98 V70 T5 wagon - front tire wear

mas · Post by **mas** » 11 Sep 2009, 15:31

I bought my V70 2 1/2 years ago. In that time period I have went through 3 sets of front tires. The tread wears on the outer and inside edges. My mechanic said that it was a common issue with Volvos because of the tight turning radius.

Is this true or do I have a problem?

Post by **Ozark Lee** » 11 Sep 2009, 17:37

V-70 and tight turning radius is an oxymoron - I think the turning radius is measured in acres. You need to have a 4 wheel alignment. If they tell you that the rear wheels can't be adjusted find another shop.

...Lee

Post by **holler1** » 11 Sep 2009, 20:52

My front tire wear got better after I increased the pressure to the upper end of the range for the tire. Mine were also wearing fast on inside and outside edges.

Post by **jblackburn** » 12 Sep 2009, 01:13

HAH! Turning radius! I went through my last brand new set of tires in less than 2 years, about 32,000 miles on tires that were warranted for 60,000...just got 4 new ones put on this week. Mine wore down around the edges almost to the steel bands, even after having 2 alignments done. They were properly inflated, the car tracks straight and everything. My dad said his old Saab used to chew through tires pretty fast too no matter what kind, maybe it's just a thing with these Swede cars.

Post by **polskamafia mjl** » 13 Sep 2009, 10:24

holler1 wrote:My front tire wear got better after I increased the pressure to the upper end of the range for the tire. Mine were also wearing fast on inside and outside edges.

What do you mean "increasing the pressure to the upper...range...?"

nightc1 · Post by **nightc1** » 13 Sep 2009, 16:29

Wear on the inside and outside edges is a clear sign of under inflation.

Are they they correct size? They should be (by searching the net) 205/55R16 unlike my 99 V70 Base which takes 195/60R15.

What pressure are you running them at? Mine, are supposed to be 36 psi front and 41 psi rear. My dad raised me to do my own car repair and he always pushed the 32 psi as the magic number for tire pressure but this is wrong.

Check inside the gas flap for the sticker with your correct tire size and pressures and make sure you have everything setup correctly. Many people under inflate and never realize it. It hurts gas mileage when doing this and can cost money on tires if the warranty is up.

Oh and a lack of rotation would have the front tires wearing out before the rear. Do you rotate your tires or have them rotated regularly? Do you check your tire pressure regularly and keep them at the recommended pressure?

Post by **JRL** » 13 Sep 2009, 20:30

nightc1 wrote:
What pressure are you running them at? Mine, are supposed to be 36 psi front and 41 psi rear. My dad raised me to do my own car repair and he always pushed the 32 psi as the magic number for tire pressure but this is wrong.

That is the pressure for a fully loaded up wagon.
Best pressure for these (and for good tire wear) is from
31-34 front and 30-32 rear depending on the brand of tire.
I get around 44K miles out of tires running these pressures on a Gen 1 V70.
You only run a pressure close to what you posted is when you have 500 lbs in the rear.
I've owned several of these (and still do) and what I posted works best. Your high pressures will rattle these cars to death

thrich · Post by **thrich** » 13 Sep 2009, 22:15

I have had the exact same problem with my '96 850 Turbo -- rapid tire wear on the inside and outside edges of the front tires. Alignment has been checked a couple of times, by different shops, each time reported to be in alignment. I bought the car with 17" Volans on it, not stock for that car but stock for the similar '96 850R. I was thinking it is a characteristic of the 17" wheels on that car but haven't seen anyone else complain.

I do not have a similar problem with my '98 V70 XC. It has been a long running mystery with the '96.

nightc1 · Post by **nightc1** » 14 Sep 2009, 10:36

JRL wrote: That is the pressure for a fully loaded up wagon.
Best pressure for these (and for good tire wear) is from
31-34 front and 30-32 rear depending on the brand of tire.
I get around 44K miles out of tires running these pressures on a Gen 1 V70.
You only run a pressure close to what you posted is when you have 500 lbs in the rear.
I've owned several of these (and still do) and what I posted works best. Your high pressures will rattle these cars to death

It depends on occupancy. The higher pressures I listed for my car are for 5 passengers at 1000 pound limit. Not saying I'd put 5, 200 pound people in my car... but I tend to fluctuate between just myself and myself and my wife and 3 young kids. Even then it's ~500 pounds. Still, yeah, I mistakenly posted the higher numbers. I run between these and the optional pressures listed.

My specific car lists 32 front 31 rear for an optional pressure when using the correct tire and having 500 pounds of passengers (two up front, 1 in the back).

Regardless of pressures though, a clear sign of under inflation is wear on the inside and outside edges. Conversely, over inflation leads to excessive wear in the center. And one set wearing out well before the other is a sign of not rotating the tires often enough. It's such an easy task to rotate tires and should be done about every 5000 miles... though I just put it in as part of a regular oil change.

My tires tend to last the full 60,000 or whatever the expected life is.

My father worked making tires at Goodyear for his entire working life so I got an earful growing up. But ask any guy at a good tire place and they should tell you the same about excessive wear.

Still, I don't expect anyone would go on my word alone so here's a guide to identifying what is causing tire wear. There are many of these on the net, this one shows the tread as if the tire was rolling towards you. Note the under inflation:

http://www.procarcare.com/includes/cont ... ewear.html

Under Inflation

This case seems clear it's under inflation coupled with a lack of rotation. Of course once the tire guys know it to be under inflation then the warranty could get voided so maybe talk to a tire guy that isn't responsible for your car and let them keep on believing is a Volvo issue

FCPEURO · Post by **FCPEURO** » 14 Sep 2009, 12:18

mas wrote:I bought my V70 2 1/2 years ago. In that time period I have went through 3 sets of front tires. The tread wears on the outer and inside edges. My mechanic said that it was a common issue with Volvos because of the tight turning radius.

Is this true or do I have a problem?

This is completely wrong. I have had many different Volvos and never went through tires like you are stating. What is the current tire pressure right now? I am thinking that they were under-inflated and that caused the issue. Either way, you should not be going through tires like that.