Tyre change tactics

dom272

Hi,

I'd welcome opinions on my situation. I've got a 2013 Ford grand cmax and it's been serviced from new by Ford. They have never rotated my tyres or even told me this was a "thing" and now my front tyres are 1.6mm and need replacing and my rear tyres are 4mm.

Im annoyed as I'd now like to change to crossclimate+ tyres (current tyres primacy hp) and if they'd rotated them I'd now be able to get linger out of the tyres and not have the dilemma of whether I should just change the front ones or just change all 4 even though the rears have a long ways to go.

So I'm wondering what I should do, and if I only change the 2 front tyres should I put the new tyres on the front or back (opinions seem to vary even with fwd cars) and will it matter that I have 2primacy hp and 2 new crossclimate+

I'm pretty annoyed with Ford. They also charged me £198 for my motorcraft service when their website says RRP £149. Im already in contact with their customer service Dept as the plastic side trim of drivers seat has snapped off (after only 4yrs from new) and have seen online this is a common problem which in my view is completely unacceptable (previous car Nissan Primera over 20yrs old seats fine!).

Thanks in advance for any help/advice!

Ebe_Scrooge

You'll get many different opinions on tyre rotation. The downside for a lot of people is that you're faced with shelling out a fair amount in one go when the time comes to replace all 4 - only replacing 2 at a time obviously spreads the cost. What you do have to watch for if you don't rotate them - tyres will degrade with time, due to weathering, ultra-violet light etc. So it's possible for the back tyres to need changing due to degradation, even if there's plenty of tread left. I don't think you could say either approach is "right" or wrong".


Having different brands on the front to the back won't cause a problem - obviously, assuming they're the correct specification for your car. It's a good idea to have the same brand on each side of the same axle - though even that is not an absolutely hard-and-fast rule. Probably good practice though.


Best tyres on the back or the front - this one causes loads of debate. On a FWD car, instinct suggests that the best tyres go on the front, as you're expecting them to do the driving and the steering - and there is some merit in this.


However, the concern raised by most people is what happens if the tyres lose traction - due to a lack of tread, a blowout, whatever it may be. If your front tyres lose grip you'll get understeer, which is fairly simple for most drivers to cope with. If the back ones lose grip you'll tend to get oversteer, which is much more difficult to handle unless you've actually had some proper skid training. That's the reason that most people put the best ones on the back - but again, there's not really a definitive right-or-wrong answer.

BoGoF

I don't think any garage is going to routinely rotate tyres during a service unless you specifically ask them so unless you did ask and they didn't do it I'm not sure why you're annoyed with them.

motorguy

dom272 wrote: »

Hi,

I'd welcome opinions on my situation. I've got a 2013 Ford grand cmax and it's been serviced from new by Ford. They have never rotated my tyres or even told me this was a "thing" and now my front tyres are 1.6mm and need replacing and my rear tyres are 4mm.

Im annoyed as I'd now like to change to crossclimate+ tyres (current tyres primacy hp) and if they'd rotated them I'd now be able to get linger out of the tyres and not have the dilemma of whether I should just change the front ones or just change all 4 even though the rears have a long ways to go.

So I'm wondering what I should do, and if I only change the 2 front tyres should I put the new tyres on the front or back (opinions seem to vary even with fwd cars) and will it matter that I have 2primacy hp and 2 new crossclimate+

I'm pretty annoyed with Ford. They also charged me £198 for my motorcraft service when their website says RRP £149. Im already in contact with their customer service Dept as the plastic side trim of drivers seat has snapped off (after only 4yrs from new) and have seen online this is a common problem which in my view is completely unacceptable (previous car Nissan Primera over 20yrs old seats fine!).

Thanks in advance for any help/advice!

As has already been said, rotating tyres is not a default practice as part of a servicing routine, in fact i'd be fairly miffed if a garage did it without me asking.

DoaM

FWIW I'm in the "best tyres on the driving axle" camp. So front for FWD and rear for RWD.

Herzlos

dom272 wrote: »

Im annoyed as I'd now like to change to crossclimate+ tyres

You should; I've got them and they are great.

dilemma of whether I should just change the front ones or just change all 4 even though the rears have a long ways to go.

Change all 4. You'll have a hilarious (dangerous) time if you have vastly more grip front/back.

You can always keep the 2x 4mm tyres and keep them as spares, or try to sell them as part worn. If you'd rotated them, you'd probably have something between 2-3mm left on each which is entering the point where you'd want to consider new tyres for winter anyway..

Herzlos

Ebe_Scrooge wrote: »

Having different brands on the front to the back won't cause a problem - obviously, assuming they're the correct specification for your car.

Different brands won't, different types will. CrossClimates are all-seasons, his current ones are summers.

System

dom272 wrote: »

I'm pretty annoyed with Ford. They also charged me £198 for my motorcraft service when their website says RRP £149.

£149 is for the minor service. Did you also have them replace the pollen filter as this is not included in the price of the service and is a separate billable item for parts and labour.

As for rotating tyres, you've left it too late. You should be rotating them every 6000 miles or so which is lower than the service interval for your car and certainly not once the tread depth gets that low, even on the 4mm ones. Get two new ones, put them on the back, put the 4mm ones on the front. If you're getting the Cross Climate then replace them all.

motorguy

DoaM wrote: »

FWIW I'm in the "best tyres on the driving axle" camp. So front for FWD and rear for RWD.

Is there not a strong school of thought that says best tyres on the rear axle?

DoaM

Post #2 already covers the pros and cons of both situations. My comment was a subtle variation ... I'm able to control a rear slide therefore I prefer to have traction on the driving wheels - I'd rather actually go somewhere than have the car stationary with the wheels spinning.

motorguy

DoaM wrote: »

Post #2 already covers the pros and cons of both situations. My comment was a subtle variation ... I'm able to control a rear slide therefore I prefer to have traction on the driving wheels - I'd rather actually go somewhere than have the car stationary with the wheels spinning.

Oh i'm with you on this. Exactly my driving perference too.

Our A45 is AWD but has a front wheel bias and eats front tyres, so i'd prefer the new ones up there. Conversely our Passat diesel has that little excess power that it hardly matters but i'd still prefer the new ones on the front for the same reason as you - traction to the driven wheels.

Was just curious because it does seem at odds with general thinking.