Tire sizes

dr1vereye · Post by **dr1vereye** » 30 Sep 2015, 12:23

1998 v70xc stock tires are 205/65/15 (as per gas cap door).
I'm trying to kijiji winters on rims for the car (daughters car). There are lots of Volvo 5x108 rims 15 " and16" but every tire size but the stock size. I think the Xc must be a rather unique tire size. Does anyone have experience using different sizes? I know it might throw off the speedometer a bit, but I'm more worried rubbing or damage, and most importantly daughters Saftey.
Also any rim offset issues between volvos?

Post by **erikv11** » 30 Sep 2015, 13:04

The 94-00 P80 cars (850 and S/V/C70) all have the same rim fitting (5-lug, no change in center bore or offset). Other years like newer V70 are same bore and lug but some offset differences, I don't know offhand which ones will work.

A bit skinnier will be fine or even a good idea for snow tires, e.g. 195-65-15 would be only slightly off on your speedometer (2%).

You can go taller (larger diameter) than 205-65-15, a little bit is no problem (and in general I would keep diameter changes to a minimum) but if the difference is large post up and people will tell you if they will rub or not. I would not go wider by much at all for a snow tire, 215 or possibly 225 max. Many many sizes have been tried by people on the forums you are in the right place for info.

There are useful calculator/comparison tools online e.g. http://www.tireconvert.com/

Scholz · Post by **Scholz** » 30 Sep 2015, 15:39

I just realized I've never seen my gas cap. Living in Oregon where we don't pump our own gas. Thanks for the enlightenment.

Post by **850 LPT** » 01 Oct 2015, 06:30

I just bought a set of 195/60/16 Pirelli Sottozero snow tires for my XC, which will be mounted on a set of Persus rims. This tire size is very close in diameter to OEM size and should fit fine. I can report back next week when they are actually on the car.

Post by **Rondo** » 01 Oct 2015, 20:18

Here http://www.1010tires.com/Tools/Tire-Siz ... 16#Vehicle is a very useful calculator for tire sizes. The models are a bit off (says my GLT SE has 195/60/15 but I have 205/55/16) but it gives diameter, speed comparison.

Post by **scot850** » 01 Oct 2015, 23:13

The recommended winter tire for my 98 V70 XC was a 195-65-15". Checking a Volvo handbook I happen to have in my study here (for S/V70) states AWD should have the above winter tire size.

Neil.

dr1vereye · Post by **dr1vereye** » 16 Nov 2015, 09:49

I am wondering if a 205/55/16 might work? It is only a 2% difference. When I bought my front brake hoses they asked if I had 15 or 16 inch wheels. Not sure why that matters? Maybe different calipers.
Just don't want to buy 16 inch and find they don't fit.

Post by **Rondo** » 16 Nov 2015, 10:04

The 16" will fit. My 70 runs on 205 55 16, same setup it was born with.

Post by **scot850** » 16 Nov 2015, 11:44

The difference is due to the rotor size. Some cars have 280mm rotors (15" rims and up will fit) and some had 302mm (16" and up will fit). The 98 V70Xc we had had 280mm rotors as standard and 15" rims, but you can go larger. Remember the wider the foot print of the tire in snow spreads the load but does not grip as well or cut through the deeper snow. Hence my original reply saying the listed tire size was 195/65/15 for this car v's the 'summer' size of 205/65/15.

The difference in the rotor size is achieved by obviously the larger rotor and a different mounting bracket using the same caliper. Seem to recall you need a longer flexi-hose too.

Neil.

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 16 Nov 2015, 17:16

dr1vereye wrote:I am wondering if a 205/55/16 might work? It is only a 2% difference. When I bought my front brake hoses they asked if I had 15 or 16 inch wheels. Not sure why that matters? Maybe different calipers.
Just don't want to buy 16 inch and find they don't fit.

I had the same question when I bought a set of rotors at AutoZone. In my opinion that question is about the same as asking what color it is to determine which brakes it has. I swap sets of wheels and tires around (15" and 16") between the various cars in the fleet all the time depending on the tire conditions and the season.

The girls get the good tires for winter.

...Lee