Bridgestone EP422 tires swapped for Michelin Primacy MXV4s.

[powersurge]

Yes, now you should put the good rears in the front and the low tires in the back.... You should really have rotated the tires every 8K miles or so...

PS - I have 30K miles on my Ecopias, and they still seem to have about 70% tread on them. I don't see why people should spend a lot on more expensive tires that will only decrease the range... The Leaf really is not a car that should be driven like a track car...

[sparrow79]

I prefer never to rotate tires...

use the front pair until it wears out, put the new pair in the rear and put the mid wear tires that were in the rear in the front.

that way, when I have to buy tires, I only have to spend money in 2 tires and I always have better tires in the back than the front, wich is safer on most cars.

[DuncanCunningham]

have better tires in the back than the front, wich is safer on most cars.

I've never heard that opinion before. I always thought it best to have the better tire on the fronts for the higher need of traction and braking.

[VitaminJ]

I've never heard that opinion before. I always thought it best to have the better tire on the fronts for the higher need of traction and braking.

It is quite common for tire shops and professionals to recommend putting the best pair of tires on the rear of the car, regardless of weight, drive wheels, etc.

Better for the driver = new tires on front

Better for liability insurance = new tires on back for less risk of oversteer

[jjeff]

I've never heard that opinion before. I always thought it best to have the better tire on the fronts for the higher need of traction and braking.

It is quite common for tire shops and professionals to recommend putting the best pair of tires on the rear of the car, regardless of weight, drive wheels, etc.

Better for the driver = new tires on front

Better for liability insurance = new tires on back for less risk of oversteer

+1
I'm also of the mindset to put the better tires on the front for a front wheel drive car, on the rear for a rear wheel drive car but when I wanted Costco to put new tires only on the front they refused saying they could only put the better tires on the rear. I didn't argue and as soon as I got home I got out the jack and jackstands and promptly swapped the tires the way I wanted them

[DuncanCunningham]

It is quite common for tire shops and professionals to recommend putting the best pair of tires on the rear of the car, regardless of weight, drive wheels, etc.

I would have thought they did that because you'd be back sooner to replace the fronts, meaning more business, sooner rather than later.. but that is the cynic in me.

[sparrow79]

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=gSz7cm6MwH0

http://www.souzastireservice.com/tires- ... -rear.aspx

for safety better tires always for rear.

[DuncanCunningham]

for safety better tires always for rear.

Good demonstration.

[jjeff]

I agree that video sure makes a good case for best tires on the rear but I still don't understand why in the side by side same MPH, the vehicle with the worn tires in the front didn't lose traction in the front(which would be worse than losing traction in the rear). I understand them saying by putting the worn tires on the front the driver would become aware sooner of poor road conditions and therefore slow down but thats not what the video showed, it showed identical vehicles, identical speed the car with worn fronts handled just fine but with the worn tires on the rear that car fish tailed....
Maybe it's because the vehicle was front heavy and the extra weight on the front helped the worn front tires grip the road??

[DuncanCunningham]

I agree that video sure makes a good case for best tires on the rear but I still don't understand why in the side by side same MPH, the vehicle with the worn tires in the front didn't lose traction in the front(which would be worse than losing traction in the rear). I understand them saying by putting the worn tires on the front the driver would become aware sooner of poor road conditions and therefore slow down but thats not what the video showed, it showed identical vehicles, identical speed the car with worn fronts handled just fine but with the worn tires on the rear that car fish tailed....
Maybe it's because the vehicle was front heavy and the extra weight on the front helped the worn front tires grip the road??

Good question too. The Nissan Leaf is is Humpty Dumpty of a car and i expect the weight distribution to be different to a typical ICE car.

Understeer - the loss of grip from the front. gives you the feeling of less grip, like the car is pushing too much and is controlled by reducing speed
Oversteer - the loss of grip from the rears, is much harder to correct, as it's typically too late once you notice.