215/60 R 15 tires on a '97 850?

[misha]

... I tried some off an S60 and they fouled the strut tunes in front

It's because of the wrong offset from s60 rims which is from 49-52.S80 have the same ET.
850,s,v,c,xc70 have offset of 43-49.If you go with rims with 49ET the max width tires you can fit are 205.
Acceptable ET for these cars is from 35-49 without spacers.Nothing more....nothing less.
If you want to install rims with ET higher than 49 you will need spacers.

[bmdubya1198]

I don't even know the exact dimensions... I think my Antlia (as well as the previous design "Cetus") wheels are 15x6.5. But from what I can tell, Perfo and Columba wheels (on turbo 850/S/V70) are 16x6.5, and they use 205s stock. I guess it's the 1 inch difference in diameter that makes the difference... not entirely sure.

[shaker_chi]

First and foremost, if you want to use these as snow tires, the last thing you want to do is go wider (195 mm to 215 mm). In the snow you want a narrower tire to cut through the snow. If you ever see a Volvo 850 with the Gislaved snow tires you will notice they are 185's and obviously have a more aggressive tread, as opposed to the original 195's. Hope this helps. Good luck.

[misha]

That's a myth.
What about newer models or cars which came from the factory with stock 225 or 245 tyres?!
Should they run on 185 or 195?!
Snow tyre is snow tyre.It's designed for snow no matter what dimension it is.It only depends on what is factory recommendation.It's not the witdh what cuts through the snow....it's tire's tread design.

It's true that 185 can be used on 850,but only for speed up to 160km/h and for calm driving because the stability is compromised.
I woudn't even consider them on 20v cars.
2.0 10v maybe,but 20v.....nope.

[shaker_chi]

Well it may be a myth, but engineers get paid a lot of money to figure this stuff out and I tend to put my trust in them before "myths". Of course you can run 245s, 255s etc. on a car with snow tires and you will get better traction strictly due to the more aggressive tread. Here is some info from tirerack.com. Again, guys that are in the tire business.


http://blog.tirerack.com/blog/hunters-r ... for-winter

When I bought my 94 850 N/A it came with the Gislaved snow tires P185/65/R15 on steel rims. I used them for about 2 years and put on P205/55R15. Having used both I can tell you in the Chicago snow I much preferred the 185s. Besides in the winter how much "spirited" driving are you really doing anyway if you are worried about stability. The priority in the winter is traction, not how fast you can take the exit ramp.

[bmdubya1198]

What he's saying is that the thinner the snow tire the better. Not necessarily that using a 185 tire is the only way to make sense of running snow tires. No, it doesn't make any sense to run a 185 on a car that came with a 245 (and it's not possible either).
Basically, running 235s on a designated set of wheels for winter on a car that originally had 245s would be beneficial. The 185 instead of 195 on Volvo 15x6.5 wheels is only an example.

[misha]

I know what he is saying.
Mine came from the factory with Persus 16" and 205/50/16 tyres.
I have two sets of Volvo alloy wheels for summer and winter tyres and both have 205/55/16 tyres on them.

Winters in Serbia are pretty hard with a lots of snow too and traction with 205 snow tires is excellent.

That said....good snow tires and there's no problem with traction.

[scot850]

I find with a lot of loose snow the narrower tires work better as they cut through the snow down to the firm stuff and get better grip. On icy roads the wider tires may work better as you have more contact surface. Either way it is what works best for you and give you confidence in the conditions you live in. We get a lot of ice and occasionally wet snow. For wet snow the narrower tire is better.

I have a 2000 'R' AWD and have 2 sets of 17" Volvo rims with 49mm offset. Both are fitted with 225/45/17 tires (winter and summer). Only issue I have is that if I lift the rear wheels off the ground, the rims foul on the AWD rear sub-frame.

Neil.

[nikolajs]

Thanks. Ended up getting a new full set of Blizzaks for $220 mounted/balanced, after tax. Cheaper and easier than the craigslist options....