Our 93 850 glt needs new tires. Instead of big rims and low profile tires - we go for someting that absorbs the shattering Chicago roadsurfaces.
Will any of the tires everyone's offering (205x75x15) fit on the standard 15" rims - or will we need to go down to 195x75x15?
How does whitewall look on a Volvo 850 (looked nice on my Amazon)
Just wanting to know if anyone has experience with this.
Thank you for a great informative board.

I went the other way and put on 205x55x15's instead of the stock 195x60x15. A great improvement in ride and hadleing I think.

the 195x60's did not corner well.

Whitewalls, comeon, on a volvo 850 really? stick to the black side out please.

Dan

195/65/15's will fit with some rub on the inner wheel arch. If this occurs on your car, you can change the steering "bump stops" for thicker ones, which should be available to order from your volvo dealer ( this is hardly ever mentioned on the board, BTW - not sure why people put up with the rub !! ).

KP

I use 195/65/15 tires on my S70 with no problems. Better ride with no major effect on speedometer reading. I think 205/65/15 might fit with no interference.

no...aside from the fact that it'll be horribly out of wack.

205 is width mm. stock is 195-60-15. that is 15" plus 60% of 195, so

117mm x 2 + 375mm = 609mm is ur total wheel height, stock


153.75mm x 2 + 375mm = 682mm is ur proposed height...that's almost 2 inches taller..


ur spedometer will be off, the wheel+tire may fit, but even if it did, then u can't turn, cause it'd rub in inner wheel wells, and when u hit a bump, it'll come up against fender.

Great calculations -
just what I needed.
Thank you for the warning - and your taking time to explain it in detail.
I will look for the original sizes
Boberg

np, 80mm extra is actually closer to 3" extra, anyway, here's something that might be helpful for u.

http://www.miata.net/garage/tirecalc.html


u can try like matt says, 195-65-15...that'll improve ride quality, some have no rub, some do...seems like it's different for everyone. if u had wanted to get better grip, going 205-55-15 or 205-60-15 may be ok. but if u think ur ride has deterioated quite a bit, may need some new springs/shocks...these things tend to wear out after 80k, +/-, depending on how the car is used.

p.s. i can't image u complaining about the ride when i'm running 17", hehee ;)