1996 850 R Endlessly blowing tires damaging rims

dmack87 · Post by **dmack87** » 27 Jun 2015, 19:06

So our 96 850r has the R rims with low profile tires, and they just don't seem to get a long with our frequent potholes and terrible roads. My wife just blew another tire and dented yet another rim. If I remember correctly, we have had 7 new rims on this car since we got it due to road damage. I am leaning towards just getting standard 15" Volvo rims, but I am unsure if they will fit the R brakes etc correctly, and frankly I am worried that they will radically alter the appearance of this very sporty looking car. I believe there are 16" rims available, but would that extra inch of sidewall really provide adequate additional protection? Any rim suggestions that maintain a sporty look?

So questions:
Will 15" rims fit a 1996 850R?
If so, are there any that will not destroy the sporty look?
Are there 16" Rims, and if so, would that extra inch make a difference in tire/rim survivability on crappy roads?
Any recommendations on a good sporty looking but shorter rim for this car?

For the sake of something interesting, here is the pile of rubber that was ground off of the inside of the tire by the rim after the tire went flat before she realized there was a problem.

: For the sake of trivia.. remains of the tire ground off inside

Thanks!

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 27 Jun 2015, 21:14

Your R may have the big brakes and the 15" wheel might not fit around the caliper. Volvo had the same problem with the original 16" Columba wheels on the turbos and had a recall that involved a new set of wheels and a voucher for 205-55-16 tires. The car originally came with 205-50-16 tires and the short sidewall led to the wheel damage. A set of Columba wheels would fit your car just fine and look a bunch better than the 15" Cetus wheels. The 70 series cars had another wheel that is nearly identical to the Columba with a little bit sharper edges. My daughter's car has those but I can't remember their name.

...Lee

Post by **tryingbe** » 27 Jun 2015, 21:23

No 850 R ever came with big 302mm brake from factory.

Measure the rotor, you should have 280mm rotors.

Any 15 inch FWD Volvo wheels will fit 280mm rotors.

I have 17 inch interceptor wheels off a S80 on my 850 with 205/50R17 tires.

Here is a big wheel guide.
http://forums.turbobricks.com/showthread.php?t=72501

Post by **mecheng** » 27 Jun 2015, 21:35

Go with Perfo or Columba 16". The Perfo was used on s70, the Columba on the 850. Both look good. I have the Perfo on one car and the Cetus on the other, the Cetus are ugly. No pot hole issues with either. The R rims look amazing, such a shame, as I was considering them

Post by **JRL** » 27 Jun 2015, 21:59

The correct 16" tire to use now is 205/55/16
The correct 17" tire to run now is 215/45/17

If you are still running 205/45/17s that's bad, that's your problem, and you will continue to blow 'em up.
If you're running 215s then either both of you need to be more careful and watchful of potholes or go down to 16s.
You can buy a used set of PERFOS (DO NOT use Columbas, too narrow), and go with the tire size I said above. Many Volvos (and all 98-2000 T5s) used this and most were just fine.
15s would be ludicrous on an R