'98 V70 AWD tires

My wife has a V70 AWD that needs 2 new tires. She currently has
Continentals and I would like to ask for advice on what else to
consider. I'm probably going to simply replace all 4, as one of the
two remaining had been replaced due to uneven wear and I don't want to
get into a cycle of replacing one or two at a time. I can use the
good ones as spares.

The Goodyear place down the road suggested P205/55R16 SL Dunlop GTQ
tires. Tirerack doesn't even show these in their listing when I go
through the questionnaire and I haven't seen a lot about them on the
web, so to arbitrarily pay $94/each makes me a little skeptical.

Driving considerations are:
We recently moved to Western New York. The locals say we should be
all right, with the ability of the DOT, to get by on front wheel drive
and all-seasons, so we should be in good shape with an AWD car and
good all-seasons as opposed to getting another set of rims and winter
tires. We average <10k/year in the car, but it will be our primary
winter car. It's not driven hard.

Thank you,
Dave

 

The tire warranty and the speed rating. If you don't drive very much you
don't want a warranty that is based on a number of years. I can drive for
7-10 years on the same tires because I don't drive any one car very much. I
use T rated tired because I never go above 80 and I want a tire that will
wear slowly. I wouldn't go below H on that car though.


I'm probably going to simply replace all 4, as one of the

The TireRack www.tirerack.com has a Dunlop that looks good for your
situation. It has good numbers (The colored boxes). Take a look at this
tire:

http://tinyurl.com/hzbb
Dunlop SP Sport A2 (has a 50,000mi/6 year warranty) That would work at
10,000 miles/year.

It might be a tire that only Goodyear carries but it might be the exact same
tire as something else; just different name/number. Compare their Dunlop
with the one at TireRack. Look at the tread and other numbers. If you like
the Sport A2, your Goodyear dealer (or someone else) can get it easily.

Brick_0


and I haven't seen a lot about them on the

 

On our '98 V70XC, Continentals were the OEM tire supplied. Several
other XC's that I saw at that time were similarly equipped. They gave
adequate service.

This car is driven hard and we have about 10K miles on the Dunlops your
friendly tire store recommended. I'm just surprised that they suggested
a "shorter" tire than the OEM. As your manual suggests, the proper size
is 205/65 (not 55) x15. Note that the wheel is 15", not 16. Of course,
you may have picked up a non-standard wheel size along the way. Tires
are "H" rated and most stores will not put anything less than an "H" on
a vehicle any more if that was the original spec.

With the heavier springs fitted to the XC, I don't think you'd want
anything less than the 65 series - the ride is harsh enough as it is -
on our area's lousy roads, anyway.

bob noble
Reno, NV, USA

 

The XC takes a 205/65/15 but the other AWD Volvos, the V70 AWD and the V70R
AWD for that year, take a 205/55/16.

Brick_0


Note that the wheel is 15", not 16. Of course,

 

I am impressed with the tires that came with my '01 V70 XC. They are
Pirelli Scorpion S/Ts. They have worn very evenly. I rotated them twice
but the wear has been remarkably even. They are going to get 40,000
miles before I replace them. I have 36,000 miles on them and the tread
is down to 4/32 and they still have outstanding rain and wet road
performance. They have the highest speed rating. Sears wants to
replace them with Goodrich Weatherbeaters which look good but don't have
as high a speed rating. These are the first Pirelli's I have had that
got any kind of decent mileage. They always have fantastic traction,
but usually don't wear this well.

I pick my tires by their wet road performance. There is very little
difference between the dry road performance of tires. The big
difference is on wet roads. I drive on many roads that have
hydroplaning problems and appreciate a tire that is secure in those
situations. I have never experienced hydroplaning with the Scorpions,
even now when they are almost worn out.

 

One thing nobody has mentioned yet is the importance of changing all the
tires at the same time on Volvos with that AWD system. The front and
rear axles are "clutched" together based on the difference in their
relative speeds. If they're turning the same speed, there's almost no
force transmitted to the rear. This engagement gets progressively
tighter, the greater the speed difference. This way the rears start to
do something when the fronts start to slip. However, if the tire size
is different, then some force is always transmitted to the rear, and the
front to rear driveshaft is under load. This overheats the oil in the
angle gear (the first part in the system that transmits the power to the
rear) which can cause failure inside 50 miles.

The recommendation is change all 4 tires at once and rotate them
frequently to keep wear even.

I got Michelin Pilot XGT Z4 for my '98 V70 T5, which are high
performance (and high $) all season tires. I liked them so much that I
persuaded my brother to put a set on his 1990 740 Turbo. I have winter
tires as well, but got caught out in the snow with these tires during
our late snowstorm this year, and was pleasantly surprised how good they
were in the snow. These tires are not available anymore, they're
replaced by the Pilot Sport A/S.