Smitty,

I didn't mean to confuse you on tire wear. I suspect that the front is on the third set of tires and I suspect that the prior owner never rotated tires. Thus using a softer rubber, the front tires wore out at 30k and the rears at 40k. The front tires have been replaced twice, rear only once. I don't have the old front tires to check make and manufacture date.

More questions on this thread... Do you rotate tires? Does Volvo no longer recommend tire rotation? (the tires on my car are directional).

We plow our streets in Minneapolis. Even in cold snow country I drive on snow less than 10 hours per year, and that is usually optional. I find it hard to justify a second set of tires and rims. I also drive less than 10,000 miles per year. The snow tire rubber is not likely to be good for longer than 6 years.

I also believe that RWD is better than FWD for snowy conditions. See the other notes on oversteer and control in this thread. I grew up in the country and we learned to drift through a snowy corner at faster speeds than our parents would recommend.

So I will take your recommendation and test in an icy parking lot at low speeds.

Thanks for the thoughtful responses. Good for digesting turkey.

lair4volvos