Tire choice for '97 850

I need to get new tires for my 850, and can afford either of these
two (both around $70 at Sams Club):

P195/60R15 97H VSB Goodyear Eagle GT- HR

195/60R15 88H RBL BF GoodrichTraction T/A

They're both H-rated. Neither of them is what I'd call a performance
tire - like a Michelin MXV4 (which I cannot afford). Any reason to
choose one over the other?

Thanks,
AC

 

For safety's sake, I think you can't afford NOT to have the best tires that
the car needs (i.e. the correct speed rating).

I think that BF Goodrich make excellent tires. I have Michelin MX1s on my
Volvo right now, and I think they are well... crap (especially in snow, I
use winter tires, but, I had these out once.. and I couldn't move!). You
can't go wrong with any of the choices you've listed, but one of my favorite
brands is the BFG

Cheers

 

------snip and here is my reply--------------
:
I have put on Canadian Tire 130,000km warranty tires (made by Michelin) on my
wife's 850 here in Canada. These tires are rated for the car - they meet the
"specs" for tires in the Volvo 850 owner's manual. They will be 2 years old this
May. We have experienced no problems whatsoever with these tires. They have
about 50,000 km on them right now.

The tires mentioned by the OP should be OK for the 850 Volvo - but only IF they
are rated for the car. I don't know if they are (or not). I wonder why anyone
would use tires NOT rated for the car (by Volvo). After all, if the car
manufacturer engineers don't know squat about the tires for their vehicle, how
can a tire company know ANYTHING about that car's needs for tires?

Ken
Canada

 

In <>,

The manufacturer's rating is HR or VR for the 15-inch wheel, which I have.
Both these tires are HR - the reviews on the BF Goodrich seem better on
Tirerack.com - from Audi, BMW and Volvo owners.

AC

 

Perhaps. Although we seem to spend a good bit of time here quibbling
about the manufacturer engineers' wisdom in regard to other things, such
as changing transmission fluid, etc.

cheers,

Henry

 

As long as you're doing all 4 tires, downgrading to H tires will not be
a problem. I bought the 205/55 r15 V rated BFG myself for my volvo's 95
850, 99 S70. Tire life is not bad, snow traction isn't too bad also.( I
don't drive in snow too much with the cars. Drive a 4WD PU if I have to.)