Tire recommendation

instarx · Post by **instarx** » 05 Jan 2009, 11:30

Your shocks might also be worn out, which would lower the body some.

Post by **kelvin6** » 06 Jan 2009, 00:46

I should also mention that you can't get snow chains for the 205/55R16 tires according to Volvo. They claim some sort of interference with the brakes and they don't make the snow chains for that particular size, 205/50R16 they do, but not 205/55R16.

I'm running the Kumho ASX right now and its been a very good tire for me. I'm not so certain I would ever take my S70 up to the snow (Lake Tahoe) if I can't fit snow chains on it (which can become a requirement if snow starts to fall on the highway up there) and i won't be buying just snow tires (since i live in a city that never snows).

Post by **outdoor7or24** » 06 Jan 2009, 07:40

Everyone, thanks for the help and recommendations.
I received my tires yesterday from tirerack.com, and I got the General Altimax HP. I chose those after researching info here and on tirerack.
I had them installed last night and they replaced my Fuzion HRi tires. The General Altimax HP are much quiter and smoother riding than the Fuzion HRi tires are.
This could be due to a few things:
1. I purchased the car with knowing the ball joint and lower control arms on the passenger front were worn - you had to actively steer and watch out when braking!
2. The Fuzion HRi tires were uneven, cupped, etc. due to (1) and the tread depth was as follows - 6/32, 5/32, 3/32, 3/32.
3. New tires are usually smoother cause there new...

Now I am back to the car pulling to the right again, not bad, but noticeable. I had the car aligned in November after replacing all the tie rod ends and lower control arm. It was still pulling to the right, so I rotated the front tires (L->R, R->L) to see if that would help. It did not, so I did front to back and this as well did not help. I took it back in December to get it fixed and sure enough the alignment was out and it showed it was pulling to the right.

Shop re-did it and I was watching the tech do the work. The tech told me you need to bounce the car's front end when aligning so you can get the best alignment (I hope I am being clear on this, there are 'floating pads' under your front tires when getting an alignment.). This helped and the car tracked much better than before. Of course the tech did not get the steering wheel centered just right, but I was just glad to get it done.

At the end of December I got my tires rotated and balanced cause I had driven quite a few miles and and wanted to get the most out of the tires. HAHA, the pulling to the right is back. I had already decided I would get some tires with Christmas cash, so I started the search and that is why I asked on here.

Now, I don't know if something is loose up front, or if my brake shimmy is related to the alignment issue, but I am ready for this issue to be over. Am I over-reacting and just need to get an alignment since I have new tires?

chuckcintron · Post by **chuckcintron** » 06 Jan 2009, 11:05

You are still experiencing pulling, correct?

I recently started to ONLY take my cars to an (experienced) shop running Hunter equipment. You'd be surprised at some of the older technology out there in these alignment shops...a step above using a carpenter's tape measure. I've been very pleased with the results out of the Hunter shop.

Now having said that...

Not sure how many miles you have on your car, but if it's over 90K-ish you are most likely looking at some front end work to get it back to where you want it. Tie rod ends, lower control arms (ball joints, bushings), spring seats & top mounts.

Your car will feel like it's on rails when you are done, but it is not inexpensive. I did this about a year ago; now I can practically set the cruise on 70 and take a nap while cruising straight on I84

-Chuck

Post by **outdoor7or24** » 06 Jan 2009, 11:20

chuckcintron wrote:You are still experiencing pulling, correct?

I recently started to ONLY take my cars to an (experienced) shop running Hunter equipment. You'd be surprised at some of the older technology out there in these alignment shops...a step above using a carpenter's tape measure. I've been very pleased with the results out of the Hunter shop.

Now having said that...

Not sure how many miles you have on your car, but if it's over 90K-ish you are most likely looking at some front end work to get it back to where you want it. Tie rod ends, lower control arms (ball joints, bushings), spring seats & top mounts.

Your car will feel like it's on rails when you are done, but it is not inexpensive. I did this about a year ago; now I can practically set the cruise on 70 and take a nap while cruising straight on I84

-Chuck

Chuck, thanks for the reply.
It may be a slight pull, more so a drift. Other vehicles I drive do not drift as bad on the same roads.
I have replaced the tie rods (inner and outer) and right control arm.
The shop that I am using has the latest and greatest machine, and they have aligned other vehicles for me with no problem.

Maybe spring seats and top mounts are due for replacement, as I am not sure previous owner replaced them when he did the struts.

Is there any way to visually inspect the spring seats or top mounts?

Thanks....

chuckcintron · Post by **chuckcintron** » 06 Jan 2009, 12:30

Good question on the inspection of those top pieces of hardware. Maybe with the car on a lift and grabbing the spring with a big ol' pair of slip joint pliers you might be able to get a sense of anything loose up there.

-Chuck

sleeper · Post by **sleeper** » 06 Jan 2009, 20:18

why do you need to roll them i have a 940 turbo with 225/50/16 zr fits perfect

Post by **Sperry** » 07 Jan 2009, 01:12

Did you replace the shocks?

I had old, bad shocks with newer tires. My rear tires were choppy within a few thousand miles.

When my struts were bad, a nasty pump would make me think the windshield was going to go popping out!

Post by **outdoor7or24** » 07 Jan 2009, 07:21

Sperry wrote:Did you replace the shocks?

I had old, bad shocks with newer tires. My rear tires were choppy within a few thousand miles.

When my struts were bad, a nasty pump would make me think the windshield was going to go popping out!

Rear shocks + Mounts are new. Front struts were replaced by previous owner.
No noise heard when going over bumps or rough roads.

I am gona try to wiggle the front springs to see if there is any play.

*** News to me, I noticed my odometer and trip meter were intermittent when I was on my trip over the holiday. SO, I did the mileage check via A7 under the hood OBD I port.
Odometer @ 159,693.
A7 Result = 185,993. -

I was a little ticked, cause i bought the car with 152k on the odometer and did not check the A7 port. I even had a mechanic check it out, but I do not think he was very familiar with 850's. Next time I will be much more prepared. ***

With that knowledge gained, I am now suspecting the top mounts and spring seats on the struts, as I have no idea if the previous owner replaced them or not.

Post by **outdoor7or24** » 07 Jan 2009, 08:32

wow, I just starting searching for spring seats and I thought you can use the XC 90 seats because they are more durable.

You can + I also found this from Ozark Lee -
[quote from volvospeed] -Like was said, the spring seats are more of an annoyance than a safety problem but you cannot hold a proper alignment when they are bad and it can tear up your tires new tires over time. The steering will also feel a bit loose. [end quote from volvospeed]
http://volvospeed.com/vs_forum/index.ph ... 68999&st=0&#

Chuck, your original post may be right on. It will have to be after the trip before I can replace them , if that is the problem. I am still going to check them out.

Tire recommendation

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