Tire store insisted on putting the two new tires I bought on the REAR!

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

I ordered and went to have mounted and balanced two new 12" tires on the front one of my many Festies at Discount Tire.

The kid behind the counter said "You want us to rotate your tires?" I said "No, just put the new ones on the front." He refused, saying "Our corporate policy to to move rear tires to the front and mount new tires on the rear."

I chuckled, asking "You seriously expect me to have you put the nearly bald tires from the end of my car that just goes along for the ride up front where I need traction and steering?"

The kid reiterated his company's policy. I was about to walk out (I still had posession of my money) when he said "For only a little more money, I'll sell you four new tires." Well, that's one way to get over a disagreement on where to put new rubber. He offered $170 including balancing. I accepted.

I've been scratching my head ever since, asking "Why would anybody want their best tires on the rear?" That made sense back in the days of rear wheel drive, but why would anybody do that now? Is some rear-wheel-drive lawyer type who doesn't know how to stop a spinout making up this rule?

[Damkid]

Tire store insisted on putting the two new tires I bought on the REAR!

I once had bald tires on the rear on an old festiva, driving through snow calmly the back end repeatedly wanted to slide out on me

I'm not sticking up for the idiot but there could be a point.... Personally the customer should get what they ask for if the business wants the customer to spend their money

[bhazard]

Re: Tire store insisted on putting the two new tires I bought on the REAR!

Its because stopping and going straight is more important than accelerating.

The average person does not know how to straighten out a car that's getting squirly.

A lot of shops are like this nowadays.

[bhazard]

Re: Tire store insisted on putting the two new tires I bought on the REAR!

A few winters ago I drove a festiva with new winterforce snow tires on the front and some all seasons on the back with maybe 50% tread. The car would plow through any snow but I had the rear come around twice on me, once on a busy city street and once on a main highway. Once it started coming around I could not stop it. Two 180's was plenty for me, I should have rotated the snows to the rear.

[TheresGabe]

You have to really try to get the back end of the Festiva around. (I live in Utah. We get LOTS of snow) The short wheel base is usually quick to straighten things out. I have seen the past few years where tire shops are recommending the best tires to go on the back. The logic being, that the front tires have the weight of the engine to keep them planted.

[Aspire SVT]

Tire store insisted on putting the two new tires I bought on the REAR!

Most people believe the common misconception that all the rear tires do is follow along. Wrong.. The rear tires keep the vehicle going the intended direction. If they were to lose traction. The entire vehicle stability would be compromised much greater than if the fronts lost traction. If the fronts lose traction, the vehicle would continue in a straight line, (you could even turn the steering wheel back and forth and continue straight) If the rears lose traction the rear of the vehicle will swing away from the direction of the road crown and/or magnify the lateral forces if turning causing it to swing. Combine that with the light ear weight of the Festiva and it could be dangerous. If I had to choose, the best goes on the rear. I'm a Ford Master Tech of 13 years, so when it's mine I don't choose.

[rbrown]

I had to sign a waiver.

[GenevaDirt]

is this deja vu? I thought there was a thread exactly like this one...with the same exact answers....what the hell.....

[bhazard]

Re: Tire store insisted on putting the two new tires I bought on the REAR!

I think you're right Willie.

[Movin]

What the heck, a new year will be here before we know it too!

[Bert]

The Canadian Tire franchise is so liability conscious that they won't sell, and then mount on a car, 2 snow tires anymore. If you want snows they will only mount 4. If you accept them loose (ie simply mounted on rims) they will sell you one or even two. 2 snows on the drive wheels has served me well for many decades but I can see where leaving a couple of 'balderinos' on the elsewhere would not be a great idea for stopping.
A very long time ago I mixed radials (new-fangled at the time) and bias-ply on a Mini Cooper, figuring the bias-ply would do no harm at the back. Went around my usual sharp corner on a dry sunny day at 60 mph and wound up in the weeds! Couldn't for the life of me figure out what happened but never tried mixing ply tires again, after that mishap.

[FestYboy]

is this deja vu? I thought there was a thread exactly like this one...with the same exact answers....what the hell.....

yeah Charlie had the same complaint IIRC

[AlaskaFestivaGuy]

I'm familiar with the problem of the back end wanting to become the front end when driving on ice. It happened to me in Los Anchorage a couple of times with nearly-bald rear tires (worst ones on the rear). While turning -- quite slowly -- 90 degrees left and right onto a six-lane road, I ended up doing 360s!

That problem (called a "ground loop") actually happened to me during landing rollout of a heavy museum-quality twin-engine castering-tailwheel airplane (comparable to "driving a shopping cart backwards at 80mph") on dry pavement in the AZ desert a while back when I experienced left-side-only brake failure and wasn't fast enough releasing the right-side brake pedal. The back of the airplane slowly came around, sending me off into the desert, then re-entering the runway several hundred feet before the spot where I had exited. A photo of the resulting skid pattern (from the tires sliding SIDEWAYS, not from braking) is attached.

The point is well-taken about the importance of having good rubber on the Festy's lightly-loaded rear end.

[scitzz]

Its because stopping and going straight is more important than accelerating.

The average person does not know how to straighten out a car that's getting squirly.

A lot of shops are like this nowadays.

I hadn't had my Festiva for very long, back in 1993, when I had problems in the rain. Turned out it was because my rear tires were not in great shape(not at the tread indicator though,) while the fronts were. I hit a bump in the road changing lanes, and lost it. Same issue crossing RR tracks. I promise, it started spinning so fast, there was no time to react. I do mean spin, like a couple 360's, although the first time it *felt like* about a dozen 360's. I have since always kept my good rubber in the rear. Sometimes I slip a little during acceleration, and a little bit on braking, but my handling is much more reliable. Not great when they get bald up front, but nothing crazy happening either.

I promise, I know how to handle the car when it gets squirrely

[lessersivad]

A very long time ago I mixed radials (new-fangled at the time) and bias-ply on a Mini Cooper, figuring the bias-ply would do no harm at the back. Went around my usual sharp corner on a dry sunny day at 60 mph and wound up in the weeds! Couldn't for the life of me figure out what happened but never tried mixing ply tires again, after that mishap.

I did the same thing on a '69 Impala convertible. I didn't go off the road but did a pretty good slide around a curve after the installation.

After i got used to the handling, it made for a fun car to drive hanging the tail out around any corner with little effort.

Ahhh, great times.....