Best tire size for 240

Discussion in 'Volvo 240' started by Patrick, Oct 17, 2003.

  1. Patrick

    Patrick Guest

    Planning on buying winter tires for my 92 240. I will buy steel rims
    at Costco (dealer told me to ask for rims for a 740 as it fits on a
    240).

    What is the best tire size for winter usage only. Is it wider better
    than taller or vice versa.

    TIA
     
    Patrick, Oct 17, 2003
    #1
  2. Patrick

    Herman Guest

    Narrower is better for snow,..... a wide tire sits on top instead of
    digging in. Just purchase the size as recommended in your owners manuel
    "only" snow tires instead of regular.
    Herman, '83 282 formerly 242 Turbo intercooled.
     
    Herman, Oct 17, 2003
    #2

  3. 282? How does that go? [245, ex 142S x 2, 145 x 3, 144S x 2, 164 x 2,
    244 etc]
     
    Classic Car Fair, Oct 18, 2003
    #3
  4. They list 2-3 sizes in the manual. Always go with the tallest one as
    the others will cause your speedometer to be fast. At least on a 240
    it's true.
     
    Joseph Oberlander, Oct 18, 2003
    #4
  5. Patrick

    brackenburn Guest

    Hi Joseph,

    Wouldn't it be better for the speedo to be fast than sorry?? :)

    Andy I.
     
    brackenburn, Oct 18, 2003
    #5
  6. Patrick

    James Sweet Guest


    He transplanted a smallblock V8 into the car. Not my style, but cool none
    the less.
     
    James Sweet, Oct 18, 2003
    #6
  7. Patrick

    Rob Guenther Guest

    Go narrower and taller. We got snow tires and rims thru a massive "tent"
    sale at our Volvo dealer. We normally would use 195 65 R15's on our 960, but
    from snow tires it was 185 70 R15. They speced the tires for the car, so
    they must be right (going under the assumption I can actually trust the
    dealer... which I think I can, they haven't BS'ed us in the past)
     
    Rob Guenther, Oct 18, 2003
    #7
  8. I got the factory recommended tires and the speedometer was 6-8mph
    fast at 65mph, or about 10% off.
     
    Joseph Oberlander, Oct 18, 2003
    #8
  9. Patrick

    brackenburn Guest

    Joseph, I meant you're less likely to get a speeding ticket if the
    speedometer is fast....................

    Andy I.
     
    brackenburn, Oct 19, 2003
    #9
  10. Patrick

    Patrick Guest

    Bob, fascinating! Your 960 has the same size of tires than my 240.
    The previous owner told me he bought mags from a 940 Turbo cause he
    didn't like the 14" rim that came with the 240.

    I guess I'll be looking for 185/70R15 winter tires. Thanks for the
    info!
     
    Patrick, Oct 19, 2003
    #10
  11. Patrick

    Rob Guenther Guest

    No problem, its Rob by the way ;-).

    If you are interested we are using Gislaved Nord Frost snow tires, I beleive
    they are on Nord Frost 2 right now. We don't put much more then 3000-4000kms
    or so in the winter season with this car so we have had them around 7 years
    and they have plenty of life left, easily this season and another, they
    haven't even started to decompose and start cracking yet, so we are happy.
    They give us good traction, but having a 201hp rear wheel drive drivetrain
    does not help the tires out much. Tho braking is good with the snows on, the
    car doesn't seem to have the tendancy to just slide thru intersections with
    the ABS system fully active, as it does with the summer tires on (all
    season... yeah right, not in Canada).
     
    Rob Guenther, Oct 19, 2003
    #11
  12. Patrick

    Patrick Guest

    Sorry for the name calling...!!! ;-)

    I'll see how much they go for at the dealer. Really too bad the
    dealer doesn't sell Volvo rims for RWD like the 240.
     
    Patrick, Oct 19, 2003
    #12
  13. Patrick

    Rob Guenther Guest

    They did, back in the day.... I guess not anymore. Our whole set including
    rims, tires, balancing, valve stems, and wheel swap was around $650
    Canadian, regular price would have been something around $900 if there was
    not a sale on.
     
    Rob Guenther, Oct 19, 2003
    #13
  14. Patrick

    James Sweet Guest

    As far as I know they do, just not the cheap steel rims that you can find
    anywhere else, they're even plentiful at junkyards. You can still buy alloys
    for the RWD cars from Volvo, but they're ridiculously expensive, something
    like $450 each.
     
    James Sweet, Oct 19, 2003
    #14
  15. Sedan or wagon?

    See the owner's manual. Sedan is probably 185/70R14, which is a common
    size. Wagon is probably 185R14, which is now rare. If you cannot find
    it, 195/75R14 is the closest alternate size with good selection and
    availability.
     
    Timothy J. Lee, Oct 20, 2003
    #15
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