T rated tires on a 98 v70 NA Topic is solved

[98v70dad]

I AGREE WITH YOU. That is the main premise of my post. At this point it doesn't matter because I haven't found one installer who will put T-Rated tires on my car. I don't have the tools to do it so I'm stuck with H or V rated tires. The speed limit on most big highways in the US is 70 mph or just about half of what the car is limited to (130 mph). So forcing me to put H rated tires or better is just crazy. But installers are afraid to get sued by lawyers. I'm not against using H rated tires, its just that I can't find what I want for a reasonable price in an H.

[misha]

I AGREE WITH YOU. That is the main premise of my post...

I know you do!!!!
I understand what you're trying to say.That post wasn't adressed to you.
I was just thinking out loud and couldn't believe what i read about tire installers.

[kranz]

I have had more than one installer in the past week tell me that they WILL NOT put a T-rated tire on V70 since the owners manual says to use V-rated tires.

Well, don't be shy, you should whip out your '98 V70 NA owner's manual and ask them where it says a V-rated tire is required. That is fiction.

[98v70dad]

I have had more than one installer in the past week tell me that they WILL NOT put a T-rated tire on V70 since the owners manual says to use V-rated tires.

Well, don't be shy, you should whip out your '98 V70 NA owner's manual and ask them where it says a V-rated tire is required. That is fiction.

I had planned to order from Tire rack or tirebuyer and get someone to install them locally. I'm trying to avoid getting stuck. You can be right and still get screwed. So far every installer I've asked does not want to install a T rated tire on my car. NTB actually WILL install a T rated tire if you acknowledge and probably sign on the line that you understand that it isn't recommended. My new plan is to get NTB to match the Tirebuyer.com price. Tirebuyer has free shipping to the ATL for most of their tires and their prices are good. Selection is limited but they have some popular tires. I'll get the good price and an infinite supply of tires if I get one that's defective. I have always suspected that the online discounters are selling tires that didn't make the quality cut for full price retail sales. The General Altimax RT43 I like gets either great reviews most of the time or occasionally gets really poor reviews because it wont balance. This information matches exactly what one of the installers told me. He said "some of the Generals just wont balance".

[sleddriver]

I recently went with a BF Goodrich tire from DT as the Michelin Primacy is now too rich: $145/ea!! The former was about $85/ea. But they didn't balance well either. Went back three times, got the SM involved. He ordered three more and road-force-balanced them as well as checked them on another machine to minimize wheel/tire imbalances. A 4-wheel alignment greatly improved the ride quality. But it's not "glass smooth". I'll be cross-rotating these tires regularly to ensure an even wear pattern.

Haven't dropped to T-rated. Plenty of twisties where I live plus I'm inclined to serve at speed to avoid a potential collision, then just stand on the brake pedal & pray. Recently went into & out of a ditch a 60mph, off camber, to avoid an idiot who pulled right out in front of me. Truck behind me, one to the right so I called for a left-exit.

Very, very scary............the sled handled it well, with aplomb, and never got squirrely.

[98v70dad]

I recently went with a BF Goodrich tire from DT as the Michelin Primacy is now too rich: $145/ea!! The former was about $85/ea. But they didn't balance well either. Went back three times, got the SM involved. He ordered three more and road-force-balanced them as well as checked them on another machine to minimize wheel/tire imbalances. A 4-wheel alignment greatly improved the ride quality. But it's not "glass smooth". I'll be cross-rotating these tires regularly to ensure an even wear pattern.

Haven't dropped to T-rated. Plenty of twisties where I live plus I'm inclined to serve at speed to avoid a potential collision, then just stand on the brake pedal & pray. Recently went into & out of a ditch a 60mph, off camber, to avoid an idiot who pulled right out in front of me. Truck behind me, one to the right so I called for a left-exit.

Very, very scary............the sled handled it well, with aplomb, and never got squirrely.

T rated tires today are very good tires and much better than what our parents had on our old family sedans so I don't get too concerned driving on them. If I had a sports car and drove it like a sports car often I would get the "recommended" V rated ones. The lead sled doesn't qualify. We've got plenty of mountains and twisty narrow mountain roads up in North Georgia and the 98 V70 has a tough time making the sped limit going up hill. Coming down CAN be more exciting but I drive pretty conservatively in that car due to its geriatric age.

Sears has Primacys on sale for $96 but they are out of stock right now. I need to look into their rain check policy. I keep checking their website for more stock. If they show up I'm buying them on the spot. I suspect that they will remain out of stock until the sale ends, though. Primacys are the best tires I've ever bought. I've had them or some variant of them on all three of my cars and they are just excellent tires. They get harder as they age and that limits snow and ice traction but that's not an issue in Atlanta.

I tried some BF Goodrich advantage TA's for the front tires to save some $$ on the V70 last time I needed tires and I wasn't happy with them. They are 60,000 mile tires and they lasted about one year (20,000 miles). They have some life left in the but I'm down to 4/32 tread. One of them actually almost blew out on a 200 mile trip. I stopped for lunch and there was a three inch by 2 inch blister on the sidewall. Those tires receive very good reviews and ratings on paper and they are the worst tires I've ever had. They were OK when they were new. The advantage TA experience has me hesitant to buy another "value" tire that I'm not familiar with. The price for the General Alitmax tire, though, is really tempting. They are only about $65 each and there is a 50 of rebate for a set of four right now.

[98v70dad]

I ended up with Continental True Contacts (T-rated). Nice tires. ANOTHER place told me today that the Generals often wont balance. He said at one time he sold a lot of them and it was a very common problem for his store. I was happy to find the Contis for under 100 each and they and my new (used) wheels are already installed. I figured that good tires and newer wheels would fix my front end vibration problem but the car still vibrates a good bit between 65 and 75 mph. I'll test drive it more thoroughly tomorrow. The vibration seemed to get better the further I drove it..

I'm still baffled by the vibration problem. The only thing that isn't new in the front end is the control arms and cv drive axle on the passenger side. The control arms both look good and they're (no slop) tight but they are originals. The wheel bearings and front and back hydraulic engine mounts are originals also. I'm told that V70's in the US have early wheel bearing failures ... I dont know anything about whether a failing wheel bearing would cause vibration but it seems like it would.

Any ideas about what I should focus on next. I dont like riding in a "shaky" car.

[beigg]

Check to make sure the steering universal joint is not binding. Hard to visually check but possible. If rust is bleeding from the snap rings or down the side over the shafts jam bolt, it may be seized up. If it cant freely move, it can create inner tierod stressing from the rack and pinion shifting around trying to take up the lack of joint maneuverability.

[sleddriver]

I ended up with Continental True Contacts (T-rated). Nice tires. ANOTHER place told me today that the Generals often wont balance. He said at one time he sold a lot of them and it was a very common problem for his store. I was happy to find the Contis for under 100 each and they and my new (used) wheels are already installed. I figured that good tires and newer wheels would fix my front end vibration problem but the car still vibrates a good bit between 65 and 75 mph. I'll test drive it more thoroughly tomorrow. The vibration seemed to get better the further I drove it..

I'm still baffled by the vibration problem. The only thing that isn't new in the front end is the control arms and cv drive axle on the passenger side. The control arms both look good and they're (no slop) tight but they are originals. The wheel bearings and front and back hydraulic engine mounts are originals also. I'm told that V70's in the US have early wheel bearing failures ... I dont know anything about whether a failing wheel bearing would cause vibration but it seems like it would.

Any ideas about what I should focus on next. I dont like riding in a "shaky" car.

I too was interested in both Conti xxcontacts and the Gen. Alti's. They get fine reviews on the BITOG tire forum. DT local store doesn't stock them however.

Interesting to read above that Michelins get hard over time due to heat. My last three I replaced were actually warranted by them for "chunking". Explained to me as a faulty rubber compound that doesn't do well with my hot pavement (>160°F in Summer) temps. No wonder the ride quality suffered. I was quite amazed at how supple the new tires were in comparison.

Re: Vibration. A worn drive axle would do it. So would one not carefully balanced. Wheel bearings will begin to roar when weight is shifted to their side during turns. I replaced the FR years ago. It was quite loose in my hands! I suspect my LR bearing is also noisy. I need to recheck all with a stethoscope.

When's the last time you had a 4-wheel alignment? That will definitely make a differece based on personal experience. Rear thrust angle was off to the driver side and front toe in was 3X spec. Much smoother afterwards.

You may be able to find one of those old-school shops that balances tires while still on the hub. You may also need the tire rotated in relation to the wheel to null out any defects BEFORE wheel/tire gets balanced.

BTW, if your NA really is an old dog going up hill, a cam timing adjustment might fix that. Check out the link on my other thread.

[misha]

You just need to take the car to a good and reputable tire installer to balance them properly.

There is no tire which can't be balanced as long as it is ok and not damaged.
Since you bought new ones....problem can only be in the installer or it's faulty balance machine.
I have slightly bent 2 alloys on my 850 and they balanced ok and there is no trace of shaking no matter how fast or slow i drive it.

Just a reputable tire installer and your problems will go away.