Tires for my Volvo C70

Hi all,

does anyone have a suggestion for a set af all-seasons tires for my
1999 Volvo C70 coupe?
I just want a decently priced solution for a smooth ride, average
drive style, good performing in snowy condition.
I bought the car (used) this last winter and I had a bad experince in
a snow storm that the Goodyer Eagle F1 mounted could not handle. I
want to replace the tires before this winter.
Thanks
Mauro

 

During winter you use snow tires and
during summer you use summer tires.

Everything else is a lousy and dangerous compromise!

Joerg

 

Joerg is right -- partly.

I bought a set of highly-rated "high performance all season tires" last
year (Toyo Proxes 4) for my 95 854T, hoping they'd substitute for my
snow tires, which have only a little more than the recommended minimum
tread left.

To make a long story short, the Toyos DID work much better in the snow
than my summer tires. But then I put my well-worn Pirelli Ice Radials
back on to see how close the Toyos came to REAL winter tires.

It was no contest -- I WILL NOT rely on the Toyos during winter. But
here's where I disagree with Joerg -- the Toyos are a very good 3 season
tire -- good waterplaning resistance, quiet, good dry traction, smooth
riding, and not too expensive. They aren't quite as good as the
Michelin Pilot summer tires I had before, but they're much closer in
performance to the Michelins in summer than they are to the Pirellis in
winter!

Java

 

I have had good experience with Michelin Pilot Exalto All Season for
moderate snow. They are better than Michelin Pilot Sport All Season
that I had previously. I have a 1995 850 Turbo Sedan and have had a
variety of tires on it in the past 12 years. May I suggest you go to
www.tirerack.com and read some of the tire reviews for tires that you
may be considering. They rate dry and wet braking, snow, etc. They
will also suggest appropriate tires for your driving conditions.

 

I have always wondered why people spend a fortune to buy a new car and
then try to save on relatively cheap safety issues like optimal tires
for the exisisting weather or a hands-free-device for the mobile phone.
Regards
Viktor

 

Right you are! First spend $60K on a new car and not be prepared to
buy snow tyres for less than $1K? Absolut nonsense. Tyres and brakes
are the most safety-critical parts of a car.

As you seem to live in Austria, you know that drivers that cause an
accident and the car not having adequate tyres are held responsible
and punished accordingly in many European countries. This new
regulation in Germany led to a shortage of snow-tyres in Europe last
season. I seriously doubt that so called All Season Tyres are
considered adequate on snowy roads in case of an accident.

Gruss,
Jörg

 

Michelin or Yokohama should give a good balance of ride, traction and
tread wear in my experience. If you had only one bad experience with
one storm, I would not spend too much money trying to solve problem
that occurs once every 7 years.

On the other hand, if you live in an area that normally gets a lot of
snow and the roads are not plowed frequently then you might want to
consider a separate set of wheels with snow tires for winter use.