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[hotel21]

Here is a question for the knowlegable then, I have two of the Wanli's on the front with approx 7-8mm tread on and two firestone on the rear with around 4mm of tread on. Would I be best with the better make but lower tread on the back where the drive is or the front where most breaking work is done?
 :-/

The way it was explained to me, the front has much higher grip requirements for safety than the rear, generally speaking.  Think braking, weight transfer, steering requirements, etc more so than acceleration grip or keeping the rear in line.  

If the rear steps out then accurate steering input can resolve the matter, if suitable driver input is available thus good front grip is an essential.

[Kevin Wood]

for the brake distance higher tread tires must be used in front.. But dont forget you must drop your speed at curves for not to loose the tail as front and rears can stand different g forces..

Very true. Given that you've got 8mm of tread on the fronts and a superior tyre with less tread on the rear the car might be reasonably well balanced at the moment. Putting the worse tyre on the rear does risk the car developing a tendency to oversteer but then again, the demands on the rear tyres overall are less. Try it and see. On the other hand, if it's currently behaving itself, leave well alone.

Yes i am aware of this, 235 45 17s do tend to wear in the middle anywyay i am told, and the previous set did just that and seemed to be set at 32 going by the average of all four when i got the car.

Interesting you say that. Mine are usually at about 35 and they wear perfectly evenly. Goes to show that different brands of tyre require different pressure settings.

What I have found when experimenting with tyre pressures (more often on the Westfield than the Omega) is that as soon as you go too low there's a very pronounced drop off in performance under hard cornering where the car just breaks away. This is probably because the tyre structure deforms under load and can't maintain a contact patch. A couple of PSI above this pressure seems to be a "sweet spot" where dry and wet grip are best and then there's a much more gradual degradation as you increase the pressure above this "optimum".

Kevin

[Andy B]

Here is a question for the knowlegable then, I have two of the Wanli's on the front with approx 7-8mm tread on and two firestone on the rear with around 4mm of tread on. Would I be best with the better make but lower tread on the back where the drive is or the front where most breaking work is done?
 :-/

The way it was explained to me, the front has much higher grip requirements for safety than the rear, generally speaking.  Think braking, weight transfer, steering requirements, etc more so than acceleration grip or keeping the rear in line.  

If the rear steps out then accurate steering input can resolve the matter, if suitable driver input is available thus good front grip is an essential.

Buy two tyres from Costco though, and they insist that they move the old rears to the front & put the two new tyres on the back. Michelin recommends this, so no matter where you want your new tyres they will only go off Michelin's guide. clicky

[cem_devecioglu]

Here is a question for the knowlegable then, I have two of the Wanli's on the front with approx 7-8mm tread on and two firestone on the rear with around 4mm of tread on. Would I be best with the better make but lower tread on the back where the drive is or the front where most breaking work is done?
 :-/

The way it was explained to me, the front has much higher grip requirements for safety than the rear, generally speaking.  Think braking, weight transfer, steering requirements, etc more so than acceleration grip or keeping the rear in line.  

If the rear steps out then accurate steering input can resolve the matter, if suitable driver input is available thus good front grip is an essential.

Buy two tyres from Costco though, and they insist that they move the old rears to the front & put the two new tyres on the back. Michelin recommends this, so no matter where you want your new tyres they will only go off Michelin's guide. clicky

reason obvious.. first aim is to control the car on curves other than braking distance.. valid for newbie drivers or drivers new to their car behaviour..

[cem_devecioglu]

but I must note that braking power front/rear ratio is mostly 100/50-60.. so if you use the good tires on the back you will end up with real crappy brake distance despite the new two tire cost

[Marks DTM Calib]

Good old Wanlii ditch finders, I was not to impressed with them but then I perhaps push the car a bit harder than Dusty  

[immx]

Thanks for the replys, I must say the only thing I found a little dissapointing with the mig is the handling on tight bends or roundabouts, reading everything on here that may be down to the tyres! I'll have to look at getting some better rubber on maybe!  

[Dusty]

Good old Wanlii ditch finders, I was not to impressed with them but then I perhaps push the car a bit harder than Dusty  

That statement does not fill me with confidence mark.
But I would still be faster than you on a racetrack anyday.

[Marks DTM Calib]

Good old Wanlii ditch finders, I was not to impressed with them but then I perhaps push the car a bit harder than Dusty  

That statement does not fill me with confidence mark.
But I would still be faster than you on a racetrack anyday.

Now that sounds like the gauntlet laid down!  

[stuart30]

Thanks for the replys, I must say the only thing I found a little dissapointing with the mig is the handling on tight bends or roundabouts, reading everything on here that may be down to the tyres! I'll have to look at getting some better rubber on maybe!  

But dont forget the Omega is a big heavy car..start chucking it around and it wont behave like a hot hatch regardless of tyres...