Odd time of year to ask the question I know, but there is good chance that my 91 240 will be going to South Dakota with my son. He had an accident in his truck last year when he hit some ice and ended up rolling the truck. He and his girlfriend were ok but he truck was toast. I have always felt the 240 was pretty good in snow and ice but honestly the 4 that I have owned have all resided in the south. So are these cars ok in the snow and ice provided proper snow tire are used? It is a Swedish car and they get a bunch of snow and ice there.
Thanks,

Don

Good counsel in the responses before mine. Tires make all the difference. And I thought a decent rwd sedan with snows did pretty well in the slippery stuff UNTIL I bought my first AWD vehicle (Subaru). No comparison - AWD wins.

Sounds to me like some winter driving lessons for your son might be in order....
--
82 242-6.2L; '17 Mazda3; '16 Crosstrek

Yes lessons are important. I keep telling him to find an empty parking lot and experiment. That's what I did in New England

Off topic sorry!
My name is Dennis Nordin
Just wondering if we are related !

Never had a problem with my 242 in snow! Just put on 4 good snow tires and let common sense guide you ! I lived in snow belt land Erie PA until I moved to Florida !

It depends where in SD he lives. The western side (Black Hills) gets a lot of snow, the eastern side (Sioux Falls) not so much. But in the winter, the snow that falls in the east does not melt, but there are snow plows.

Using 4 good snow tires makes the 240 a tank for most winter conditions. I do not believe that studded tires are legal in the Dakotas, they are certainly not in Minnesota.

There is only one solution for icy roads, slow down.

--
Keeping it running is better than buying new

The original post is dated year 2003.

Know the conditions ice forms on road surfaces.

Some call it black ice as it is unseen. Yet whether could light, day light, or head light, the black ice can sparkle and have a sheen to it when coating the otherwise dull or matte surface of pavement be it asphalt or concrete.

Air with moisture hanging over colder bare pavement. Condensation forms and freezes. Ice crystals coating the pavement surface.

Snow tires with the snowflake on the sidewall are made of softer carbon-rubber compounds than all-sneezin' (oop, sorry for the funny), all-season tires.

The worst sort of road surface ice coating is where in prior hours before the freeze is rain coated surfaces, where liquid water coats the road surface, or water emanates in streams or trickles from above road grade. A rapid temperature drop of the air mass can freeze that, and it is less likely to sparkle like air moisture condensating as black ice in a period before air temperature drop. Black ice from liquid moisture coating a road surface that rapidly freezes will not sparkly much if at all. The ice crystals are more uniform and do not reflect the sparkly back no matter the light source the motor-car operator sees.

Also, variations air mass humidity in a cold period or cold air mass 'wave' or snap can form black ice that can sparkle. Melting and freezing may have effect as to appearance.

Friction compound tire models Matt TheBrickTank mentions may better than the older studded snow tires. Studs, so I read, and have experienced, reduce the tire tread contact with the road surface.

Also not so certain a limited slip or locking differential may be best. Unless the motorist knows what to expect on a turn or when the wheel that to usually drive the auto forward loses contact resistance so the slip or lock engages if below the release speed. Volvo factory limited slip will release traction at 25 MPH or above. Yet engagement of the limited slip, and disengagement, can be a wee bit unnerving on a treacherous driving surface be it ice, snow, mud, gravel ...

Sloe down, give room to the car in front of you by some to many car lengths and motor slowly or no faster than posted speed limits, and usually well below.

Snow Tire Sources - the info is a little dated
https://www.brickboard.com/FAQ/700-900/WheelsTires.htm

200-series was fitted with limited slip or 'anti-spin' as a dealer option and maybe from the factory. No locking diffs on 200 from dealer or factory so far as I know.
--
Donate NOW! Give your brickboard.com a big DONATION!!! Find the on brickboard pages!

The original post is dated year 2003.

Yes, it was. I distinctly remember that.

Now all of a sudden the date of the original post is 5/15/19. Why is that, I wonder?


--
'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon, '15 XC70 T6

I have a feeling, Don, you know this without a doubt. Disconcerting...
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Posted 5/19/19

Well Art, we have seen many an old thread pop up in a latest month's forum.

Rarely it is by design. An interested party will unearth it with a new inquiry on the original subject. Better to start a new thread and cite the earlier one for reference.

More often they just seem to mysteriously appear. These often get replies from those who don't notice the original date.

But, if I recall correctly, this one and it's numerous replies were dated 2003. Then suddenly all the dates changed to the current year. And judging from the day of week and date they really are current.

I do not remember that occurring with these other threads.


--
'80 DL 2 door, '89 DL Wagon, '15 XC70 T6

Don, I think perhaps I inferred incorrectly that you knew for certain the dates changed because you were the Don with the former handle dnordin.

Agreed, these old threads should be referred to as a link, not added to. I made a suggestion to Jarrod back when he turned on the ability to add to old posts he mark the aged threads as such, perhaps with bold font, or color, or text warning "you are replying to an NN-year-old post."

Yes, I spend too much time here. :)
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

TORTA CUBANA - HAM, STEAK, SPICY PORK, HOT DOG, EGG, JALAPENO, AVOCADO, ONIONS, QUESO FRESCO, LETTUCE AND MAYONNAISE. SERVED ON FRESH GRILLED MEXICAN BREAD...7.99

Thanks everyone for the replies,
I have no idea what you are talking about with the old thread. In 2003 I did have a 240 wagon and may have had the handle dnordin. I am not really sure to tell the truth. That is about when I sold the wagon. I generated this post in May 2019. Actually once I posted this I looked through the board and saw the question had been answered numerous times before, so I figured someone would say something about that. But personally I believe a forum is a place for discussion, so even if a question was answered in that past you may get a better answer at some point in the future because new information.
Anyway thanks for the help.

Sorry Don, my fault for misinterpreting what Don (bulletproof) wrote.

Somehow I think there's something to winter driving skill building at the time in your life when teen spirit is high. I remember visiting the high school parking lot to cut cookies in the newly fallen snow on a Sunday. Even so, I needed a few mishaps to learn just what role tribology has in rubber tires vs. icy roads.

For the 240's, skinny tires are better, and some extra weight in the trunk. I fit chains once on a ski trip years ago.
--
Art Benstein near Baltimore

Didn't grow up near Baltimore.

As this post note, it is more a question of whether the DRIVER is good in snow and ice as opposed to the car being good in snow and ice. I have been in northern Sweden, riding with a native Swede during a true Swedish blizzard. Cr was equipped with studded true snow tires, and he slowed waaaay down to accomodate the slippery conditions. Non sudden braking, acceleration or turns. Looking way ahead to anticipate tings, and leaving a lot of space between vehicles.

As my father used to say, the most important thing in the car during such tricky conditions is the nut that holds the steering wheel.

Agreed, 4 snow tires in winter and a 240 will behave like an AWD vehicle in snow/ice. Weight in the trunk and studded snows will provide even more traction. Check to see if SD allows studded tires. Not all states do. IMHO - studs aren’t necessary. My 90 with snows and a little extra weight in the trunk would drive right by AWD vehicles in the ditch during snowstorms in the New Hampshire mountains!
--
Will I buy another Volvo??? We'll see....

jwalker wrote--"My 90 with snows and a little extra weight in the trunk would drive right by AWD vehicles in the ditch during snowstorms in the New Hampshire mountains!" There's a certain amount of natural smugness when encountering such things but they are ditched mostly because of no respect for the conditions-- thinking they can drive through anything - at any speed.
I agree the 240 will be fine with 4 quality snows. Here on Long Island we get a fair amount of snow (but no mountains) and I've never needed more than 4 normal radials (in the "old" days it was a different story with bias ply tires). I think for the upper mid-west I'd carry a modern version of chains in the trunk (and a road assistance card in my wallet). - Dave

Snow, it depends, ice, well that's the great equalizer. No vehicle is good on ice.

If you get a good set of snow tires (X-Ice, Blizzak, etc)for the car, then yes, it is good in snow, even better if your car is equipped with a limited slip differential.

In addition to the snow tires, place a couple bags of water softener salt or sand in the back and you should be good. If you do get stuck, then use the sand to help you get out of the situation.

Regards,

Matt
--
1989 - 245, 1990 - 245, 1991 - 245, and 1993 - 245

I agree with the above comments about adding weight in the trunk.

Beware of frozen sand bags in the trunk. These are hard projectiles that can be harmfull to the passengers and also to the car body in case of a collision.

I personally do not add additional weight because I have a tool box, alternator, jack, toe bar, spare parts, about 140 lb in total.

But since our cars are rear wheel drive we are less efficient than the front ( and all wheel drive ) at street corners when it is time to go. Also the grip on ice is poor when you want to leave the icey parking spot.

For that reason in the last 8 years I use winter snow tires with metal studs.

These are the best and the worst of two worlds and let me explain.

The best is having 10-15 % more adherance to the icey pavement.

The worst is the noise, forget about radio/music when you drive over 40 mph. And it does wear pavement a lot faster than usual tires. It tolerated mostly for safety reason I beleive.

I realy want it in our region wich is Montreal area.