Date:         Sat, 11 Jul 2015 11:45:06 -0400
Reply-To:     Edward Maglott <emaglott3@GMAIL.COM>
Sender:       Vanagon Mailing List <vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com>
From:         Edward Maglott <emaglott3@GMAIL.COM>
Subject:      Re: Why new tires should go on the rear.
In-Reply-To:  <4230d01d0bbe7$39547460$abfd5d20$@hiwaay.net>
Content-Type: text/plain; charset=UTF-8

new tires on the front contributed significantly to a serious crash I had
in my 2002 Golf.  It was wet slushy roads.  I crested the top of a hill and
let off the gas.  I hadn't realized that the wet and slushy I had been
driving on was now ice.  The slight engine braking (it's a diesel) on the
front tires caused the rear to want to slide around to the front.  We went
back and forth twice while I tried to turn into the slide to catch it.  I
was not "on the ball" enough to do the counter-intuitive step of getting
back on the gas that might have pulled me out of it.  I have more than 25
years autocrossing FWD VWs and have pulled many out of a slide and I can
say this happened VERY fast.  Those sliding worn rear tires, really wanted
to get around to the front and had almost no bite as they passed the
neutral point of going straight forward down the road twice as I tried to
save it.  the car finally went into a slow pirouette and I ended up hitting
a parked car with the rear of my car going about 50mph.  It was about $6500
damage on my car but I was not injured.

Of course Vanagons are rear drive, but the same lift throttle engine
braking scenario would have made the rear tires even more likely to come
around.

I now typically put the new tires on the rear, especially in the winter.
When they are on the front, and it's compromised traction I am very
careful.  On my Vanagon, the 4 usually wear out evenly so I can get 4 new
ones each time, which is best.

Edward

On Sat, Jul 11, 2015 at 10:38 AM, Tom Hargrave <thargrav@hiwaay.net> wrote:

> Go back and watch the video - they set it up to fail.
>
>
> http://blog.allstate.com/new-tires-rear/?cid=CSY-PB-ZM-AB-outbrain_com:New-T
> ires-To-The-Rear
>
> The driver drove through the track with the new tires on the rear and let
> the front tires hydroplane. This is an easy recovery, just back off the
> gas.
>
> Then the driver hammered through the track with the new tires on the front,
> throwing the car into a spin. This was impossible to recover from.
>
> Reality is "normal driving" where your back tires break loose and you steer
> into the slide & regain traction.
>
> No thanks - I'll continue mounting new tires on the front.
>
> Thanks, Tom Hargrave
> www.kegkits.com
> www.stir-plate.com
> www.towercooler.com
> www.grow-sun.com
> www.raspberryproject.com
> http://goo.gl/niRzVw
>
> -----Original Message-----
> From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM] On Behalf Of
> Dennis Haynes
> Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2015 8:20 AM
> To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
> Subject: Why new tires should go on the rear.
>
> Check out the video on the link.
>
>
> http://blog.allstate.com/new-tires-rear/?cid=CSY-PB-ZM-AB-outbrain_com:New-T
> ires-To-The-Rear
>
>
>
> Same can happen with miss matched tires such as snows or all terrains in
> the
> rear.
>
>
>
> Dennis
> -----
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