OEM rear wheels and tires on front

[jim123]

OK, after reading all I could find about doing this, I ordered two rear's from Smartmadness!!!! Super folks to do business with, got them to Texas in four days. Put the wheels and trires on the front... It is just like everyone says..... SOOOOOO much better handleing, ride is changed a lot for the better.... I drove the car to Austin (110miles) over several types of pavements... Note I drive this two or thee times a week. It was almost like being in a differant car.. All I can say is, if you put rear wheels on the front, you will like the car so much better...
Thanks to everyone who posted before so I knew to try this....

[High Side]

Jim 123 - Did the wheels and tires from smart madness come with the tpms sensors? I have been thinking about doing the same thing and then storing a front tire and wheel behind the passenger seat.

[JusNameMe]

Originally Posted by High Side

Jim 123 - Did the wheels and tires from smart madness come with the tpms sensors? I have been thinking about doing the same thing and then storing a front tire and wheel behind the passenger seat.

I did this. My car drives much better.

[Big Panda]

I can't wait to do it on mine.....just don't have the spare bucks right now.

[fortow]

If you think that the larger rear sized tires are better on the front then you should try even larger sized tire widths all around such as 195/50-15's. Make them the same size and you get many benefits over the narrow OEM staggered sizes - smoother ride, better handling, ability to rotate, longer lasting tires with more even wear patterns particularly if rotated occasionally, spare tire possible ( I use the original wheels/tires and store one behind the passenger seat), more common availability from competing brands and less costly tires and wheels.

I'm convinced that one of the major reasons for the OEM sized wheels and tires and the brand of tire used is to maintain some exclusivity for the benefit of dealerships. There may have been an element of safety as an original rational for the staggered sizes but it is unfounded by the experience of so many who have dared to make changes. The rationale behind the staggered tire sizes is to create a dynamic situation that encourages understeer which can be safer under extreme manoeuvers for inexperienced drivers. It was also to prevent the possibility for rollovers. The short wheelbase, relatively tall vehicle, rear engined design was a concern particularly after testing with other similar designs and the manufacturer wanted to assure themselves that there would be no possibility of snap oversteer or rollovers. However, in addition to staggering the wheelsizes they also introduced electronic measures to additionally prevent the car from oversteering. This car will understeer even if fitted with tires that grip better and are non-staggered. The safety measures are redundant.

There are good reasons to use a non-staggered setup to avoid problems created by the OEM setup. You won't get official approval because whatever you do will not have been exhaustively tested by the factory. It is your car, however, and you will need to be content with the understanding that any changes from original will not only not be approved but you will not be able to have recourse to the manufacturer if any problems result from the changes. However, real world experience has indicated that as long as changes are not extreme in terms of tire/wheel diameter, tire width, wheel offset and setback, then there is an acceptable variance that would seem to fall within the safety and practicality parameters.

As usual - use common sense, act with knowledge, and accept responsibility.

[John_H]

If one cares to take it to an extreme, you can get a better ride, lower mileage, and greater chance of a rollover.

[jetfuel]

Originally Posted by fortow

As usual - use common sense, act with knowledge, and accept responsibility.

jetfuel

[Godfather]

I will personally let any smart owner who thinks this mod is detrimental to the car's handling drive mine, and decide for themselves. There's this thing about the elk used in an elk test..... there are stupid like deer, and refuse to stand still........ and where there's one, there are likely more..... like deer. You just can't evade an animal who isn't convinced that being stationary is a good idea.

[fortow]

Originally Posted by jetfuel

jetfuel

Yes, but I didn't make that comment to indicate that it wasn't a good idea to make the changes. It is important to not go to extremes, and, John H, installing the same sized tires all around up to a 195 width is not taking anything to the extreme. Oh, and by the way, gas mileage is not lower, or if there is any difference detectable, it is negligable.

The issue is that this is not officially sanctioned. What needs to be recognized, however, is that the car was not originally designed to have staggered tire sizes. That was an after-thought and determined by testing on other cars as well as a CYA protection from liability.

I understand that there are many who are reluctant to make any tire size changes and some who will change tire sizes but retain the staggered setup. It's amusing to read the very wide sizes that some have chosen who also keep the staggered sizing. That's being illogical.

As Godfather implied, if you are reasonable about your tire width choice, then there is really no problem.

[John_H]

You seem to know an awful lot about the design decisions that went into the car. I envy you the clarity of your insight.

And the uninformed don't know "reasonable" so you can't suggest that a reasonable person will always make an informed choice.