They say it prevents "slipping" in the rear. I agree 100% with you. The rears are about 50-60% tread life, and the fronts were just replaced under BFG warranty. They put the new tire's on back. I've had both Costco and Walmart tire center argue with me on this. I was actually reading through this subject in the link below. I don't care how damn many people tell me it's better for the rear, my brain will never grasp it.

https://www.reddit.com/r/AskMechanic..._or_the_front/

 

My thoughts exactly.

 

This is my 32nd year of driving in the winter. I feel that any slipping in the back is correctable. Every year, I purposely kick the azz end out and keep her going straight just to make sure I remember. On Sunday, when we woke up to a few inches of snow, we took off in the Escape, and it was struggling to get enough traction to move and steer. I went back and got the truck. I'll test my traction theory in this storm we get tonight/tomorrow. My Wife had to go visit a patient up in one of the canyons last night, and she took my daughter's Escape. It has brand new tires on it, and she said it did way better than hers did on Friday with less snow.

 

We got the scare forecast here too.
5-6 inches of wet snow before changing to rain, going to screw up the morning commute.
They even had the salt trucks out salting the dry roads early this morning and all it did was rain.
It was supposed to start snowing like a **** around 4am and last thru 9 am.
I woke up and looked out the window multiple times but never saw a snowflake, just lots of rain.

 

0000

 

Thanks, actually. The one I noted has complaints about the water cup blowing off in high winds. Remotely reading rain is a key item for me.

 

Cops don't generally try to get past you and nudge your front end to spin you. They nudge the back and you spin. Most cars have a wider track on the front. Weight and traction favors the front, in any front-engined car.

I really understand your complaint and what you are saying, but the rear of a car has less weight, less traction, a narrower track. The rear suffers traction, esp side-to-side. It "needs" tires with the most, best tread. It's all the harder for we old RWD guys to grasp. Knowing my fronts wear on a FWD, I go to a guy to rotate mine, new rubber on front.

If I go back for a free rotation somewhere, where they practice the best-on-rear, and my best are on back, I request a left-right rotation, deadpan. You gotta remember, most drivers cannot drive, whereas we drive, thinking, reacting correctly. We pre-think... Pre-test traction. We... don't fit the mold.

Heck, I've ridden my mc on steep downhill esses, in 6" of snow, past a dozen cars that are piling up one by one, as I watch, in slo-mo, the next two slide and impact the line of cars against the curb, *brakes locked up tight!!!* I always wondered if any ever realized their ignorance as I easily rode past them. Did they ever admit it to husbands, wives, kids or cops. Spokane did not have rare snows. We don't fit the mold.

 

I'd attribute that to "assembler error." Mine has survived 60MPH+

 

I put A/T tires on our old '01 Escape, and it was pretty much a tank in the snow.

Falken Wildpeak AT3W update: The truck walked up my driveway in 2WD the other day with about 6" of fresh snow. I don't know that the BFG's would've done that, even when new.

 

Better tires front or rear?

There is something to be said for new/better tires on the rear, as you cant "over-drive" the back end with the worn ones up front. The car will also tend to understeer rather than oversteer, so it will push instead of snapping the rear end around .

The solution: Buy four tires?