, she probably noticed you, but thought her size could bully you into submission :mad:

I have to say though, against Micra drivers (of that Micra shape) in general, they do love driving around in the dark with only the side/parking lights on..... (maybe the instruments/control are set out in a confusing way?) but these lights are about as visible to other road users as a candle in a dirty jam jar

Kilty_2

Strider590 wrote: »

I have to say though, against Micra drivers (of that Micra shape) in general, they do love driving around in the dark with only the side/parking lights on..... (maybe the instruments/control are set out in a confusing way?) but these lights are about as visible to other road users as a candle in a dirty jam jar

Nah they're not - for my sins I had to drive one for a couple of days as a courtesy car (which was later replaced by a Citroen Xsara Picasso courtesy car)

I must've upset the motoring gods :rotfl:

Strider590

Kilty wrote: »

Nah they're not - for my sins I had to drive one for a couple of days as a courtesy car (which was later replaced by a Citroen Xsara Picasso courtesy car)

I must've upset the motoring gods :rotfl:

I was just giving benefit of the doubt tbh, the above shape of Micra is the single worst offender for driving on parking lights in the dark, fog or snow. I figured it can't just be down to the driver and surely there has to be a factor, something in the Micra's design which leads it's owners into driving around on the parking lights, apparently oblivious to the danger they represent.

Oh and it was some time in the late 80's manufacturers moved the parking lights from the bumper into the headlamp unit.