The problem with having the best traction up front comes on rain or snow slick roads, which is what happened to Edward.  He simply could not steer or gently brake his way out of the spin and was simply along for the ride backwards, his higher traction front tires keeping it that way.  

During braking or turning the lower traction rear tires will lose traction first and cause a spinout.  They want to be at the front as you turn or decelerate (or maybe it's that the better traction tires want to be in the back), which is why you put them there in the first place. 

That will still happen with all-wheel drive. You may have a better chance of recovering or avoiding a complete spinout, but probably not.  

Because this is a well-known safety issue, reputable tire stores always put the best tires on the rear to avoid liability.

Stuart

-----Original Message-----
From: Vanagon Mailing List [mailto:vanagon@gerry.vanagon.com] On Behalf Of Dan N
Sent: Saturday, July 11, 2015 10:26 AM
To: vanagon@GERRY.VANAGON.COM
Subject: Re: Why new tires should go on the rear.

right.... but what if you have a 4 wheel drive or an all wheel drive..?

On Sat, Jul 11, 2015 at 10:19 AM, Loren Busch <starwagen@gmail.com> wrote:

> RE:
> Where do the new tires go?
>
> There is also a strong argument for putting the best tires on the 
> drive wheels.  Maintain the best traction on the wheels that are going 
> to be used to power you out of a situation.
>