do i need snow tires for my 240 wgn?

winter is heading my way, and it'll be my first with my 93 240 wagon. i
live in coastal RI and often don't get too much snow, but you never know.
so is there a way to make do with my regular tires or do i need snows (and
all four or just the rear)? thanks!

 

the guy i bought the 240 from says h'es got a pair of snows on rims he'd
sell me for about $200. that sound about right, assuming the tires are in
vg to excellent condition?

 

Depends, if you're driving in snow you at least need some decent tires, and
carry a set of chains. You don't *need* snow tires, but if it does snow
you'll be much safer having them at least on the back, and in very good
shape with them on all 4 wheels. I've got a set of used snow tires I picked
up cheap on Volvo steel rims, I keep a pair in the trunk this time of year
when I go anywhere overnight, I figure I can put them on if it snows.

 

Price out some new ones and come to your own conclusion. I got a set of 2
pairs of used but still good (probably 50%) snows on steel rims for $60 for
all 4 tires/rims but YMMV. New ones are quite pricey.

 

Yes...Yes...Yes I lost a great 240 sedan to snow gods because I was too cheap
to buy snows!!!! Buy Them!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

 

In addition to the snow tires, it'd probably be a good idea to add some weight
over the drive wheels. Four to six 12"x12"x2" concrete pavers will do nicely
without compromising your cargo-carrying capacity (volume) by too much.

I remember one winter, just after Christmas, the owner of a stone quarry/bungee-
jumping operation in Quebec (the "Elastic Bandit", yes it has a web-site) was
kind enough to plow a trail from the road in to the quarry for me so that I
could look at some stone.

When it was time to leave, I had to turn the car around in an area that wasn't
ploughed out and my 245 wagon just sat there in not-too-deep(6")-but-wet-snow
spinning its snow tires uselessly.

Maybe if it was a standard transmission, I would have gotten out.

In any case, it being a quarry, there were many boulders about and it only took
a few loaded into the back to provide the necessary weight for the tires to get
some bite. Lucky for me because without a cell phone in an area not frequented
by people till Spring ...

Of course, there are times when even extra weight won't help.
Like when, in a blinding blizzard, you hit a dip in the road where the snow has
filled-in 2 crotch-deep and your vehicle floats up on top of the snow and it's
snowing so hard that the hole you're digging around the wheels in an attempt to
find the road surface, fills in faster than you can dig it out.

That's when you leave the vehicle, snowshoe or ski home and wait for the snow
plough to dig out the road and haul your vehicle out two weeks later.

But don't (like an acquaintance who was caught in the same storm) pour boiling
water into the packed-solid-with-snow engine compartment in an attempt to melt
the snow. He ended up with an ice cubed engine compartment which didn't thaw out
till early Spring. Of course, he didn't own a Volvo. Volvo owners would know
better. Right ?

 

NO!!!
Drive carefully.

the swede

 

I have driven most winters in Ottawa on all seasons and for the most part
have never got stauck. I find the wagon, at 3100lbs heavy enough to not need
any extra weight in the back. Nothing beats a good set of proper snows ie
Hokkapalita-Arctic Alpines etc as they are specifically designed for winter
weather. I have an aytomatic so I typically let the car pull itself the
first ten feet or so before easing on the gas.

RobC
89-245 DL
225km

 

Carl.....I prepared a rsponse to your query and mistakenly sent it to
something called "snow tires"

Sorry about that Pat

 

Those could become tombstones should you hit something. I carry two bags of
crushed stone in the compartments behind the wheel wells.


Regards,

Boris Mohar

Got Knock? - see:
Viatrack Printed Circuit Designs http://www3.sympatico.ca/borism/
Aurora, Ontario