Snow Tires - 98 S70 T5SE

Hey all;

I am in the process of selecting some snow tires for my 98 S70 T5SE. The
dealer recommended 195/65/R15's for my car. He said 16's won't cut through
the snow as good as the taller 15's. I was wondering if any of you have put
this size of snow tire on their volvo, and is/was dissapointed with the
perfromance difference with the taller tire and wished they'd put the 16's.

Thanks in advance.
Steve

 

Well that depends on how much snow you get. My car (98 V70 T5) stays
around the city, so I use H rated Dunlops (Porsche approved!) SP winter
sport M2 205/55R16. My wife commutes an hour north, so on her car (98
S70 T5) we have 195/65R15 Q rated Gislaved tires (we had 185/65R15 up
till this winter, as suggested in the owners manual). The Dunlops are
noticeably better in dry (quiet and grip) conditions, the Gislaveds have
more snow and ice grip, although both are still good in the "other"
condition.

 

I've been using the 195 15" on both rear wheel (91 940T) and front wheel
('00 S70T5) drives (where 16" 205 is the standard). The higher profile
smaller size gives much better performance in snow. Best tire I've used is
the Dunlop H-rated Sport Snow (on the S70), and I like the Dunlop Sports all
weather for summer use. Pirrelli H-rated Snows have worked well on the 940
for many years. The S70 gets a fair amount of high-speed highway use in
the winter, and the Dunlops handle like any high-performance tire. Be sure
to put one on each corner of the car --- Volvo's work best with 4 snows, not
just 2.

 

Snow tires work opposite street tires. The narrower the profile, the more
weight is concentrated and the ability to push through snow increases. Ever
see rally cars in snow? The tires are very skinny, and they are also
studded. Since studs are illegal most places, a narrower tire, within
reason, will perform better. The height comes with keeping the speedo right
and the aspect ratio, so with the smaller rim and taller tire, it basically
cancels out.

You may gain a slight ground clearance advantage, but the FWD volvos are
pretty low as it is. I would go to tirerack.com and see what they have.

 

I am not sure about year 98, but in Europe, 2000 T5's came with
enlarged disks that cannot hold tyres smaller than R16 for lack of
safety distance within. Maybe it would not even fit, but surely
unsafe. Your Volvo dealer will know for the North American (just
guessing from "tires") 1998.

Puff