Hi guys.... not been around alot since selling the 6, but saw this and thought of you all in your lovely 6's!
Not sure is allowed to post links but this is a really important safety one. I was shocked after seeing it as always thought it the other way round as you want more grip where the power is!
Not a very good test as she was pushing the car in the wet and as far as i could see not not normal driving conditions, we all know that rear tyres harly wear and we always need new fronts. Just an excuse to get you to replace all tyres instead of just 2 IMO.
EDIT: Note to self: Never post after a night out on the booze, I'm not an expert on this so don't take any notice of the above statement. I just find myself replacing front tyres a lot more often than rear and have never really had any trouble in the wet.
See this from my Maintenance notes on my 1990 Rover Metro GTI 16v.
15.10.99 - 2 x New Dunlop D8 185/55R13 77H tyres fitted to rear wheels - Mileage 45501
19.10.99 - Driving up the M1 on Friday 15.10.99 , the car felt terrible. The car was totally unstable at any speed and downright lethal at over 50mph. The rear end would sway and going round a low speed corner, the rear end broke away violently. I actually had the car do a 360 degree spin on the Esher By-Pass. The tyre specialists changed the two new tyres fitted to the rear wheels and put them both at the front and the two partially worn front tyres were then fitted to the rear. Result - The GTI was transformed back to it's original brilliant " Go Kart " handling - Mileage 45945 ( Note - The partially worn front tyres had done 13499 miles since new on 23.3.96).
Interesting eh? Can't believe I did 500 miles in 4 days.......Have not done that in the last 3 years in my GTI.....
The tyre fitters were very surprised at what had happened to me and thought that this was a Metro GTI characteristic.
Just goes to show you that not all cars are the same.
I actually wrote to Rover about this as a safety issue on GTI Metros and they duly thanked me.
Oh yes, all the driving done after the two new tyres were fitted was on dry roads.......My GTI does NOT DO wet weather !!! ...
When all this happened to me on the way up the M1 that day, I thought that I had better do quite a few miles in the GTI in order to scrub off the newness in the tyres...Hence the 500 odd miles.
I thought all sorts of things during those very scary days when my Metro became totally uncontrollable.....
1) Was it tyre pressures..No they were OK.
2) Faulty tyres..No they were fine.
So, it was purely a matter of having new tyres on the rear and part worn tyres on the front.
Wonder what would have happened if I had put new tyres on the front too.
I am sure that the car would have been fine, afterall it must have been OK when it was new.
I have only fitted new tyres to the front of my MX 6 ( Goodyear Eagle F1's ) and the Dunlops on the rear never seem to wear out.
The car is brilliant in both the wet and dry.........
Just goes to show that no car is the same with regards tyre fitting and tyre choice.
Paula
Quote:
Originally Posted by Paula
Morning guys.
H'mmmmmmmmm !!!!!
See this from my Maintenance notes on my 1990 Rover Metro GTI 16v.
15.10.99 - 2 x New Dunlop D8 185/55R13 77H tyres fitted to rear wheels - Mileage 45501
19.10.99 - Driving up the M1 on Friday 15.10.99 , the car felt terrible. The car was totally unstable at any speed and downright lethal at over 50mph. The rear end would sway and going round a low speed corner, the rear end broke away violently. I actually had the car do a 360 degree spin on the Esher By-Pass. The tyre specialists changed the two new tyres fitted to the rear wheels and put them both at the front and the two partially worn front tyres were then fitted to the rear. Result - The GTI was transformed back to it's original brilliant " Go Kart " handling - Mileage 45945 ( Note - The partially worn front tyres had done 13499 miles since new on 23.3.96).
Interesting eh? Can't believe I did 500 miles in 4 days.......Have not done that in the last 3 years in my GTI.....
The tyre fitters were very surprised at what had happened to me and thought that this was a Metro GTI characteristic.
Just goes to show you that not all cars are the same.
I actually wrote to Rover about this as a safety issue on GTI Metros and they duly thanked me.
Oh yes, all the driving done after the two new tyres were fitted was on dry roads.......My GTI does NOT DO wet weather !!! ...
I always put new tyres on the back. Much to the annoyance of the garages I use I'm sure.
I'll always try to buy a decent tyre too. It's the only thing keeping your car n the road.
Why buy something that's going to make that harder?
on the subject of tyres.... i have just had some new ones from Etyres... they came to my work and the price was really good. Definately worth a look at their web site. friendly helpful lot too!
.....and so i find myself asking, 'At what point does the 'end' start?!'
Those rear tyres she displayed had the minor tread completely missing from the centre of the tyres as if they'd been run over inflated for an extended period of time.
I appreciate they are still technically legal but it's pretty obvious they would not be safe.
Ian
Last edited by Ian F Chequer : 12-11-07 at 16:16.
Reason: spelling mistake
Four Triple Two - 198901 miles on original powertrain.
Last seen standing in line for the crusher.
Forgiven - maybe
Forgotten - not likely
Despite the artificial setup, the message is good. When buying a pair of tyres, put the new ones at the back. If you have good ones on the rear already, then swap the wheels (even Kwik-Fit will do this).
It's all to do with physics and driving skills/instinct. When you start to skid, the natural reaction is to lift off the throttle, which tends to move the centre of ballance/gravity forward, reducing the weight on the rear wheels. As VBH said when she loses the front end, she lifted off, this puts more weight on the front wheels, increasing friction and enabling control to be regained. This is the worse thing you can do with a rear wheel skid (AKA Lift-off Oversteer) as it WILL speed up the chain of events leaving it much, much harder to regain control. An intimate encounter with roadside furniture usually follows.
It makes no difference whether the car is front or rear wheel drive but with the six, being a little nose heave anyway, any resultant slide is likely to be harder to bring under control.
So, as Russel said, whenever fitting a pair of tyres, piss off the garage and get them on the back as it's better they're a little irritated than your day being totally ruined!
K.
92 E-spec in Mica Passion Rose.
Mods so far: J-spec engine, Powerflow SS Exhaust, Grey leather, Kenwood 10 CD Auto changer.
Mods to come: ATX - MTX conversion, Full J-spec upgrade, CAI, High-flow Cat. and put the second one back together
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