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Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Brian Feltovich on
Tuesday, 26 August 1997, at 8:22 a.m.
We just bought a 1990 760 Turbo wagon and it has nice 15" Volvo alloy wheels and 195/65 Nord Frost II snow tires (studs not installed, thank you).
I'm trying to decide if we should just run these tires as normal radials until they wear out (they're nearly new now) OR buy some decent radials for warm weather use and swap in the snow tires when the weather gets bad. Will NordFrosts be that much better in the snow than good radials?
Any favorite tires you want to recommend? (Reasonable prices please)
Also, the book calls for 195/65 tires but local dealers seem to have a much better range of offerings at 195/60. What's the drawback of using a slightly lower profile tire than spec? Does it matter?
Thanks in advance.
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Henry T. Mui. on
Tuesday, 26 August 1997, at 6:53 p.m.
Brian,
if you like you can use the winter tires for summer use but, I find it pretty
noisy because these tires are made for winter use. Of course I would not use the Nord Frost (since it's almost new as you stated) for summertime driving. Most
Volvo owners who live in the counrty where snow is present during the winter season tend to purchase 4 Volvo steel wheels with the winter tires mounted for winter time use. Most Volvo owners have alloy wheels and during winter months
don't want the clear coat of the alloy wheels exposed to the heavy salt usage in certain states.
As for series size, the 60 series can be used. The brand of tires! Suggest you check out web site for prices below. Cannot suggest anything. Some like
American, some like European, and some like Japanese. I've used them!
Tire Rack
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by BOB FISHER on
Wednesday, 27 August 1997, at 10:07 p.m.
Greetings;
My 760 turbo wagon will not climb the hill to my home when confronted with more than 1" of unplowed snow. The wide, 195/60 R15 fronts simply push too much snow ahead of them to permit the light rear end wagon to gain traction. Although the Sears Michelin radials I have (guaranteed for 50,000 mles) are great, I am ready to get some steel wheels and narrow tires with studs for the winter. Any comments are welcome..
regards; bob
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Henry T. Mui. on
Wednesday, 27 August 1997, at 10:37 p.m.
Bob,
Make sure you purchase winter tires that will allow you to add on studs. And make sure where you live (state wise) allows you to use studs for winter use! Or better yet add a snow plow in front of your wagon (just kidding I couldn't resist that joke!).
Henry
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Toni Arte on
Thursday, 28 August 1997, at 12:43 a.m.
I have studded Gislaved Nord Frost II's (185/65R15) on steel wheels
and I'm very happy with them. I live in southern Finland, so I usually mount
snow tires in November and use them till the end of March.
I think that 185 is the optimal width for a snow tire (for Volvo).
You can't get any narrower tires (at least for 15" wheel), and
there's no need for a wider tire (for winter).
I'd choose between Bridgestone Blizzak (my choice for unstudded),
Gislaved Nord Frost II (studded) and Nokian Hakkapeliitta (studded).
I have two sets of 15" wheels (plus one set of 14" wheels) for my
'86 740.
--
Toni
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Tom LeStrange on
Thursday, 28 August 1997, at 9:16 a.m.
Bob.
Regarding your quest for good traction, here is my story and recommendation. Last year I "bit the bullet" and bought a set of 4 Bridgestone Blizzaks for my Olds Cuttlas Supreme. I ordered them from Tire Rack mounted and balanced on 15" steel wheels. (the stock wheel is 16" alloy). They were delivered ready to mount on the car with a set of plastic wheel covers. The stock tire is 205-60R16" and I got 195-70R15". The result is close to the same outside diameter (.06" dif) thus the spedo is not affected much.
The car handles as good as a 4WD in my estimation. Both traction and stopping is outstanding. The narrower tire results in a higher psi road contact and the special ice gripping tread improves stopping on ice. Studs are not needed. I was cought in two or three blizzards last winter, once on the QEW in Toronto, and had no problems. My only concern was fear of getting rear ended because I was able to stop when I needed to
The formula for calculating tire diameter is: (tread width, 205cm X ratio, 0.6 X 2 )/25.4 + rim dia. 16" = 25.69". (195X.7X2)/25.4+15=25.75"
I don't need winter tires on my Volvo 1800S because I don't plan to drive it in the winter. If I did I would get Blizzaks. They recommend using them on all four wheels.
You can check them out at tirerack.com.
Good luck, Tom
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Marylyn DeGregorio on
Monday, 1 September 1997, at 11:05 p.m.
Hi!
Three years ago in the winter that wouldn't quit in NY (17 snowstorms!), my husband insisted that we buy snow tires for our 1982 Volvo wagon (we use some sort of high speed rated Gislavaeds in the summer). I slid sideways into my best local tire dealer in the middle of the third snowstorm of the year and drove out as though I had four wheel drive on four Nokias (very aggressive tires that begin with an "H" and have lots of consonants in the name). These tires are rated to 18" of snow or however high the clearance on your car. We live on a hill. Our driveway is a hill. Never noticed after buying these tires. The best part of this is that every spring when I change over to my summer tires, the car seems to go *much* faster! I would not use them in the summer, there is no mileage guarantee on great snow tires, something to do with the rubber wearing faster or something and I really do want them to work when I need them. So I change over. And I'm not alone. Think our tire dealer has everyone educated. Remember (my husband says) regardless of all the safety devices on your car, regardless of your brakes and your steering and your skill, it really is only four approximately 4 inch patches of rubber that touch the road. Those patches better be good and suited to the conditions.
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Henry T. Mui. on
Thursday, 4 September 1997, at 1:35 a.m.
The brand and name of the winter tires is the Nokia Hakkapeliitta 10.
They are made in Finland and used in mud and snow (winter driving). The
word Hakkapeliitta means something in Finnish but, I was told once. Don't remember now! I find them much more noisy on dry road driving than the Volvo
winter tires (a.k.a. Nord Frost). I have a set of 4 that I purchased back in 92'
and are still in use. I hope to squeeze another 2 more years of life from them.
Once the tread is non fit for winter use you can use the for summer tires!
Nokia makes the following tires.
- Note: The below info. on Nokia tires may or may not be correct
on models/styles.
- Hakkapelitta 10 M + S. Speed rate: T:190km/hr or 100mph.
- NRW M + S. Speed rate: T:210km/hr or 130mph.
- NRS - T. Speed rate: T:190km/hr or 118mph.
- NRT Touring Tires. Speed rate: T:190km/hr or 118mph.
Drive safe....Drive long!
Drive Volvo!
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Theddy on
Saturday, 6 September 1997, at 11:04 a.m.
Winter tires from -92 are far beyond safe use on cold winter roads! The rubber mix gets harder by age, and in cold temperatures they will get hard just like summer tires and it will be like driving on hard plastic tires. Winter tires will keep their capacity of good winter performance for three, or maybe four seasons, provided you buy them fresh! After that, you'll have to throw them away or wear them out on summer roads.
This difference in rubber mix is the main difference between summer and winter tires, the pattern or the "looks" of the tire is of secondary importance, though a rougher pattern will give a better grip, but only in combination with the right rubber mix!
Theddy
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Ray Hartle on
Sunday, 7 September 1997, at 11:05 p.m.
Bob,
Even though it's late and lots of folks already provided good advice, I couldn't help but respond to your message for 2 reasons.
First, your name caught my eye because I bought my 1st house off of a "Bob Fisher"!
Second, your experence in your driveway was EXACTLY what I experienced the first time my '87 740 Turbo saw snow!
The Michelin MXV's just had the wrong rubber compound. I switched to BFGoodrich HR4's (all season) and was able to get out of my driveway easily. However, I still wasn't very satisfied when the snow got over 1" deep.
This past winter, I did some serious tire research and shoping and settled on a set of 4 Dunlap Grapspic S200Z, 195-60-R15's which I purchased through the mail from the TireRack for approx. $63 / tire. (About $20 - $30 less than the Blizzaks etc. and the tread compound is full depth) I had them mounted on 15" aftermarket aluminum rims, without studs.
Wow, what a difference!! The tire body is the same width as the HR4 which I run in the summer but the tread is closer to about 180mm wide. I was disappointed about this at first but was grateful later based on their performance in the snow and ice. The car was completely predictable in turns and stopping, almost as if the roads weren't even slippery. In fact, if everyone else wasn't "all over the road" I would have though the roads were fine!!
I'll be on those same Dunlaps this winter.
Well there's my 2 cents........whatever you buy, make sure you get 4. You'll be glad you did.
Ray Hartle
Beaver, PA (the snow belt)
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by BOB FISHER on
Wednesday, 27 August 1997, at 11:56 p.m.
Greetings;
My 760 turbo wagon will not climb the hill to my home when confronted with more than 1" of unplowed snow. The wide, 195/60 R15 fronts simply push too much snow ahead of them to permit the light rear end wagon to gain traction. Although the Sears Michelin radials I have (guaranteed for 50,000 mles) are great, I am ready to get some steel wheels and narrow tires with studs for the winter. Any comments are welcome..
regards; bob
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Shatz on
Thursday, 28 August 1997, at 9:45 a.m.
Brian, in reference to your original query, I have two recommendations:
An all season radial for normal driving, try the Pirelli P400; its "T" rated.
For a high performance tire, look at the Dunlop D60 A2. Its "H" rated, and has been redesigned and proabaly renamed, but you can certainly find those things out. This was top rated in a recent CR test.
AN OEM for my 960 is the Micheln MXV4 Energy. A satisfactory tire, to be sure, but does not provide the traction of the Dunlops. Wear rating is a tad better. I'll look for the Dunlop when I get ready to buy a new set.
Re: Snow tires and tire sizes for 760 turbowagon?[ALL/1998] posted by Theddy on
Friday, 29 August 1997, at 5:11 p.m.
Rule #1:
All season tires does not exist!
It is impossible to combine maximum grip and safety in one tire that will work as well in summer heat as on icy winter roads. These "all season" tires will give you inferior performance both in summer and winter as they are a compromise between the harder summer tire and the softer winter tire.
The summer tire has a harder mix of rubber that will make the tires last longer and give a good grip on warm summer roads. But, when the temperature falls the tires will get hard like plastic and you'll lose most of the grip even on dry asphalt when it's really cold, let alone what happens on snow and ice!
The winter tire has a softer rubber mix, which will not harden by falling temperatures and gives you maximum grip and performance even by very low temperatures. As the rubber is softer, they will not last as long as the summer tires especially if you use them on warm summer roads. Another thing about winter tires is, that they get harder by age. If you buy them fresh it's recommendable to use them for three or maybe four seasons, not more. By the end of the third season, you can just leave them on and wear them out and buy fresh ones for the next season. Old hardened winter tires are as dangerous by low temps as summer tires.
The use of good winter tires is maybe the cheapest life insurance you can get, never forget that!
In your case, I would get some steel rims and put the winter tires on them, and use the alloy rims for summer tires. Then it's easy to shift tires yourself when the time comes.
As to 195/65 or 195/60, you'll lose a little comfort if you go down in profile, and your speedometer will not show the correct speed unless you choose 205/60 which are compareable in size to 195/65. The figure "60" means, that the heigth of the tire is 60% of the width (this is called the profile of the tire), so if you decrease the heigth of the tire you will have to increase the width to maintain the same circumference of the wheel. It's very popular in the taxi world to put on low profile tires and forget about the width increase to get the meter to tick faster! When you buy winter tires, remember the narrower the better. The smaller the contact surface is to the road, the more weight you get per sqare inch, the more pressure per sqare inch the better grip you'll get by tough conditions!
As to good winter tires, the best I've ever used and am still using is a studless friction tire called "Bridgestone Blizzak". I know you can get them by you, as I noticed someone on the Board who also uses them and appearantly has the same good experience as I have from these tires. They are absolutely outstanding under really tough conditions. I live in Gothenburg Sweden, and we've got pretty good winters here from time to time so I have really tested them. I have not found anything better for winter driving. It' just stop and go as usual, never mind the snow! Studs? Have not used studs for the last eight years. They are only good on clear ice, they are of no use on snow and give you inferior performance on clean roads, not to mention the noice! So, why studs?
Live well
Theddy